The community meal organized by the Mugalde Association has become an essential event of the Otxomaio festivities in Orduña. Built on the principle of auzolan (collective work), this event fills Gernika Square every year. It was first organized in 1999, and in 2024, the 25th anniversary of the initiative was celebrated. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be the actual 25th edition, a milestone edition.

Although today it is closely linked to Gernika Square, the first three editions of the community meal were held in Foru Plaza. As explained by a member of the association, “a kind of symbiosis was created between the Mugalde Association, which had the desire to organize a new popular initiative, and a group of local cooks.” The success was resounding from the very beginning, gathering almost 200 people in the first edition. From the outset, this meal has been very diverse, bringing together citizens of all ages and political affiliations.

The community meal was moved from Foru Plaza to Gernika Square for “logistical” reasons. After an edition where it rained, they realized that the arcades of Foru Plaza were not an adequate shelter. They are very dispersed, and they found the ideal place in Gernika Square. By the time they moved to Gernika Square, the meal, which had started with almost two hundred people, had already exceeded the barrier of five hundred plates. Since then, that has been the limit of people who can gather for the meal. The organizers emphasize that they cannot increase the number further, not for lack of capacity, but because no more people fit in the arcades of Gernika Square. Furthermore, in recent editions, they have made good use of the arcades of Gernika Square, as the meal has coincided with rain and storms, but the atmosphere has always been warm.

The organizers have especially thanked the work of the cooks. The menu has always been similar: first course, second course, dessert, wine, bread, and an optional after-meal drink. Rioja-style potatoes are repeated in all editions, but the second course has had more variations, such as lamb ribs or meat stew. Local products are prioritized, buying meat from Orduña ranchers, using Alavesa potatoes, and acquiring wine and bread in the city itself.

More than 50 people participate in the organization of the meal through collective work, many of them repeating every year and with well-defined tasks. The organization is a meticulously planned machine, with volunteers peeling potatoes, cutting bread, opening bottles, setting tables, and taking care of cleaning. Tickets will go on sale today, and the organizers expect that, as in previous years, they will sell out on the same day, with queues forming from early morning.