I had no idea that this evening would turn into one of the most memorable experiences of the year for me.
I definitely do not sing or dance on my own. But I can always bake a cake. So when I was invited to El Gastor’s first international cultural evening, it seemed completely harmless at first. I would bake a cake, chat with a few people and see how the evening unfolded.
This time I was also alone in Spain, as Simon was in Estonia for work. So there was no one to hide behind if necessary. I had absolutely no idea what was really waiting for me.
Since you cannot always find all the familiar ingredients in Spain, creativity came to the rescue. Instead of a traditional Estonian curd cake, I made a ricotta version and decorated it with fresh strawberries.
My small contribution to El Gastor’s first international cultural evening.
Looking back, it turned out to be the right decision, because mine was the only cake in the entire hall – a bright red spot in the middle of long tables.
When I arrived, I discovered something else. The only country without an official name sign was Estonia. I had registered last – just one week before the event! – and the organisers simply hadn’t had time to prepare a sign for us. No problem. I handwrote “ESTONIA” on an A4 sheet of paper and, honestly, I liked it even more.
A few minutes before the hall filled with people.
Arriving early meant I got a good spot, and my Belgian neighbours, Regine and Stefan, helped me arrange the table, introduced me to their friends and provided moral support.
Little by little, the hall started to fill up. Nearly a hundred people attended, most of them local residents. Participants from Argentina, Belgium, France, Austria, Nicaragua, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Estonia were there to introduce their countries and food traditions.
El Gastor’s first international cultural evening brought together people from nine countries.
Then the organiser picked up the microphone. It turned out that each country representative had to introduce themselves and their national dishes. In Spanish.
And, as you might imagine, the representatives from Latin America were wonderfully talkative, which gave me a little extra time to think about what I was going to say.
In the end, I decided that the cake would manage on its own. At that moment, talking about Estonia felt more important. If you only have a few minutes, what do you say about your home country? I chose three things.
- Our love of nature and the important place that forests and bogs hold in our lives.
- Digital Estonia – how much of daily life in Estonia can be managed online with just a few clicks.
- And our Song and Dance Celebration – that special feeling when tens of thousands of people come together to sing and dance as one.
I must admit that AI helped me put my thoughts into Spanish, but I did not read from a script. Was I nervous? Beforehand, yes. But as soon as I had the microphone in my hand, the nerves disappeared. I suppose that comes from my dancing days – once you step onto the stage, you simply have to be present.
And I managed.
Afterwards, people came to talk to me and, interestingly, the question I was asked most often was how long I had been learning Spanish. When I said around two years, I even received compliments.
When it was time for the tasting, my cake disappeared in about ten minutes. Only then did I finally have time to walk around, taste dishes from other countries and simply observe everything happening around me.
And suddenly, one strange thought crossed my mind. How did I end up here? How is it possible that an Estonian woman is standing in a small Andalusian mountain village, speaking about Estonia in Spanish and feeling so proud of it? If someone had predicted this to me a few years ago, I would have found it rather unlikely.
That evening, I drove home with two beautiful feelings – pride in Estonia and a little pride in myself as well.
Evenings like this remind me that the Los Cantos story is also about life’s unexpected turns and the places we could never have imagined ourselves ending up in.
Sometimes all it takes is saying “yes”, baking a strawberry cake and showing up.