Xinzo de Limia
This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(February 2022) |
Xinzo de Limia | |
---|---|
Town andmunicipality | |
Nickname: Xinzo | |
Situation ofXinzo de LimiawithinGalicia | |
Coordinates:42°03′39″N7°43′24″W/ 42.06083°N 7.72333°W | |
Country | ![]() |
Autonomous community | ![]() |
Province | ![]() |
Comarca | A Limia |
Government | |
• Alcalde (Mayor) | Elvira Lama (PSOE) |
Population (2018)[1] | |
• Total | 9,836 |
Time zone | UTC+1(CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2(CET) |
Website | xinzodelimia.es |
Xinzo de Limiais a town andmunicipalityin the province ofOurense,in the autonomous community ofGalicia,Spain.It belongs to thecomarcaofA Limia.It lies on the importantAutovia das Rias Baixasin the fertile valley ofAntela,approximately 33 km fromVerínand 43 km fromOurense.TheLímia(Lima inPortuguese) river passes through the town on its way south towards the Portuguese border.
Xinzo is a town of services and an important stopping point on the mainVigo-Madridhighway. There are several small industries, including aglassfactory, and manypig,cowanddairyfarmsin the surrounding area. The drained lakebed of Antela, once Spain's largestfreshwaterlakeuntil the 1950s, producescereals,hay,and especiallypotatoes.Xinzo is in fact one of Spain's largest producers of potatoes.
There is a legend connected to Xinzo. Several classical authors of antiquity reproduce the myth of the loss of memory connected to crossing the Límia River, referred by them as Lethes or Oblivionis (compare the riverLetheofGreek mythology). In 138 BC theRomanchieftainDecimus Junius Brutusput an end to the myth told by the Galicians when, on crossing the river, he began to call each one of his legionnaires by their names from the opposite bank. That historical fact has been now represented in an historical party calledFesta do Esquecemento.Seeing the Límia today it is difficult to imagine this tiny river provoking such a fear.
Xinzo has few monuments but is famous for hosting one of Galicia's most typicalcarnivals.The characteristic figure is thepantalla,which symbolizes the devil. Thepantallais the guardian of thecarnival,and runs through the streets in groups of two or three with two swollenpig bladdersin the hands making huge noise. If thepantallasfinds a male relative or neighbour of Xinzo de Limia not dressed with carnival clothes, they will take him into a bar, to pay the fee for not been dressed properly, which is a glass of wine.
Demography
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/t1x5dfz6h857mrdb62y5hfbu3vgmccc.png)
Notable people
[edit]- Carmen Agulló Díaz(born 1957), tenured professor, non-fiction author
References
[edit]- ^Municipal Register of Spain 2018.National Statistics Institute.
- ^"IGE. Táboas".ige.eu(in Galician).Retrieved11 October2017.