The beloved and ever-generous Jordi Basté, in this segment—a radio classic that goes far beyond what it might seem—which consists of asking "who will choke on their dog this morning," let his listeners know that it would be those who went to the Castañada at my house who would choke. He was referring to the article I was writing yesterday, In this journal, about my desire for chestnut-eating boredom. Boredom is, for me, now an intellectual necessity. I enjoy going in search of boredom.

Selling chestnuts on the streets of Barcelona is an ancient tradition. By the end of the 18th century, there were over two hundred stalls in the city. Although they are not as numerous now, the tradition continues, and every autumn the city's streets and squares are filled with the warm aroma of chestnuts slowly roasting over an open fire (with more and more pedestrians in short sleeves each year). To make your search for chestnuts and sweet potatoes easier, we offer you a map of the 65 stalls in 2025.

The city is full of strongmen, opportunistic Spider-Men, zombies with plastic teeth, and adults who drag them along by the hand, completely used to it. None of these adults will be making a chestnut roast, because a chestnut roast, of course, needs a fireplace in a rural or semi-rural setting, just as Saint John's Day needs a rooftop terrace, at the very least. A chestnut roast doesn't even include particularly luxurious treats (pumpkin puree), and the associated sweets, panellets, were originally designed for the bitter cold and working in the fields. Stories by the fire? There's no Spotify like on New Year's Eve; no joy like on Saint John's Day; no bullyingEschatology and gratuitous violence, like with the Tió, our star festival. The emblem of the Castañada is the chestnut seller, a woman from another time, from when older women covered their hair with a scarf. I know there are still (women) who do it.

As October 31st approaches, two camps emerge: those who are dying to pull their costumes out of the closet to celebrate Halloween, and those who prefer to stay home eating panellets, chestnuts, and sweet potatoes. In Montcada i Reixac, there are all sorts of people, but it seems the scales tip towards the spooky celebrations: when Halloween arrives, an entire neighborhood transforms into a movie set worthy of... Nightmare on Elm StreetThe houses in the Terra Nostra neighborhood are filled with pumpkins, haunted tunnels, door-to-door screams and sugared almonds, and above all, a chilling atmosphere.

The cook Vador Brugués He explains a "truly simple" recipe, as he insists, for pumpkin and using the oven. The only difficulty is knowing how to cut it, for which you need a good knife, but from then on, the preparation is simple, and the dish becomes ideal as an appetizer or to accompany other dishes. The interesting thing about the recipe is that the chef suggests cooking it with the skin on. For all these reasons, if you get pumpkins, let's roast them, which is the best way to savor autumn.