route 8 sar river – banquete de conxo Park

In this forest took place the historic reunion known as the Banquet of Conxo. The Employment Workshop “Youth Ecotur III”, from the Santiago City Council, allowed for the restoration of this space of natural beauty by setting it up for visit, creating a continuous path by the bank of Sar river that joins the Conxo and Sar neighborhoods.
The Banquet of Conxo, also known as the Democratic Banquet of Conxo, was a fraternization meeting between students, workers and artisans that, under the slogan “Order and fraternity”, took place on March 2nd 1856, aligning with the tenth anniversary of the Carral Martyrs. Arising mainly as Aurelio Aguirre’s initiative, it’s believed to have been held in the Belvedere area, next to the Sar river, in an oak forest located behind the Santa María de Conxo Monastery.
Considered one of the foundational events of Galicianism, this meeting caused commotion among the high-class people of Compostela from the very moment it was announced. Two workers and a boss assisted from each trade, all of them invited by students from the University of Santiago. The latter wore tailcoats and served the food to the workers, a gesture that was interpreted by the authorities as a provocation – the students were considered high-class –, which caused the oak grove to be taken by the military and the lunch to be celebrated with the diners surrounded by soldiers for fear of an insurrection.
Among the participants of the banquet stand out Aurelio Aguirre, Eduardo Pondal and Luís Rodríguez Seoane. Other distinguished attendees were Manuel Murguía and Juan Manuel Paz Novoa.