Two Stars

 

How can I put this?  It’s roads and views today.  It is grand.  I mean, I appreciate the huge open spaces but, well, there is not much more to say of it.  So, today, famous people from la Rioja.

Peter Hard. [the google translate of Pedro Duro.  

Duro was born in Brieva de Cameros, La Rioja, and he died in the Principality of Asturias in 1886. He married Dolories Ortiz.  He began construction on the Felguera Factory in 1857; a metallurgical factory that became the most important in Spain in the 19th century, and through the 20th century until the 1960s. It was the first major ironworks that were constructed in Spain. His descendants were created Marquesses of La Felguera by King Alfonso XIII. In addition, Duro was awarded the Order of Isabella the Catholic and the Légion d'honneur from the French government. He was buried in La Felguera, where the workers of his factory raised a big monument. He was also a pioneer in social measures for workers. His work motivated, in addition, industrial expansion in the north of Spain. Today the company that he created is called "Duro Felguera" and it has been traded on the Spanish stock exchange since 1902.

Dominic of Silos

Born in Cañas, La Rioja, to a family of peasants, he worked as a shepherd before becoming a Benedictine monk at the Monasteries of San Millán de la Cogolla. He was ordained a priest and soon became master of novices and then prior, before being driven out with two of his fellow monks by King García Sánchez III of Navarre, for opposing his intention to annex the monastery's lands.

Under the protection of King Ferdinand I of León, in 1041 they found refuge in the town of Silos at the decaying Abbey of St. Sebastian, occupied by only six monks. (After his death, both the monastery and the town were renamed for him.) Dominic was appointed as the abbot of the community and, inspired by the reforms of Cluny, proceeded to rebuild the monastery, both spiritually and physically. He built the cloisters in the Romanesque style, and established a scriptorium, turning the monastery into a center of book design, scholarship, and significant charity made possible through the proceeds of the gold and silver workshop. Dominic became known for works of healing. The monastery became one of the centers of the Mozarabic liturgy, and also preserved the Visigothic script of ancient Spain.

Wealthy patrons endowed the monastery, and Dominic raised funds to ransom Christians taken prisoner by the Moors. By the time of his death, on 20 December 1073, the monastery numbered forty monks, Dominic's relics were translated to the monastery church on 5th January 1076. Churches and monasteries were dedicated to him as early as 1085. His annual feast day is celebrated on 20th December

Marisa Sánchez Echaurren

Born in Ezcaray, La Rioja, on 2nd January 1933, Marisa Sánchez led the fourth generation of the restaurateur family that owns the nowadays known as Hotel Echaurren Gastronómico. According to the parish archives of Ezcaray, as early as 1698 an inn was located in front of the church that offered lodging and stables. In 1861, Pedro Echaurren and Andrea García, grandparents of Marisa, acquired the sale and transformed it into Hostal Echaurren.

She learned the art of cooking with his great aunt and teacher of Ezcaray, Andrea Garcia, his aunt Cristina García and his mother, Julia García. Among her most famous dishes is the croquette, praised by the public and critics, but also other preparations such as monkfish with clams, fish soup from Echaurren, pochas a la riojana with tomato fry, "grandmother's meatballs", Hake with the romana, the lamb legs or the corns with calf snouts.

Her work began to be recognized by critics and institutions in the eighties. The first to include Marisa Sánchez in the gastronomic map of the critics were Xavier Domingo and Rafael Ansón. He was the mother of Francis Paniego, Spanish chef with two Michellin Stars.