Euskadi This Week (May 02-08): Top Events and Weekend Plans

Antxua Eguna: tradition, flavour and sea in Getaria

The Antxua Eguna (Anchovy Day) is celebrated every year in Getaria as a tribute to one of the most emblematic products of the Cantabrian Sea: the anchovy. This day was born in 2011 as a local initiative to highlight both the quality of this fish and the work of the fishermen, netters and canneries that form part of the economic and cultural heart of the town. Far from being just a gastronomic festival, Anchovy Day seeks to strengthen the link between Getaria and the sea, and to bring visitors closer to its seafaring roots.

In 2025, the celebrations begin on Friday 2 May with Anchovy Day and extend until Sunday 4, the day on which the Arrantzale Eguna (Fisherman’s Day) is held, bringing to a close a weekend full of tradition, flavour and seafaring culture.

The history of anchovies in Getaria dates back to the end of the 19th century, when Italian salted fish merchants, known as salatori, established themselves in several Basque ports. It was they who introduced salt preservation techniques, transforming the anchovy – which until then had been used as bait – into a delicacy that began to be exported and appreciated both inside and outside the Basque Country. Getaria, with its natural harbour and fishing tradition, soon adopted these methods and developed a powerful canning industry.

Today, during the Antxua Eguna, the streets of the town are filled with music, tastings, demonstrations of seafaring trades and activities that allow visitors to discover how the authentic Cantabrian anchovy is caught, cleaned and processed. But beyond the flavour, what is being celebrated is an identity: that of a town that has always lived facing the sea.