Reviving the Spanish tradition of charlas al fresco

“We all bring chairs into the street to spend time with our friends and neighbours. It’s been happening as long as anyone can remember.” José Carlos Sánchez, Mayor of Algar, Spain.

In 2021 a small Spanish village decided to seek UNESCO recognition for the tradition of ‘charlas al fresco‘, which means ‘outdoor chats’.

It might be a Mediterranean tradition, but charlas al fresco has also made its way to the UK. In Brighton, East Sussex, the tradition has been revived a few times over the last couple of decades. It encouraged local people in areas of the city like Hanover and the North Laine, where the streets are narrow and relatively quiet, to drag their living room furniture outdoors onto the pavement in the evenings to relax and chat outdoors with neighbours.

As anybody involved will tell you, it was a lovely thing to do. It sealed friendships and created new ones, built a stronger sense of community, and encouraged respect and understanding between people who might otherwise never have met.

We can appreciate the idea, since our products all feed into the trend for socialising outdoors, something that’s become even more important and enjoyable since the pandemic kicked off. So what’s it all about, and why all the fuss? As it turns out, it’s a fascinating story.

Charlas al fresco is back in Algar, Spain

The Major of the small Spanish village of Algar, José Carlos Sánchez, announced the idea of reviving the old tradition of charlas al fresco on the local government’s Facebook page. He has always loved it, saying, “There are days when I pass by after work, sit down and we catch up. It’s the most beautiful moment of the day.” In a time when social media is having a dramatic impact on the tradition, no wonder he was encouraged to revive it via a bid for World Heritage status.

Algar’s Sol street is steep, including a whopping 124 steps. Thirty years ago José Ibáñez, now aged 81, remembers how every single step was crammed with people chatting and playing bingo. He recalls it as a great time. He and his wife rarely missed an evening’s chat outdoors. They were out there as the sun set, stayed out until dinner time, then came back outside again at midnight. Sadly, last time it happened, only four young people joined Jose and his wife.

When and where did it originate?

While it’s a challenge to trace the origin of charlas al fresco, the anthropologist Gema Carrera believes it started life as a way to stay cool in the evenings in a sociable way. Another expert, Isidoro Moreno, is a professor of anthropology at the University of Seville. In her opinion it was a “spontaneous get-together with neighbours after dinner in times before television and air conditioning.” Either way it isn’t unique to the Spanish village of Algar, it’s linked to the leisurely rural lifestyle in Spain and beyond. It turns up in some Spanish cities. And third anthropologist, Eva Cote, suggests it’s a wider Mediterranean tradition, also a thing in southern Italy and Greece.

Will Algar’s outdoor chats win World Heritage status?

Algar, which sits high in the mountains of Cádiz, wants outdoor chat to be officially recognised as a cultural treasure. Others say it isn’t a good idea since charlas al fresco isn’t a regional custom, it’s wider spread than that. The Mayor feels that because chatting outdoors is everyone’s heritage, he wouldn’t mind sharing the glory.

So far the town council has sent a formal request to Andalusia’s culture department, the first step to World Heritage status. It could easily take years to decide. There’s a raft of essentials including detailed anthropological reports, public support and institutional support to tackle first. If all that goes as planned the idea will be proposed to UNESCO. Then it’ll have to compete with a multitude of other festivals, customs and rites from across Spain, including the local Carnival of Cádiz.

The sad decline of charlas al fresco

Anthropologist Eva Cote thinks clarlas al fresco began its slow decline in the early 1970s, thanks to new urban development. When flats replaces one-story homes and terraces, people had nowhere outside to meet. In Algar it took a lot longer, thanks to young people moving to the cities and fears about security, which meant more people kept their doors firmly shut.

The major of Algar says plenty of locals in some neighbourhoods still gather outdoors in the old way. He also thinks recognition by UNESCO could help revive the custom and inspire young people. As he says, “It is a time they can tell each other about their day – it’s almost therapeutic.”

Let’s leave the last word to Olga and Celia Lobato, who are in their twenties. As the only young people, along with their partners, sitting out on the steps on Sol street they had a lot of things to chat about. As Olga says, “We all know each other really well. We are united but we also criticize each other. The truth is it’s more entertaining than the social networks.”

Will you start charlas al fresco in your street?

It’s not possible when you live on a busy road with narrow pavements. But if you have a wide enough pavement, a row of front gardens or a communal space on your street, would you think about bringing the charlas al fresco custom home to the UK?

With climate change on the ram[age, it might not be that long before we’ll all enjoy taking some time in the cool of the evenings to talk to friends and neighbours outdoors.

The perfect garden furniture sets for alfresco chats

So you’ve decided to take your furniture outdoors and enjoy chats with your neighbours of a summer evening? This is what you need. Our bistro sets are small enough to use in a street setting, made to be outside, and they look great. Check out the Florenity Galaxy Bistro Set, for example. Nice?