Steamed, in spaghetti, in paellas, in stews, or sautéed with garlic and white wine. This is how clams are enjoyed in Spain, a country where their harvesting (known as marisqueo) creates many jobs, especially in Galicia. In Cuba, although the tradition of eating clams is not deeply rooted, there are paladares that buy them by the pound for between 400 and 500 pesos from fishermen who wade barefoot into coastal areas to gather them. These are shellfish gatherers who engage in a profession that is done entirely by hand.
In Santa Fe (Playa, Havana), fishing is not just a hobby that meets self-consumption needs, as is the case for those who spend their days with a fishing rod, sitting on the Malecón wall. The fishermen from this locality, located to the west of Havana, supply the most exquisite restaurants in the Cuban capital.
Among them are "clam diggers," described as "one of the most challenging professions," according to Cuban blogger JSant TV, who has dedicated one of his YouTube programs to this trade in Santa Fe. He has listened to fishermen share the secrets of their craft: when a storm is imminent, the fish disappear, or that seawater dulls the edge of glass, meaning a broken bottle cuts less than the edge of a clam, which is noticeable on the feet of those who collect them. "The 'cortaítas' are free," says a shellfish collector in the report "The Unknown Clam Diggers of Cuba."
According to this fisherman, his feet are destroyed because he searches for clams barefoot "to feel them." "If you wear shoes, you can't feel them," he insists as he shows the different types of clams he pulls from the sea: the smooth ones, the striped ones, the tiny ones, the ones that look like stones...
The fisherman himself clarifies that he also takes some of his catch for personal consumption, sometimes eating them even raw. However, in these moments, since he is single, he opts to eat them sparingly because he can attest to their "aphrodisiac" properties. "This will make you climb the walls," he adds.
Although the job is tough, the most complicated aspect of collecting clams is "that the paladares don’t ask for them," because "there are always clams, but there aren’t always tourists," says the interviewed fisherman, who regrets that there is no tradition of eating clams in Cuba because, in fact, he sells them at affordable prices, but those who are not familiar with them do not buy them. In contrast, foreigners, in addition to knowing them, appreciate them.
Clam harvesting, which is preferably done during low tide, after midday, requires a lot of physical effort. Every two to three hours, the harvesters manage to gather between two and three pounds of clams, ending the day with a total of 10 to 12 pounds collected in buckets.
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