Alfonso Ussía was chairman in the XXX Bembibre’s Botillo Festival, which was held on February 2nd, 2002. Linked with El Bierzo thanks to his family (specifically, with the city of Ponferrada), this writer and journalist from Madrid began to emerge very young. Actually almost learned to read self-taught. His first job was in the Documentation [...]

Luis María Anson Oliart (Madrid, February 8th, 1935) is a Spanish politician, journalist and writer. Member of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) since 1998. Ansón was chairman at the XXIX Bembibre’s Botillo Festival held on February 17th, 2001. He chaired the EFE press agency and later he directed the newspaper ABC until 1997. He founded [...]

Valentín García Yebra, born in Ponferrada, was mantenedor (chairman) of Bembibre’s National Festival for the Exaltation of Botillo on the year 2000, the 28th edition. He was a member of the Real Academia de Lengua since January 27, 1985 with a speech on "Translation and enrichment of the translator's language." García Yebra studied Philosophy and [...]

From Galicia (Monforte de Lemos, 1953), but with a soul from el Bierzo, the TV José Manuel Parada was one of the mantenedores who was in charge of proclaiming the virtues of Botillo in 1999.

Francisco Javier Delgado Barrio (Barbastro, Huesca, October 21th, 1932) is a Spanish jurist who became president of the Spanish Supreme Court and the General Council of the Spanish judicial authority in 1996. He is an expert on the jurisdiction of the administrative courts. for his openness and willingness to engage in dialogue, he managed to [...]

The 25th edition of Bembibre’s National Festival for the Exaltation of Botillo had two mantenedores. Yolanda Ordás and Ignacio Linares, speakers from Ponferrada Radio that focused their speech on the search for the philosopher's stone of the delicacy. Yolanda Ordás began her career in radio in 1957, at School Station number 29 of the Youth [...]

Feliciano Fidalgo, from Tremor de Abajo, was mantenedor (chairman) of Bembibre’s National Festival for the Exaltation of Botillo on its XXIV edition in 1996. Journalist and correspondent abroad (in France), fundamentally linked to the newspaper El País. Both France and, very specifically, Paris, did not go unnoticed in the speech he gave in the central [...]

The Galician journalist Fernando Ónega (Mosteiro, Lugo) was chairman of the XXIII Bembibre’s Botillo Festival on February 18th, 1995. Ónega started as press director of the President of the Government of Spain, Adolfo Suárez. He was author of a good deal of the president speeches. Among them, the well know “I can promise and I [...]

In 1994, Bembibre’s National Festival for the Exaltation of Botillo had as mantenedor the president of the Government of Castilla y León, Juan José Lucas. Lawyer, teacher and politician from El Burgo de Osma (Soria). He was elected for the Government of Castilla y León the 4th July 1991 for the regional elections of that [...]

Victoriano Crémer Alonso was mantenedor in 1993. Poet and writer, he lived almost all his life in León. During his youth, he worked as a newspaper salesman, an apothecary boy, a printer, an announcer and even an underground journalist. He published his first poem at the age of 16 in the weekly Crónica de León. [...]