My first time working in the vintage at age 20: “The second day was killer, but then the body gets used”
The young Valladolid Adrián Rodríguez participates this year in the grape collection campaign in the province.
If anything characterizes September in the fields of Valladolid is the harvest. The province is in the middle of this year’s grape harvest, a crop marked by drought and heat waves that have followed throughout the summer. For the accomplishment of this task, many hands and much effort are necessary. Every September, the harvest in Valladolid and other provinces gives work to numerous people looking to earn extra money. But not all arrive on the last day of collection, as some leave work after several days. Others endure until the end, and not only that, but they return the following year. Despite the effort, in the end everything has its reward, although some harvesters agree that it should be a better paid job.
At 20 years old, Adrián Rodríguez works for the first time in the harvest these days. The young man, coming from the town of Mayorga de Campos in Valladolid, does this work kilometers away, in vineyards located in Cigales, and recognizes that “it is a very physical work. The first days were more tired, the second day was killer, with back pain and stiffness, but then the body gets used and you’re doing pretty well”. The effort involved in the harvest is undeniable.
SOURCE: ELESPANOL.COM