A Time of Great Activity at the Fairground
Less than 60 years ago, the fairs in Ribadavia were bustling with cattle dealers. Standing out among them was Mr. Xan—known as “O Xaragón”—a dealer from Garabás. He was a man of smooth, engaging talk and a measured gait. He was a personal friend of Amadeo Amil, a *Ribeiro* wine producer with a cellar in Francelos—a man who possessed a devilish temper and an extraordinary, natural intelligence.
Mr. Xan: A Slow Pace, A Firm Resolve
Mr. Xan walked with a slow, yet firm and decisive, stride; he moved with the confidence that comes from years of experience and the long road of life.
He practiced a system of “leasing” cows—entrusting a cow to a neighbor for a set period. The neighbor would care for the animal, and in exchange, they could keep the milk. Once the cow became strong and began producing a good yield of milk, “O Xaragón” would return to swap it for another animal.
The 10th of the Month: Meeting Every Household’s Needs
Mr. Xan frequented every fair in the region, collecting cows in one village and leaving them in another. He would typically bring several cows and oxen to the fairs. On the 10th of each month, people would travel to Ribadavia, heading to the fairground to find the animal best suited to their specific needs. Mr. Xan was usually dressed in a dark grey frock coat and carried a walking stick tipped with an iron goad. He used this tool to guide his cattle, but he would also use it against anyone who stopped him on the road to demand money or raised their voice at him. Though Mr. Xan spoke with a very measured, unhurried tone, he was a man of firm character—and he had an uncanny ability to discern whether someone approached him with good intentions or bad. Whenever he was in the districts of Ribadavia or O Carballiño—specifically when he was in the Ribeiro area—he never missed an opportunity to meet up with his personal friend, Amadeo Amil. Amadeo would often host him at the Casa do Cano in Francelos, where Xan would take the chance to catch a nap or warm his bones with the *brancellao* and *tintilla* wine that Amadeo produced—a wine whose aroma would waft out the moment the tap was opened.
Xaragón’s Clinical Eye
Xaragón was a man who studied people; the moment he laid eyes on someone, he would form a precise idea of their character. A single gesture, a word, the tone of someone’s voice, the way they dressed, or even the way they breathed was enough for Xan to arrive at an accurate assessment of the individual he was dealing with.
One day, while Xan was at Amadeo’s house in Francelos, dusk was falling when a local woman, looking quite distressed, approached the courtyard and called out loudly from the path: “Señor Amadeo, Señor Amadeo…!” Hearing the call, Amadeo asked his youngest daughter to go and see who it was.
The young woman went to check and found Señora Leonisa at the entrance to the courtyard. Amadeo came down from the top of the house stairs to see what the matter was. Señora Leonisa, on the verge of tears and shouting with pent-up rage, addressed him: “Oh, Señor Amadeo—is Señor Xan, ‘Xaragón,’ in there?” To which Amadeo replied, “Yes, he is!” “And so, what happened to you?”
“Oh, Mr. Amadeo—that wretch, that thief, that scoundrel—he brought me a starving cow that had tuberculosis! He told me it gave milk, but I’m sick of feeding and keeping it, and it doesn’t produce a single drop!” Suddenly, Xaragón appeared, standing beside Mr. Amadeo; looking down from the top of the courtyard stairs, he called out to her: “You’re innocent, all right—but you’re crazy!”
And that was the end of the story. Mrs. Leonisa was left suddenly speechless by this pronouncement—a moment where calm prevailed over rage, and composure over agitation. In the end, Mr. Xan agreed to swap the dry cow for a better one, leaving both parties satisfied. And so life went on, with Mr. Xan continuing his chat with Amadeo Amil.