The exhibition opens on 5 December at 7 pm and puts the finishing touch to the gastronomic activities organised by the municipality to commemorate the 25th anniversary of La Vila Gastronómica, a brand created by the Town Council to promote the diverse, original and exquisite local cuisine.
Throughout this year, both residents and visitors have shared activities, competitions and culinary experiences in a privileged setting, thus promoting the enjoyment and dissemination of Vilamuseu's gastronomic wealth.
In this context, December kicks off with the opening of the exhibition ‘Menjars de Terra. González Pomata's gastronomic legacy’ at Vilamuseu, which will be open until 15 April 2026. The exhibition has received the Emporia Silver National Award (2021) for the best staging of a temporary, transportable and travelling exhibition.
It is based on the documentary archive of the reporter González Pomata, consisting of more than 13,000 graphic documents that the family of the INFORMACIÓN reporter donated to the Fundación Mediterráneo upon his death. They represent a collection of incalculable value, as they show the work of thirty years of compiling ethnographic, culinary and cultural knowledge from all over the Alicante region.
This collection, which is kept by Fundación Mediterráneo in its Documentary Archive and has been inventoried and catalogued by the Carmencita Chair of Taste Studies at the University of Alicante, has been turned into an exhibition that faithfully portrays the significant transformations that have taken place in our landscape in just half a century, in our way of working and producing, in crafts and agriculture, in gastronomy, festivals and, ultimately, in our way of life.
The exhibition has been curated by the journalist and food writer Ángeles Ruiz and by the head of artistic heritage at the Fundación Mediterráneo, Mari Carmen Velasco. They have benefited from the scientific advice of the director of the "Cátedra Carmencita of Gastronomic Taste Studies", Josep Bernabeu-Mestre, and professors María Tormo Santamaria and Inés Antón Dayas, the latter of whom has catalogued the legacy. The exhibition design is the work of José Luis Navarro (Cota Cero) and architect Sergi Hernández.
Furthermore, the exhibition is an example of collaborative synergy between institutions, as the work of the "Cátedra Carmencita" and the Fundación Mediterráneo has been joined by that of the Vila Joiosa Town Council, through its Department of Tourism, Vilamuseu and the University of Alicante's campus in La Vila Joiosa.