La Gilda, a Movie‑Worthy Pintxo

 

La Gilda, a Movie‑Worthy Pintxo

An olive, a few pickled peppers or piparrak, an anchovy, a toothpick, and a generous drizzle of olive oil that blends with the vinegar from the pickles. That’s how simple and minimalist a gilda is — the quintessential pintxo of the Basque Country. It’s also ‘green, salty, and a little spicy,’ just like the character played by Rita Hayworth in the 1946 film from which it takes its name.

Rita Hayworth as Gilda in the iconic glove‑striptease scene

Film historians say that the premiere of Gilda caused a real scandal, and that the Catholic Church considered the film ‘gravely dangerous,’ especially because of the scene in which the protagonist removes a glove. And amid all the controversy, even people who never set foot in a cinema went to see it.

The impact on the public imagination was so strong that, after watching the film, many men swore up and down that they had witnessed a full nude scene.

Gilda pintxo served in a txikito glass

They say the first gildas began to be prepared more than 70 years ago at Casa Vallés, a bar in Donostia. Back then, wine was drunk from a porrón, and the owner, Blas Vallés, would occasionally bring out pickled peppers, olives, and anchovies — although separately, and depending on the day.

Legend has it that one of the bar’s customers, a certain Txepeta, started combining the three ingredients by skewering them on a toothpick, and christened the creation ‘gilda’. Just like the character played by Rita Hayworth, because — as he said — it was ‘green, salty, and a little spicy’.

The pintxo soon crossed nearby borders, and Bilbao embraced it so wholeheartedly that the city even decorates its streetlights with the Donostia-born snack. The idea won the 2014 ‘Disfraza Bilbao’ contest, a sign of just how beloved the Gilda is in the Biscayan capital.

Photomontage awarded in the ‘Ocurrencias’ contest to decorate buildings in Bilbao

There’s so much written about where to find the best gildas in the Basque Country that choosing just one place feels almost impossible. What do you think? Is there a bar that truly makes the best gildas in the world?