Legacy
History of a family dedicated to “calentitos” for more than a century and a half.
La Carolina, Jaén. One night at the end of the 19th century, Miguel Ruíz, a buñolero like his father and his grandfather since 1860, returned to carry the ladder to fulfil his dream of love with Ramona. The night watchman had warned the father, who caught him climbing onto the balcony. That night, as the father and Miguel finally agreed to marry, she fell asleep, not yet 15 years old.
Ramona learned the trade and raised 6 children, and after the untimely death of her husband this matriarch moved to 2 rooms in the Cortijo Maestro Escuela in Seville. She excelled in the guild of buñoleros, made up mostly of men, until she retired at the age of 75.
His brother Julián also learnt the trade, and together with his wife María rented these premises in the Puerta de la Carne which, like all stalls at the time, was used to store the necessary tools; pans, stoves, pans and raw materials, as work was always done at the street door until the application of the regulations for the extraction of fumes prohibited doing so in the public thoroughfare.
As in Seville churros are called “calentitos”, in the family they called “calenteria” or “puesto de calentitos” to all the provisional premises or installations. For this reason, in 1987 we adopted the commercial name of CALENTERÍA, being the first ones in Seville to call this type of business this way.
Ramona’s children; Carmen, Ana, Pepa, Adela, Sebastián, and Maria, her grandchildren and other relatives, formed a clan around her where spouses, relatives and other families were grouped together.
Their daughter Carmen, married to Juan Gago, had 5 children; Remedios, Carmen, Miguel, and Juan, who were all lifelong heaters. The last two made the industry evolve from the old fritters, through the syringe or mould to the manual and finally mechanised machinery.
Until the 70’s, during the April Fair, the buñoleros came from Ronda. In the 80’s, thanks to modern machines, the calentitos became popular due to their quick elaboration.
These modest lines serve to pay a grateful tribute to all these people who left us this legacy and put their constant effort in elaborating every day the favourite breakfast of their distinguished clientele.
