TWO giant pumpkins with a combined weight of more than a tonne and a half have helped a small Murcia town raise €3,700 for the fight against cancer.
The giants, Luisa Maria, weighing 720kg, and Lula, at 811kg, were the star attractions at the ‘Dale Calabazas al Cancer’ event in Abaran on Saturday, October 24.
The name is a play on the Spanish idiom for giving someone the brush-off, and translates roughly as ‘Give cancer the pumpkin’.
Now in its fourth year, the event was organised by local man Antonio Moreno, known as ‘El Cura’, and drew crowds of neighbours to the atrium of the church of San Pablo.
All the money raised through raffles, the bar and other activities went to the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC).
The day included an emotional tribute to Luisa Maria Fernandez Carrasco, whose memory is linked to the pumpkin that bears her name.
The other giant has its own story. Lula came from Marchamalo, in Guadalajara, and was donated by its growers, El Huerto de Carlos, after finishing second at the International Giant Pumpkin Contest in Valtierra, Navarra.
Growers Carlos Panadero and Leticia Teso named their two giant pumpkins after the couple’s pets. Lula’s name carries extra weight, because the dog it honours died while the pumpkin was growing.
The couple had to choose which of the two to enter in the contest. Their other giant, Trufa, weighed in at 711kg, but they backed Lula, which tipped the scales a full 100kg heavier.
Growing a pumpkin that size takes months of care: Lula started life in a small greenhouse at the end of March, sheltered from the spring cold.
Not bad for a grower who only took up giant pumpkins three years ago after watching a video on social media. His first attempt weighed just 88kg
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