Abelardo Barcala, winner of two Camelias de Ouro: "The camellia is a tough flower; it withstands a lot."

The manor of Rubiáns has a garden full of camellias. Perhaps due to the influence of the grand house, the passion for these flowers gradually spread among the inhabitants of that Vilagarcía parish. Nowadays, it is rare to find a house without at least one camellia. As many as 2,200! That is the number of plants that Abelardo, who introduces himself as a proud "village boy," takes care of in his garden. Also as "a sick person —not in a bad way— of this camellia." The flower gradually seduced him. "My family took care of the garden of a family here who had camellias, and the lady in fact already went to exhibitions. As my father liked them, she gave him some plants and that's how he started his collection," Abelardo recounts. He moved among camellias from a young age and later, as he grew older, began to accompany his father to exhibitions to lend a hand. But he did this work without conviction: the camellia, without being alien to him, was also not anything special for him. What he ...