TEJAS artesanas elaboradas A MANO por veteranos TEJEROS y su cocción en un horno tradicional

valleys of the isábena and the noguera ribagorzana within the numerous occupations that many of its neighbors have had during this last century is the manufacture of tiles and bricks in the ten kilns located in the surroundings of the town. At the beginning of the decade of the 50s and with the increase in emigration, the trade of tile maker was completely extinguished, today taking advantage of the good state of conservation of one of the furnaces, former tilemakers in the area have been commissioned to manufacture Texas following the same production method that they used in the last batches. Instead of the work of the roofers, it is in the era where, in addition to the house, the firing oven is located . Each batch begins by flattening the era with a cool stone roll dragged by a cavalry in order to smooth and harden the soil to facilitate the laying of the tiles. At the same time that the era is molded, the stones are removed and ash and fine earth are spread so that the mud from the tiles does not stick to the ground. 14 00:01:32.605 --> 00:01:38.155 must be of vein because it leads to the flower and the clay that is obtained is more consistent. The earth is chopped up in winter and is left extended in the mine itself so that the ice can enter it. In this way, when the torrocos break, the earth is ventilated and puffed up. The sharia or sarion is a basketwork gear that, carried in cavalry, allows the earth to be transported back to the era. A quality soil must not contain lime stones that can explode during cooking, making holes in the tiles and its good preparation is essential for a perfect work . Spread on the floor of the era with a jada, grooves are made in the direction of the sun's rays so that the heat penetrates well and roasts it. After an hour of receiving the sun's rays with a flexible mango wood mayo, the torrocos are crushed. Other furrows but in the opposite direction to the sun's rays, new blows in May and so on, the process is repeated up to two or three passes when the earth is dry or from 6 to 8 if it is wet. After drying and drying the earth with the garbíillo, the stones and the small stones that have not been ground are separated. One of the characteristics that a good tile should have was the existence of water near the enclosure and its transport from the ravine to the raft is done with sargadels or argaderas for six jugs. The preparation of the clay also has its little secrets. After pouring the desired amount of water into the basin lined with stone slabs, calculating the work to be carried out, the soil is spread out broadcast and in layers in such a way that it soaks up to cover the volume of the liquid. Normally this operation is done at dusk to let the mud rest and have it prepared the next day. The mixing of the mud is done in the same raft, stepping on it by zones in the amount that is going to be used in that working day. When it is considered to have the necessary quality and thickness, it is piled up in the form of puddings on the ground previously dusted with ash to give it a leash. Stacking the mud is called the work of tearing strips of dough from a pile, to throw them with force next to it, thus getting all the air and bubbles that it may have out. The more times it is passed, the harder and of better quality the mud comes out. 46 00:05:38.935 --> 00:05:42.685 the need to dry the pieces forces him to have a lot of space, preventing him from working on rainy days. The mixture so that the mud does not stick to the table or the ground is made by combining ash extracted from any of the previous batches with double the amount of fine sand poured with a sieve. On the frame or mold previously dusted with the mixture, the tile maker works the clay with a few strokes of his hands until all the corners are filled. The wood scraper allows you to smooth and level the surface of the tile while the corvette provides the curved shape making it easy to transport to the hera for drying. The main function of the mixture is to prevent the mud from sticking to the tools or surfaces in contact with it, for this reason throughout the process it is sprinkled on the table and the tools allowing an easy manipulation of the tiles. To lay the tiles, the floor of the era is previously prepared by soaking it with water. When removing the corvette, the pieces are soft and hollow and must be supported against each other so that they do not flatten. In the flourishing times of this work, between two people, one making tiles and the other laying them, 124 pieces were made in an hour. The port air dries more than the sun, say the old roofers, and in an airy night the entire work can be dried. Once the tiles are made, they are left to air on the esplanade of the era during the necessary days depending on the weather. For the perfect drying of the tiles, after they are flat, they are placed against each other at their widest part and in a special way so that they do not deform or break as they are still soft. By the more or less crystalline noise of one tile rubbing against another, the tile maker knows when the pieces are completely dry. The worst enemy of the roofer is the rain, before the prediction of a downpour the best solution is to collect the eyebrows carefully inside the house and when the time allows it to take them out again so that they finish praying. If due to carelessness or absence the tiles got wet, the mud was put back into the raft to reuse it, sometimes it was necessary to dump the entire work of the whole day twice in a row . The layout of the tiles inside the shed must be very careful so that the largest number of pieces can fit with the maximum security of not breaking. The process of making bricks and tiles is simpler than that of tiles. As with the tiles, the architects prepare the ground by leveling the ash and the earth scattered on the ground with a board . The complementary work to the tiles carried out by the roofers was very varied and was a function of demand. Thus, the partitioning bricks called recholas are made with two-piece molds, the bricks of each view that are thicker are made with a four-piece mold at the same time. The bricks to dress the tile-firing oven, called mahones, are narrower at one end to gain the curve of the oven. The tiles for the bread-baking ovens called tochanas are another of the varieties of tilework along with normal tiles. Shining or polishing the tiles is done one or two hours after the pieces are dried in the sun and consists of passing the reheater over the surface, pouring water to make them finer. Some tiles were incised fan-shaped drawings with the edge of a board or were cut into a triangle for placement. The bundles for fuel are made with scrub and pruning branches, as it is convenient that they make a lot of flame and little embers. Tied with a twisted branch, they are left to dry for a few days and even months before turning on the oven. Normally the weavers gave others this job of making bundles or they bought them from residents of the region who in times of less labor in the field dedicated themselves to their preparation, some made up stairs with a stick that would allow them to access the branches of the trees. For the firing of a tile kiln, between 800 and 1000 bundles of firewood are needed, although the roofers try not to run out of fuel because for lack of 20 bundles in the firing, the entire work can be lost. almuga is the gear used to transport bundles with cavalry from the mountain to the era. The furnace is located next to the era and before wrapping it must be left clean, some holes in the brick structure itself facilitate the passage of fire from the stove or boiler to the furnace. In the vault, which is a construction of brick arches that support the entire structure and load of the kiln, there is room for a standing man. Cleaning is done a few days before it is turned on to remove all the ash from the previous day, earth, tile chips and bricks that have fallen. The ash is kept apart to make the mixture and spread it around the age. The enfornado or filling of the furnace, requires a lot of knowledge for the placement of the tiles, since its good work depends on the final result of the work, the pieces are placed by courses, being the first of bricks to act as a seat or bed, its Laying is done by leaving a separation between the pieces that facilitates the passage of the fire upwards. When there are not enough bricks for firing, already fired pieces are put on to keep the course. A few pieces of broken tiles serve as a wedge between the bricks. The tiles or teulas as they say in cajigar, are placed in a row on top of the bricks, each line is differentiated and complemented by the adjoining one, alternating the wide part of the tiles with the narrow one in order to cover the maximum of space and regulate the rise of fire. Depending on the size of the oven, each course of tiles is made up of 700 or 800 pieces. In the case of an excess of fire, which melts the tiles of the first course, a layer of bricks is placed over them that allows to retain the weight of the pieces that are placed on top without damaging them. In the heyday of the tile trade, when the pieces were well baked and dry, they were placed directly in the oven instead of storing them in the shed, in this way and given the fragility of the pieces, breakage was avoided by reducing the number of transfers. In the subsequent syllables or layers of tiles or bricks, the lines are arranged in the opposite direction to the previous course. To retain and control the fire, the final course has to be superficially leveled either with tiles, bricks or tiles and its closure is done with uncooked rubble that does not let the fire escape to the outside. Normally, and taking into account that cooking lasts between 36 and 40 hours, the oven is turned on at dusk so that its finish coincides with daylight. This trade is not without superstitions and the weavers prevented the firing from coinciding with the change of the moon or any woman with menstruation from approaching the tile or someone throwing an iron into the oven, any of these three factors could spoil all the work. In the first three hours of cooking, the bundles of fuel are added slowly so that the oven warms up without bursting the work. The distribution of the fuel inside the furnace is done homogeneously and so that it produces a lot of flame and little ash, it is necessary to avoid introducing the thick branches . On the other hand, as the bucho or boxwood has many calories, its consumption alternates with the pine branch or holm oak in each of the broths that are baked. Although it is always someone who by experience directs the entire cooking process , the men who add the fuel take turns during the two nights and the day that we have to put branches in the oven. The science of cooking is in giving it the final touch. At dawn after two nights of intense work and when the furnace is giving the last puffs, the tension increases and the risk of losing the entire work is latent, it is time to save the work, the most delicate. While the one in charge controls the arrival of the fire above, those below feed the furnace following their instructions. The arrival of the fire to the upper layer is marked by the rapid ignition of the twigs or leaves that are thrown on the work or by the red color that is appreciated between the cracks, this is the precise moment when the work is cooked and there is You have to pour handfuls of damp earth to cover the holes, closing the shot to the fire and leading it to other exits. The risk of losing the work is present in the tension and expectation of the roofers, an excess of fire could melt the bricks and tiles of the first courses that are red hot, forcing a total stoppage of the process. Once the entire surface of the furnace is closed, the mouth of the stove is closed so that the work slowly cools down. After the 8 or 10 days necessary for the cooling of the work, the oven is misinformed or emptied, it is time to check the result of the long process. The tinkling sound of the pieces is indicative of their good cooking, the best quality being those placed in the lower layers. It is better to pay for crooked than not for raw, the saying goes and it is true because the weavers prefer to spend a little fire in the lower course before the upper one is poorly cooked. This excess of fire, which can be caused by the last two bundles of firewood, is indicated by the lizard skin color of the pieces and by their deformations when supporting the entire weight of the oven while it is red-hot. The lime stones that have been left in the mud also leave their mark on the tiles, piercing them when they cook and explode. However, once the firing process has been passed, the quality and hardness of the tiles does not offer any doubt of resistance. The ribbed shape of the tiles allows them to be placed in rows of pieces with their concave part facing upwards, forming channels to collect rainwater and lead it outside the building alternated with inverted overlapping rows, in such a way that they pour the water over them. .