It was 1993 when the publicist Luis Carballo (Xinzo de Limia, 1938) brought Pelegrín, the Xacobeo mascot, to the world. In 1992 Galicia was recognized and celebrated at the Universal Exhibition in Seville with a project in which the new chefs taught their recipes to the entire world and with the success of this pavilion, the Xacobeo 1993 that was to come was promoted.
Two years before, its creator had decided to sign up for the contest to create this logo and got what any artist wanted, to be remembered.
Pelegrín arrived and triumphed, his image crossed borders and managed to convey the image of joy that its author intended. Carballo explained that conceptually he represented a pilgrim or any person who begins his journey to a sacred place with a devout spirit, but also an explorer, anyone who discovers new paths. A character who is overflowing with sympathy and who is directly related to Santiago de Compostela, inside and outside our borders.
It was presented at the Seville Expo in 1992, where attendees were able to discover its colors: blue, red, yellow and white. Also his wide-brimmed hat and his staff and, of course, his name. This is how the logo went viral and the shops and street stalls were full of pins, t-shirts, cups, towels, balls, pens and endless merchandising products (mostly fake) that made us all have the occasional Pelegrín for House.
And far from thinking that Pelegrín is a thing of the past or something that can only be found in collectors' houses or in nostalgic vintage markets, we have discovered that in the middle of August 2021, in several places in the historic center pitchers are for sale. , again, memories with this design. It has been done by those who have put this image back into circulation, capturing it in sweatshirts, cloth backpacks, different colored t-shirts, polo shirts, mugs, magnets, key chains, pins, bracelets and caps.
With the sale of these authorized products, alarms were also raised about imitations and products that lack the labeling of the registration seal that certifies that it is an official product. So much so that at the beginning of the month twenty stores were inspected and counterfeits were found in five of them. The Xunta de Galicia reported through the Galician Tourist Office that the Xacobeo 2021 and Pelegrín trademarks are registered with the SPTO and that the improper use of them entails sanctions for assuming a serious crime against industrial property.
It is unquestionable that Pelegrín is part of a mascot club that forms part of the collective memory of our country, among which we also find the famous Curro from the aforementioned Seville Expo in 1992, a cheerful bird created by Heinz Edelmann that managed to penetrate all Spaniards based on stuffed animals, figurines and various souvenirs or the beloved Cobi, image of the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games, whose creator was Javier Mariscal who created this puppet with the clear intention of escaping from the "Disney" and betting on a design of an anthropomorphic dog, with pointed ears and a lopsided nose.
There have been several attempts to retire Pelegrín, such as the appearance of Xubi in 2010, the mascot that the Ad Sanctum Iacobum Peregrinatio Foundation would create and whose authorship belongs to the Galician designer Alberte Permuy. Unfortunately, and despite the fact that Xubi appeared in stories, clothing and games, he failed to penetrate the public.
