palm leaf

There’s an “open house” spirit that sees friends and families trading visits to celebrate Eid and enjoy traditional delicacies such as ketupat, rice cooked in a palm leaf pouch, and rendang, a meat dish stewed in spices and braised in coconut milk.

“It’s yearlong preparation,” says Paqui Serrano, an artisan palm leaf bouquet-maker in Elche, southeast Spain, the heart of Spain’s palm tree agriculture.

The artisans are responsible for producing all the regalia, from conical hats and huge candles to palm leaf bouquets.

Serrano’s family workshop stretches back over more than four generations and is one of five family-based palm leaf outfits in the city.

Before stepping into their home studio, which is plastered in palm leaf wallpaper and houses a sprawling white sofa, Leggero motions to an outdoor seating area where fellow comedian Todd Barry is seated, wordlessly scrolling through his phone.