Hamazing! Spanish town smashes world record for most ham-slicing
The town of Sierra de Yeguas, in Malaga, hogged the limelight on Sunday when it smashed the world record for the most people cutting ham legs at once.
The 202 participants came from all around Spain and even as far as Paris to show off their knife skills, beating the previous record of 161 ham cutters.
The cutters each had to slice at least five slivers of ham of between 0.5 and 1.5 millimetres thick in two minutes.
Ten 'ham-azing' things you really need to know about jamón
But there was more to the world record than just hamming up their cutting skills; the cutters were raising money for Manuel Correro, a local man suffering from Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects the body’s connective tissue.
Locals have come together in solidarity with Correro, organizing dances, festivals and jumble sales, among many other events to help the local man since his diagnosis was made public in June.
Over €160,000 has been raised so far, according to María José García, one of the event’s organizers, who told regional newspaper Diario Sur that the money would be used to pay for Correro’s much-needed operation in Germany.
The event was organized by professional ham-cutter, or cortador, Manuel Novoa, who had been trying to break the record for three years.
A participant cutting a slice of ham. Photo: Jorge Guerrero/AFP
And while Spaniards are well-known for their love of jamón, cutting a ham leg is no easy feat. It takes years of practice to achieve the wafer-thin sliver requested by Guinness, so the record attempt attracted some of Spain’s most talented ham cutters, including Spanish champion José Manuel Hidalgo and world-record holder Noe Bonillo.
Bonillo, who holds the "ham-marathon" world record, having cut 30 hams in 30 hours, travelled from Paris to take part.
"It is an honour to participate in this act of solidarity and share it with all my colleagues," Bonillo said, adding that he was "very proud".
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The 202 participants came from all around Spain and even as far as Paris to show off their knife skills, beating the previous record of 161 ham cutters.
The cutters each had to slice at least five slivers of ham of between 0.5 and 1.5 millimetres thick in two minutes.
Ten 'ham-azing' things you really need to know about jamón
But there was more to the world record than just hamming up their cutting skills; the cutters were raising money for Manuel Correro, a local man suffering from Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects the body’s connective tissue.
Locals have come together in solidarity with Correro, organizing dances, festivals and jumble sales, among many other events to help the local man since his diagnosis was made public in June.
Over €160,000 has been raised so far, according to María José García, one of the event’s organizers, who told regional newspaper Diario Sur that the money would be used to pay for Correro’s much-needed operation in Germany.
The event was organized by professional ham-cutter, or cortador, Manuel Novoa, who had been trying to break the record for three years.
A participant cutting a slice of ham. Photo: Jorge Guerrero/AFP
And while Spaniards are well-known for their love of jamón, cutting a ham leg is no easy feat. It takes years of practice to achieve the wafer-thin sliver requested by Guinness, so the record attempt attracted some of Spain’s most talented ham cutters, including Spanish champion José Manuel Hidalgo and world-record holder Noe Bonillo.
Bonillo, who holds the "ham-marathon" world record, having cut 30 hams in 30 hours, travelled from Paris to take part.
"It is an honour to participate in this act of solidarity and share it with all my colleagues," Bonillo said, adding that he was "very proud".
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