Marcial Castro, the history of an entrepreneurial family from Guijuelo

Dedication to Iberian products through five generations

Our history dates back more than 100 years, when our forefathers were forced to leave Guijuelo, an area with poor production for farming and livestock.

The beginnings were centred on the exchange of raw materials, principally trading fat for ham (in former times, pig fat was highly prized because of its high calorie content).

At the outset, trade was focussed on barter in the Sierra de Salamanca. Later on, it moved south, to the region known as Comarca de la Vera. Further north, it extended to the provinces of León, Zamora and southern Galicia.

After several decades, the railway reached the area and the definitive leap was made: Iberian pigs were transported by train from the pastures of Extremadura and Andalusia to be slaughtered in Guijuelo.

At the start of the 1980s, the Marcial Castro brand made its first appearance, with a clear objective in mind: the highest quality, with meticulous control of each and every one of the processes: from the rearing of the animal, its slaughter, cutting and manufacturing of all the products.

It is the history of a family of entrepreneurs which has adapted to modern times. Nowadays, the brothers Manuel and Javier Castro, with the family matriarch Clotilde Sánchez, direct the strategy of this 100-year old brand towards international expansion.