Gilda (The Gilda Snack)

The Gilda is a quintessential Spanish appetizer, recognized as the very first 'pintxo' or tapa ever created. Originating in San Sebastián in the 1940s, specifically at the Casa Vallés bar, it was named in honor of Rita Hayworth’s character in the 1946 film Gilda because it is 'salty, green, and a bit spicy.'

The snack consists of a skewer combining an olive, a pickled guindilla pepper, and a salted anchovy fillet. While it is widely manufactured by various Spanish canning and pickled vegetable companies such as Zubia, Aguinamar, or specialized artisan producers in the Basque Country, it remains a generic culinary icon rather than a brand owned by a single corporation. Production is heavily concentrated in northern Spain to ensure the freshness of the Cantabrian anchovies and local peppers.