EL ROCÍO, Spain (AP) — After a two-year hiatus forced by the pandemic, tens of thousands of pilgrims, many dressed in multi-level flamenco robes, impeccable riding suits and wide-brimmed Cordoban hats, descended into the small Spanish town. of El Rocío to participate in a colorful and millenary party, the Romería del Rocío or Romería de la Virgen Rocío.
For several days, crowds of people – entire families or teams of friends – make their way through other roads and rural roads, many of them on foot, while others pass by on horseback or in richly decorated horse-drawn carts or caravans, raising clouds of dust in the sunny countryside of southern Andalusia in their wake.
The pilgrimage organized through dozens of “brotherhoods” is a real explosion of colors and festivities. Intoxicating combination of faith and noisy celebration, the taste of dresses, food, drinks and songs are as much components of the feast as devotion to the virgin. Pilgrims eat in the countryside and camp there as well.
The pilgrimage attracts young and old, and the dominant feeling this year is that of the joy of being able to celebrate again an emblematic pilgrimage of Andalusian culture.
“El Rocío is anything that is explained. You have to come here and feel it,” said Antonio Carlos Martin Duque, 15, who was riding a horse.
Antonio Molina Sánchez, 47, a native of the nearby town of Huelva, described the illusion of his circle of relatives to make the pilgrimage after two years of cancellations. “For a circle of relatives like ours who live for this, a circle of relatives rociera – it’s joy. “
Still, the shadow of the COVID virus persisted. ” We are afraid; we have a mask in our wallet (but) feelings don’t let you think, and you walk into the crowd without knowing it,” he said. “We hope that with 3 vaccines and the coverage of the virgin, we will be safe. “
After several days of travel, the pilgrims converge in the small whitewashed hamlet of El Rocío, whose call means morning dew and whose goal is the Sanctuary of the Virgin.
There, on the eve of the one and both Mondays of Pentecost or Pentecost, they take a huge chariot adorned with the effigy of the virgin known as Blanca Paloma and walk it through the city, visiting the major brotherhoods in their respective places. wonderful meetings. squares that line the front of the city. Thousands more people invade the boulevards to attend the procession with its secondary contests and spontaneous parties.
This year’s procession was interrupted several hours after the chariot suffered a structural problem, forcing the government to take the virgin back to its chapel or shrine.
The roots of the Romería de la Romería del Rocío go back centuries when, according to legend, a statue of the Virgin Mary was found by chance on the trunk of a hollowed-out tree near the city of Almonte, to which the town of El Rocío belongs. .
Privacy PolicyTerms of UseSubscribe to our newsletters
Follow