Saturday 4 June 2011

Romeria del Rocio passing through Granada...

On our last night in Cordoba R. and I were aware of something on the go...lots of Spanish women dressed up in traditional flamenco-style outfits and men in smart clothes with traditional hats. I tried to ask a local what it was all about, but only managed to make "festival" and "Seville".

So, this morning I headed out along the Gran Via Colon and noticed a whole line of decorated caravans attached to tractors lining the main street. Again, I tried to get some infor from a local, but with no luck. As I approached the end of the Gran Via and the main center of Granada, I noticed that the crowd had swelled and there were loads of women and children dressed in flamenco-style outfits. There were also men and boys on horse back everywhere.

As I stood at the Plaza Nueve, the horsemen drew into formation and began to move down the main street in procession. The whole atmosphere was very festive...but I still had no idea what I was witnessing!

Back at the hotel this afternoon, I turned to trusty Google and I discovered that today's procession had been part of the Romeria del Rocio, a major Spanish festival that takes place in the marshes at the mouth of the Rio Guadalquivir at the town of Almonte near Seville. It is a festival in honour of the Virgen Del Rocio who has been celebrated at this place for almost 800 years. The festival has been held on the fiftieth day after Easter Sunday since 1758 and today involves nearly a million people making the pilgrimage to the site:

"The pilgrimage is a pretty traditional affair. Hundreds of "brotherhoods" from the surrounding villages and towns organise the processions that all end up in Almonte. Travellers (or "romeros") come from all over Andalucia on foot, on horseback or by cart. No motorised vehicles are allowed. Most of these pilgrims wear traditional clothes, women in bright gypsy-inspired flamenco dresses and men in the unique wide-brimmed "bolero" hats and short-cropped jackets associated with Andalusia. As they get closer to Almonte, the pilgrims camp out in the fields and forests of the surrounding Donana National Park.

All the romeros arrive in the village of Almonte just before dawn, and then the festivities really kick into gear. Accompanied by tambourines, flutes and guitars, the entire group strolls across the broad plains to the El Rocio shrine in the nearby marshes. Almonte's elite "Hermandad Matriz" brotherhood carries along a large silver shrine that contains an effigy of the Virgen. The sound of firecrackers fills the air as the crowds cry "Viva la Reina de la Marisma" ("Long live the Queen of the Marshes"). Once everyone arrives at the shrine, mass is recited and the Virgen is paraded around the dusty fields for several more hours.

For the next couple of days, the scene at El Rocio resembles a makeshift camp-out, a carnival, and a family reunion all at the same time. The crowds sing traditional songs and dance together in the fields. Snacks of tortilla, jamon, prawns and fried peppers are sold along with plenty of local wine and sherry. First-time pilgrims "baptise" themselves by dipping their hats in water and dousing themselves. In a day or so, the crowds will disperse and the fields of El Rocio will become quiet again."

While I won't make the trek to Almonte, it was great fun to catch a glimpse of this aspect of Spanish culture.