In the south of Spain, a meeting point illuminates Catholic faithful once a year. It is the sanctuary of White Paloma. This is what is popularly known as Virgin of Rocíopatron saint of Almonte, the municipality where that temple is located.
Towards there – in the Andalusian province of Huelva – a crowd of people walks in a pilgrimage that can last between two and nine daysdepending on the starting point, and which has reached one million people.
“It is a feeling that cannot be explained”said Emilia Blanca Ortega, 25, with a smile on her face. The young Spanish woman alluded to the aforementioned dedication – honored by Marians, those who venerate the Virgin-, whose celebration takes place in Pentecostthe holiday that remembers among Christians the arrival of the Holy Spirit.
Culture and faith
This year the girl traveled more than 500 kilometers to reach El Rocío, the village of Andalusia that during spring in Europe sees the cult figure on its streets. That moment begins with “jumping over the fence”the obstacle that mocks for take out religious icon in procession.
When the Virgin of Rocío She leaves the sanctuary, those around her try to touch her. As you pass, some throw white sand at you. Others even lift their children to reach their height.
«I’m here because of my grandparents. They came since they were little and they instilled that in me,» he told the German channel. DW the young believer, who was wearing a traditional costume.
Far from being the only one in such conditions, the festive aspect is multiplied in the appearances of the attendees. Among them, the colorful flamenco suits – characteristic flamenco dresses – stand out.
The thing is that in this pilgrimage – a trip to a sanctuary out of devotion -, faith is combined with Andalusian culture.
Rocío for Spaniards and the whole world
It talks about Caminos del Rocío because there are several possible routes. Along the way, each sisterhood He participates with songs, a cart pulled by oxen and horses, and of course his insignia.
In Spain there are more than 14,000 registered brotherhoods and brotherhoods, as confirmed by specialists on the website of RTVE.
And it is in these celebrations when more than a hundred of them return to the streetseither from Seville, Cádiz, or from Madrid.
Last year, for example, Almost 130 subsidiary brotherhoods participated -a third of them being from Seville-, a number that is maintained with slight variations.
to the procession even foreigners comedespite the fact that since 2000 only one non-Spanish brotherhood was officially recognized. It is about the Brusselsin Belgium.
Despite the massive devotion to the Virgen del Rocío and the Catholic tradition of Spain, only 30% of young Spaniards believe in a single god. Meanwhile, only 6% attend a religious event once a weekaccording to the Barometer on Religion and Beliefs in Spain.
Still, the “rociero” feeling goes beyond borders. He was recently exalted in the Cathedral of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. There, a couple of days before the first anniversary of the death of the papa Franciscowas held on First Continental Meeting of Rocío in America.
In fact, in the Argentine province of San Juan, as in Santa Fe, there are brotherhoods of this cult. There is also one in the city of Mérida, Venezuela.
