Pastiche of El Rocio

A memorable life-changing experience !! It ought to appear in the "50 Things You Should Do before You Die" Books. Click on the link, if you dont want to read the whole blurb. Enjoy !!

saturday Evening/ Sunday Morning !!

We headed back into town about 9.30 pm to get a good vantage point to witness the Virgen coming out of the Ermita. This was far too early really, as our neighbours did not plan to get in until about midnight. We got a good spot, and took it in turns to walk round and enter the Ermita before the big event. We met up with them soon after midnight and watched all the 90 or so Hermanadads parade into the Ermita, each with coloured flares, creating a lot of smoke and adding to the atmosphere. They had kindly brought along a blanket/poncho for Jackie, as it was getting quite cook. The crowds continued to swell as the time for the Virgen to emerge approached, with no-one knowing what time that would be, as this was dependent on the Almonte Hermanadad returning to the Ermita.

At about 3 am, the Virgen emerged from the Ermita in a swirling crush of young men, their sweat turning to steam in the cool night air. The Virgen swayed and dipped in the massive crowd as she zigzagged her way round the square outside the Ermita. We watched from a safe vantage point, but when the crush was over, we mingled with the crowds. After an hour or so, Filipe lead us to some of the big tents away from the crowds, where people were dancing and singing, and then on to a tent, where quite a few gay men (“men who like men “ as Roguilo explained to us) were dancing flamenco. We walked back through the crowds, getting back to camp about 5 am, although the men carrying the Virgen round to each Hermanadad still had another 12 hours to go. All in all, a truly memorable experience !!

May 23rd ~ El Rocio Romeria : Day 3

Sunday dawned hot and sunny again after a humid night. After breakfast with our friends, we headed into town to catch the main open air service, which again was quite a spectacle, both solemn with occasional flamenco music. We perambulated around town for awhile and went to seek out the Fuengirola Hermanadad (our nearest one from Alhaurin), which was located on the outskirts of town, as are most of the newer Brotherhoods. It was a large marquee rather than a brick building, but we didn’t have the nerve to go in. Not wanting to impose on our neighbours again, we had lunch in a nice bar away from the hubbub and crowds of the Centre.

However, on returning to camp about 2pm, we were pressed to have more lunch with them, and of course, the obligatory cocktail of drinks. About 4 pm, we all had a siesta, as it was going to be a very late night !!

saturday Evening

We all headed into town about 7.30 pm, and they took us down some streets we had not been down, savouring the intense atmosphere and crowds. Many families had brought their own horses and traps, and were driving around laughing and singing. Others rode around on horseback, as did some couples and children. Our friends took us for a drink in one of the big squares, insisting on treating us. We returned to camp about 10.30pm, and sat with them for a couple of hours, with the usual drinks and stories, poor old Roguilio having to translate for the others, although much became “lost in translation” the more we all had to drink.

Lunch with our new Friends

On the way back for lunch, Chris bought a replica medallion of the Virgen that each “Romerio” wears. Each Hermanadad has a different coloured rope to wear it round their neck., so Chris bought the Fuengirola one (blue & white stripes), as this is the nearest town to Alhaurin represented at El Rocio. On arrival back at camp for lunch about 2pm, we were grabbed by our nice neighbours, who insisted we had lunch with them. They had cooked up a delicious paella (a Cordoba recipe apparently) with rabbit, and we sat with them and enjoyed the meal and copious amounts of wine, fino and the fiery anise finished off with a dessert of nespera – a kind of cross between an apricot and peach. After the meal, We took the video camera battery down to the campsite, which they had kindly agreed to recharge, even though we were’nt staying there. On returning, they were having a siesta except Roguilo, and sat and chatted with him. We moved the van 5 metres further away from our nasty neighbours, as soiled toilet paper was now appearing near the van.

May 22nd ~ El Rocio Romeria : Day 2

We were up bright and early to another hot sunny day, awakened at 5.30 am by a noisy family making camp next to us, too close for comfort. Once we got up and greeted them, they blanked us and were very unfriendly. Our nice neighbours were also horrified at the rudeness of these people, who were obviously intent on taking the shade from “our” pine tree. Our neighbours were still having breakfast when we planned to head into town, and Filipe insisted Chris had some of his special hooch, a 55% anise spirit from Cordoba, to go with the sugary doughnuts Francois pressed on us. We asked if Roguilo and Filipe could have a word with the new arrivals, and tell them we would move 5 metres away if that would be helpful. Fortified, we headed to the other side of town, where some of the big Hermanadads (Triana and Sanlucar) were arriving from the National Park in their cattle drawn wagons. They were crossing a river about 1 km out of town, which made a good vantage point. We also saw a teenager being “christened” in the river, indicating he was attending El Rocio for the first time.

On the way back for lunch, Chris bought a replica medallion of the Virgen that each “Romerio” wears. Each Hermanadad has a different coloured rope to wear it round their neck., so Chris bought the Fuengirola one (blue & white stripes), as this is the nearest town to Alhaurin represented at El Rocio.

Friday Evening

We then returned into town after dark, when things were even more hectic. At about 10pm, there was a parade of about 30 decorated wagons from Huelva, each pulled by teams of 8 mules and donkeys. Huelva is the main City and Province where El Rocio is situated, and presumably had this honour as host Province. The parade wended its way through the crowds, stopping and starting, with hundreds of outriders on horses. Got back about midnight for more drinks with our hospitable neighbours, Roguilo & Mercedes from Madrid and Filipe & Francoise from Cordoba. Roguilo (Roger) spoke excellent English but the others only spoke Spanish.

Friday afternoon continued

At about 5pm, we walked in to El Rocio (about 20 minutes from our camp) to see some of the Hermanadads arriving. The atmosphere was truly amazing and slightly surreal, with the horsemen and women, decorated holy carts from each Hermanadad, singing, clapping and dancing as each arrived at their building. We walked back about 7pm to cook supper, and our neighbours invited us over for a drink and chat.

Setting the Scene

The village of El Rocio is located in the Doňana National Park, a haven for wildlife, particularly in the Spring and Autumn migrations . Doňana accounts for 125 resident and 125 migratory bird species, including flamingos, herons, egrets, vultures and black kites. The park consists of marismas (marshes) formed by the tributaries of the mighty Rio Guadalquivir. Sand dunes are blown inland at a rate of 6 metres per year, and when the dune sand reaches the marismas, it is washed down to the sea for the cycle to repeated over and over again. This also explains why El Rocio is built on sand, with its wide streets and huge squares. The village has a touch of the Wild West about it, with its sandy streets rutted with the tracks of wagons and carts and hoof prints rather than tyre marks, although vehicles with special passes do drive around with difficulty, sometimes getting “bogged” in the sand.

Its streets are lined with rows of buildings with verandahs ,most of which stand empty during the year. But this is no ghost town, as the houses are all well maintained. Most of them belong to the 90 or so hermandades (brotherhoods) of pilgrim revellers, who converge on El Rocio every Pentecost in one of Europe’s most amazing spectacles.

The Romeria del Rocio

Like most of Spains holiest images, Nuestra Senora del Rocio (the Virgin), also known as La Blanca Paloma (White Dove) has legendary origins. Back in the 13th Century, as the story goes, a hunter from the village of Almonte found the Virgin in a tree in the marismas. Taking the Virgin with him....as one does....., he stopped to doze on the way home, but the Virgin made her own way back to the tree. Before long, a chapel was built on the spot, and Pilgrims were making their way there each year.

In the 17th & 18th Centuries, Hermanadads (Brotherhoods) began forming in nearby towns to make the annual pilgrimage to El Rocio at Pentecost (Whitsun), the seventh weekend after Easter. By 1960, there were 32 Hermanadads, and since then, the Romeria del Rocio has mushroomed into a gigantic festive cult that attracts over 1million people from all over Spain and beyond. There are now well over 90 Hermanadads, some made up of several thousand men and women, and they still travel to El Rocio as they have always done, on foot, on horseback, and in gaily decorated covered wagons pulled by cattle, horses or mules, camping along the way. Those travelling from the East, such as those from Seville (Triana – the gypsy quarter), cross the mighty Rio Guadalquivir at Sanlucar de Barrameda in boats, and then cross the Doňana National Park.

Solemn is the last word you would use for this quintessentially Andalucian event. The people from the Hermanadads dress up in their Andalucian costumes, the men with their smart grey suits with striped trousers and sombrero, and the women in their brightly coloured flamenco dresses. They sing, dance, drink, laugh and romance their way to El Rocio. Hundreds of thousands of “rocieros de fin de semana” converge on the village by every other mode of transport imaginable, pushing the total number up to well over 1 million.

Many of the Hermanadads reach El Rocio on the Friday, but some of the big local ones such as Triana and Sanlucar de Barrameda arrive through the Park on the Saturday. Each pay their respects to the Virgen del Rocio in the Ermita (Church), which takes most of the day. On Sunday, there is an official open air service in one of the main squares, and in the early hours of the Monday, things come to an ecstatic climax, by which time, the senses of over 1 million people have been stretched by at least 40 hours of little sleep and a lot of alcohol.

Young men from the Hermanadad of Almonte, the nearest town to El Rocio, which claims the Virgen as its own, carry her shoulder high from the Ermita and into the waiting crowd. Violent struggles ensue, as members from all the other Hermanadads literally battle with the Almonte lads for the honour of carrying La Paloma Blanca (White Dove/Virgin). With everyone trying to get within touching distance, the crush and chaos is immense and very dangerous, but somehow, good humour prevails. After an hour or so of the “battle”, things quieten down, and the Virgen is carried round to all 90 odd of the Hermanadad buildings, which takes at least 12 hours, with the Virgen finally being returned to the Ermita on Monday afternoon

May 21st ~ El Rocio Romeria : Day 1

Set off for El Rocio about 10 am, hoping to avoid the traffic jams, as over 1 million people attend the Romeria held here at Pentecost each year. In the event, traffic was light, but the van broke down in a traffic queue whist some gaily decorated carts and wagons crossed the road. (This was a reoccurrence of an electrical problem that we had experienced the week before, when the van had had to be put on a tow truck (Grua) and taken to an English garage in Alhaurin to be fixed @ 40 euros. Evidently, they had NOT fixed the problem !!). The Guarda Civil traffic cops arrived in force, shouting and gesticulating for us to move, as we were blocking the only main road into the village. After what seemed an age , probably only 5 minutes, the van restarted, and we continued on to the village, and parked outside the campsite to enquire about availability. To our astonishment, they still had spaces, but the reason soon became clear when handed the pricelist ( 95 euros per night).

On to Plan B – rough camping somewhere, although had been told this was illegal. However, the van wouldn’t start despite repeated efforts, so this was rapidly turning into a disaster. We were not permitted to camp outside the campsite, as it was near the Grua pound for storing the hundreds of cars being towed away for illegally parking in the village. The only option was to call Saga breakdown in the UK, who remembered us from the week before, and had all our details. Peter ....yes on first name terms now...routed us through to Madrid, who very helpfully found us an electrical specialist in Almonte, 13km back up the road. The Grua truck arrived within 20 minutes, and took us to Almonte, where the garage had to open specially (as it 3.30pm and closed for the Siesta). The chap fixed the problem (loose wire in steering wheel dashboard) in about 20 minutes, and charged 38 euros (having seen the Alhaurin bill), but it did’nt matter - we were glad to pay and get back to El Rocio.

The Grua truck driver had earlier pointed out a place just outside the village where it was possible to camp for free, and we headed straight there, and found a nice spot under a pine tree next to 2 Spanish couples, who were very helpful and friendly in advising the best place to park up. Victory had been snatched from the jaws of defeat.

Journey Home ~ May-June 2010

Blog Aide Memoire May – June 2010

This Blog maps our journey home from Alhaurin el Grande, via Spain (South & North), Portugal and France, with odd tales of the unexpected along the way.

May 20th ~ Dos Hermanas, Seville

We had planned to leave for Seville after lunch, but were delayed by the arrival of the Electricity man to transfer the electricity meter from inside the house to a new box on the outside of the house. This is a story in itself, but worthy of the telling another time.

We got away just before 3 pm, and after an uneventful journey, arrived at the campsite in Dos Hermanas (Two Sisters) just South of Seville. The weather was hot and balmy, and we were able to sit out all evening and catch up on e mails and skype calls.