The El Rocío pilgrimage is for the 13th century statue of the Virgen Del Rocio (Virgin of the Dew). The story of the statue is in the 13th century a hunter from the village of Villamanrique discovered a statue of the Virgin Mary in a tree trunk in what is now the Doñana National Park. A chapel was built where the tree stood, and it became a place of pilgrimage. The devotion for this version of the Virgin was originally only locally known, but by the 19th century it had spread to the hermandades (brotherhoods) coming from all over Huelva, Cadiz, and Seville. The journey could take up to four days. Each town will send a group of pilgrims, known as rocieros, accompanied by their own virgin on her simpecado (float) pulled with horses. The pilgrims all wear native Andalusian attire. For men, this is a broad-brimmed hat and the traje corto which is a grey or brown suit and tall black boots. The women wear a flamenco dress in a slightly fuller style than the fitted Feria dresses. The pilgrimage takes place over the weekend before Pentecost Monday in May or June.
No comments:
Post a Comment