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Romeria de El Rocio, HUELVA

Take place 31st May 2009, El Rocío - Huelva

The Wednesday before the Sunday of Pentecost, endless processions of swaying floats decorated with flowers come together in the small town of Rocío, 50km away from Seville. Men can be seen wearing tight fitting trousers with loose white shirts with sweat dripping from underneath their wide brimmed hats.

The women with flame-red hair drape their long skirts over the side of the thoroughbred Andalusian horses.
Of all of the Spanish religious festivals, the pilgrimage to Rocío is the biggest and without a doubt the most colourful, emotive and liveliest.

Year after year, the authorities fear this garish grouping might get out of hand. However this is an unfounded worry as these street brawls form part of the fiesta and do not intimidate the pilgrims whose number can reach up to a million.

The pilgrimage attracts not only gypsies from the area but also caravans from all over Spain as well as northern and central Europe.

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For the gypsies this long journey is a return to their nomadic roots. The Rocío also attracts fraternities from towns close to Cádiz, Huelva and Seville.

Some pilgrims travel by foot and others by boat to get to Rocío via the borders of the Natural Park of Doñana. At night they drink, sing and dance in the campsites where flamenco guitars and tambourines liven up the evening. At the end of the journey, the screeching of aquatic birds is drowned out by the crowd in their appreciation for the “Blanca Paloma” , the Virgin of Rocío.

The most important part of the fiesta is between Sunday night and Monday morning: where the dove finally leaves its sanctuary dressed in its elegantly decorated Barroque style collar.