Pilgrimages

Perhaps the most spectacular romeria is the one devoted to the Virgen del Rocío
Perhaps the most spectacular romeria is the one devoted to the Virgen del Rocío, popularly called "El Rocio" for short. © Joaquin Alarcon

Pilgrimages and Romerias

Andalucia is famous for its pilgrimages or "romerías" - so called because pilgrims traditionally walked to Rome, and therefore became known as "romeros" - to popular shrines, around which fiestas are held.

Most villages celebrate their romeria on their saint's day at a local shrine a few miles away - it is a day in the countryside visiting a chapel or a sanctuary. Interestingly it is one of the few fiestas that is celebrated outside the nucleus of the town. The sanctuary is a physical and a spiritual point of reference.

The departure from the town for the sanctuary is a proud public ceremony with all the necessary elements in a certain order. Flags and standards carried are by horsemen, decorated carts, men or women who are serving a penance, then tractors, lorries and all sorts of agricultural vehicles. The municipal band usually provides the music. Firework rockets advise those afar that the romeria has begun.

In the evening the return journey is more low key. Aside from the procession there will be stalls selling local produce and bars and restaurants will open tents in the street. There may well be local traditional bands playing on a small outdoor stage and dancing in the street. Visitor are always welcome especially when seen to be enjoying the festival.  An agenda of events may be published on the  town hall website. The route is rarely published as it is well know to all villagers. Follow the crowds and the rockets. 

Here are some of the more popular or interesting pilgrimages.

EL ROCÍO PILGRIMAGE

Rocio pilgrimage

Rocio pilgrimage

Perhaps the most spectacular romeria is the one devoted to the Virgen del Rocío, popularly called "El Rocio" for short. Nearly a million people from all over Spain and Andalucia make the long journey to gather in the town of El Rocio in the marshlands of the Guadalquivir River delta (south of Almonte), close to Doñana National Park, where the statue of the "Madonna of the Dew" has been worshipped since 1280. The pilgrims come on horseback and in gaily-decorated covered wagons from all over the region, transforming the area into a colourful and noisy party.

The climax of the festival is the weekend before Pentecost Monday. (see dates)In the early hours of the Monday the Virgin is brought out of the church. This remarkable event, where all the hermandades (brotherhoods from different towns and citires) compete to carry the statue, is always shown live on television. More about Rocio

 
La Virgen de la Cabeza

La Virgen de la Cabeza

La Virgen de la Cabeza, Andujar

The Madonna known as La Virgen de la Cabeza is enshrined in a forbidding sanctuary on a cliff overlooking the wild hills of the Sierra Morena, north of the city of Andújar in Jaen Province. The pilgrimage is celebrated on the last Sunday of April. This celebration has its origins in the 13th century, and some half a million people gather to see the Virgin paraded among the forests for over 30 kilometres. The Virgen de la Cabeza in Ronda is also a very popular and picturesque pilgrimage.

Cabra Gypsy Festival

The Cabra Gypsy Festival in the province of Córdoba is a procession to the hermitage of Santa María.

San Isidro

San Isidro takes place on 15 May - as the patron saint of the farmers, this is a very important celebration in Andalucia. Many villages celebrate his day with a procession through the fields and a fiesta, as well as agricultural trade shows. A fine place to see this charming festival is the rural town of Montefrio, in Granada province or Estepona. In Pozoblanco (Cordoba), as bells are rung and drums placed, the faithful pray for departed brothers; at night, figures made by the women of the town are burnt in honour of San Isidro Labrador.

This saint is also honoured with a romeria in Santa Eufemia (Cordoba), with a cart competition and the destination of El Ventorro. Other towns which celebrate San Isidro include Santa Elena in Jaen, and Alameda in Malaga; also, see Villafranca de Cordoba, above. In Cuevas del Campo, in Granada, the fair lasts from 14-17 May, with a Mass and procession on 15 May, the romeria on 16 May, and the blessing of the fields on 17 May. In Jodar, Jaen, it is combined with the Fiestas de Primavera; the romeria takes place on 15 May, to the Ermita de la Fuente Garciez.

The following towns also celebrate San Isidro: Alfarnate, Alfarnatejo, Algatocín, Almogía, Archidona, Ardales, Benamocarra, Cártama, Cuevas Bajas, Cuevas del Becerro, Guaro, Jubrique, Nerja, Periana, Sierra de Yeguas Teba and last, but not least the small village of San Isidro.

The Festival on San Isidro, in the village of San Isidro © Michelle Chaplow .
The Festival on San Isidro, in the village of San Isidro © Michelle Chaplow

El Cristo del Paño

The pilgrimage to the shrine of El Cristo del Paño takes place in the castle town of Moclin, in northern Granada Province, not far from Montefrio. This painting of Christ bearing the cross is believed to heal elderly people of their cataracts (el paño, or the cloth, is the popular name for this condition, which "veils" one´s sight). Touching the painting is also supposed to make childless women fertile, and the miracle is mentioned in Lorca´s tragic play Barren.

The El Rocío pilgrimage is the most famous in the region, attracting nearly a million people from across Andalucia and the entire country, and beyond. Every Andalucian city, town and village has… More →

Andalucia is famous for its pilgrimages or "romerías" - so called because pilgrims traditionally walked to Rome, and therefore became known as "romeros" - to popular shrines, around which fiestas… More →

The “Romería Nacional de los Gitanos”, or National Gypsy Pilgrimage” traditionally takes place the third Sunday in June and attracts not only gypsies, but also “gachos” (non-gypsies). In fact,… More →

One of Andalucia’s most picturesque “romerías” traditionally took place every year in Ronda on a Sunday late in May or early in June. However in late 2016 it was decided to change the date to the… More →

On the 15th May Estepona celebrates the day of its patron saint, San Isidro Labrador (the Farmer), with a procession starting at San José church in the old town and making its way around the… More →

 

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