Feel the true spirit of El Roco, the mixture of inseparable sensations: joy, songs

and the fiesta atmosphere, offset by tears, sighs, silence, promises and the open
expression of emotion,... Endless processions of canvas-covered coaches adorned with
flowers await the pilgrims in the village of El Roco. The greatest pilgrimage in
Spain is a riot of colour and joy.
The El Roco 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 its own pilgrimages. However, the El Rocio has cult status, and it is the most
important and most colourful.

The History of El Rocio

This cult dates back to the 13th century, when a hunter from the village of Villamanrique (or
Almonte, depending on which version of the story you follow) discovered a statue of the Virgin
Mary in a tree trunk in the Doana park. A chapel was built where the tree stood, and it
became a place of pilgrimage. Devotion to this particular version of the Virgin was initially a
local affair. Then, by the 17th century, hermandades (brotherhoods) were making the trip
from nearby towns at Pentecost; by the 19th century, they came from all over Huelva, Cadiz
and Seville, on a journey taking up to four days. Over the next century, the cult of the Virgin
del Rocio became more and more widespread, and these days participants come from as far
away as Barcelona and the Canary Islands - not to mention tourists who travel from abroad,
around Europe and even further afield.

What, where and when is it?

The object of the pilgrimage is a 13th-century statue of the Virgen Del Rocio (Virgin of the
Dew), in the town of the same name. El Rocio is in Huelva province, in the heart of the
Doana park, between Almonte and the coast. Most pilgrims, known as rocieros, approach the
town through the park itself.
The town of El Roco is a sprawling, pretty Wild-West-style place (you tie your horse to a
wooden rail with a sign saying "Reservado Caballos" - reserved for horses - while you have a
drink or a meal), with sandy, unpaved roads. For a few days in late May or early June, Catholic
hermandades (brotherhoods) and countless others flock from all over Andalucia, Spain, and
beyond, to the town, to pay tribute to the Virgin del Roci, housed in her own church in the
town.
Until the 1950s the town had only a few houses, and everyone camped in their wagons. Now,
each of the 90 or so brotherhoods has its own house with stables, as well as its own chapel,
with its name displayed at the front. Its members and their friends and families, and their
horses, eat and sleep here during the pilgrimage weekend. People bring mattresses and bed
down anywhere they can. There are impromptu parties, open-air masses, horse races and
competitions between the hermandades. And lots of singing and dancing, at all hours of the
day and night. These brotherhoods also stay at their houses at weekends throughout the year,
with their families in tow, making each visit into a big fiesta.
The pilgrimage takes place over the weekend before Pentecost Monday, the seventh weekend
after Easter. People start arriving on the Friday before, and leave again on Tuesday. Beware of
heavy traffic going to El Rocio (on the Seville-Huelva motorway, and the minor roads in the
area) the week before, and leaving again the week after. The actual pilgrims don't travel on
the motorway itself, but follow a route which sometimes goes alongside it - the queue of
horses and wagons, surrounded by clouds of dust snakes back for miles.

How do they get there and what happens on the way?

Every late May, or early June, in villages and cities across Andalucia (especially the western
part), you can see the locals gear up their covered wagons and wear their traditional
Andalucian clothing - broad-brimmed hats and traje corto for men (grey, brown or black
trousers, often with Western-style leather chaps, and boots), and colourful flamenco dresses
for women .
Some still make the journey the traditional way, on horseback, or in picturesque gypsy-style
covered wagons (reminiscent of the Wild West), adorned with flowers (either real or imitation),
with curtains tied back, offering a glimpse of the interior. These are pulled by pairs of oxen
with bells hanging round their necks. It is a spectacular sight - one not to be missed if you are
in the area (especially Western Andalucia) that week. In Seville, for example, groups of horseriders (men are called jinetes, women amazonas) and processions of gypsy caravans from the
Seville brotherhoods, gather by the cathedral on the Wednesday morning before, as they
prepare to set off on their pilgrimage to El Rocio. They return the following Wednesday. Other
hermandades leave from all over Andalucia, earlier in the week.
People also travel in big trailers pulled by tractors, ideally with shade as it can get very hot, as
well as lots of food and drink. The rocieros sit on benches along the sides of the trailers,
including many children who go on the pilgrimage every year. The more practical and
comfortable, though less attractive, option is a big white caravan, with the same curved roof
as the traditional models, complete with air-con and running water. This is pulled by a 4x4, as
the route takes rocieros through the Doana park, including several river crossings, so a
tough vehicle is essential.Everyone sings rocieras (flamenco-style songs about the pilgrimage)
as they travel, and again at night around the campfire when the hermandades have stopped
to eat, drink and dance and make merry, accompanied by plenty of wine. It is alleged by some
that the annual baby boom which happens nine months after El Rocio always includes
offspring produced as a result of extra-marital dalliances.
To reach the shrine, pilgrims must cross part of the Doana park, which is a protected area full
of rare wildlife, including the famous lynx wild boar, horses, and many water birds on the
marisma (wetlands) such as flamingos, herons, storks and egrets. Law enforcement is well
organised, with Guardia Civil and others working hard not only to keep order, but also to
protect the environment. Volunteers follow the rocieros to collect the thousands of kilos of
rubbish left behind.

What happens when the Virgin makes her appearance?

The most exciting moment of all is the salto (leap), when the people of the nearby town of Almonte enter the shrine,
leaping over the railings, and lead their Virgin in procession through the village.
In the early hours of Pentecost Monday, the Virgin is brought out of her church by the
Almonte hermandad, who claim her as their own. A tussle ensues between the various other
brotherhoods for the honour of carrying her to the next chapel, and so she journeys around
the town, visiting all the hermandades' chapels, for the rest of the day. Popularly known as La
Paloma Blanca (the White Dove), she is an object of massive veneration in Andalucia, and
huge crowds push and shove just to get the chance to touch the glass case in which the Virgin
sits, as she sways dangerously from side to side. People even lift small babies up to touch her.
This remarkable, chaotic event is always televised by Canal Sur, the Andalucian regional TV
station.

What is the town of El Rocio like?

If you are not able to go on the El Rocio pilgrimage, the town of El Rocio itself is worth a visit
at any time of the year. The modern church of Nuestra Seora del Rocio, dating from the
1960s, is a stunning sight when viewed from across the water (stop off at the restaurant by
the entrance to the town), where the dazzling white sanctuary stand out like a beacon against
the verdant green of the marisma, inhabited by wild horses, and the deep blue of the sky.

OVER TO YOU! If you had to write your own composition about such a
stunning local festival, which information would you include?