SANTA MARÍA DE ESPAÑA

The weekend before last I witnessed one of the most amazing traditions I’ve ever seen. While I’m not religious by any means, I can still appreciate the beauty and the effort that was put into honoring this particular tradition, especially since my home country, the United States, has no real history. The U.S. is, after all, only two hundred and thirty eight years old; those years taking no more than the blinking of an eye to countries such as Spain, many traditions of which are centuries older than the United States itself.

Here, in the small town of Beas where I reside, they celebrate the appearance of the Virgin every year. This celebration lasts a weekend and entails almost everyone in this small town traveling by foot, horse, or tractor-driven wagon across the countryside to Sotiel Coronada, the region where the Virgin Image is located. To see what occurred left me speechless, so I’ll simply let the pictures and videos speak for the occasion.

What follows before the pictures and videos is the history of this event, translated by Cinta Garcia de la Rosa.

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