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| EARLY (FOR US) THIS MORNING |
It's another holiday in Spain (or, more precisely, it is several holidays in Spain). Since 1987, the first holiday has been called Fiesta Nacional de España, but it began to be observed in 1935 as Dia de la Hispanidad (Day of the Hispanicity), which didn't become an official national holiday until 1981.
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| THE REMAINS OF COLUMBUS. |
It is also the Day of the Armed Forces, which is, I am told, usually commemorated with a military parade in Madrid. Other than that, there's not a lot of fanfare or flag-waving because it's all overshadowed by another feast day, the Fiesta de Nuestra Señora del Pilar (Day of Our Lady of the Pillar), the patron saint of Spain.
As a matter of fact, two different people told me yesterday that today was a national holiday. Neither person told me about Fiesta Nacional, Christopher Columbus, or the Armed Forces. They both told me it was the Fiesta de Nuestra Señora del Pilar.
This morning at around 8, after Jerry and I had decided to snuggle comfortably in bed for another couple of hours, we heard chanting and voices outside. Once we completed our muttering about the noise, we realized what it was and opened the shutters and doors to the wonderful fragrance of incense and to see another paso in the street below as it headed for the Convent of Santa Rosalía.
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| THE RETURN JOURNEY BEGINS. |
Three hours later, the procession was much larger and included a 50-piece band (Jerry counted) for the return march from the Convent of Santa Rosalía to the Brotherhood of Vera Cruz (about 3 blocks away). I have great video of the procession and the music, but I haven't been able to convert the video to a format that will open on my Mac (without having to download new software). So, you'll have to trust me that the band was very good. I wonder if they're available 29 February 2012 for the first quadrennial Procesión de San Geraldo.
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| ON THEIR WAY HOME. |
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