If you would like to experience something truly joyful, plan to join with the people of Zaragoza on any October 12th for the combined festivals commemorating Hispanic heritage: Feria del Pilar and the Día de la Hispanidad.
It is not unusual for Spaniards to have a spontaneous celebration where the spiritual element merges with the secular to form a happy unity. As you read this, my wife Ruth and I are in Zaragoza to join the crowds of Spaniards in celebrating Día de la Hispanidad, in memory of the day Christopher Columbus and his crew encountered a marvelous new world, which he named Hispañola. El Día marks of the birth of the international Hispanic community whose cultural influence now spreads to the corners of the earth.
Equally important for many is the Feria del Pilar. According to early church tradition, the apostle James was preaching the gospel in the Roman province of Hispania, in what was then the pagan land of Caesaraugusta (now Zaragoza). On January 2, 40 A.D., in the earliest days after the Resurrection, the apostle James was praying with some of his disciples by the banks of the Ebro River, when he saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary appearing before him atop a pillar.
She assured James that his efforts would not be in vain, for the faith of the people would become as strong as the pillar on which she was standing. For the Spanish Christians she left the symbolic pillar on which was mounted a wooden image of her. To this day it can be seen in a special chapel in the Zaragoza basilica.
When reading about Pilar, many may question whether the Virgin really left behind that statue. Furthermore, Columbus surely had a shadowy side and in fact this visionary explorer ended up in chains! If the arrival of the Spaniards in America was an occasion of unmitigated joy, it was also a period of suffering for the native people.
We are all children of a materialistic age in which reality is often seen as concrete and scientific. We allow little room for the spiritual or heroic traditions which form a people’s identity. I guess the closest thing we have to this kind of reality is the story of Washington and the cherry tree. Nevertheless the melding of folk and religious traditions is important and marking the extraordinary accomplishments of Columbus is a perfectly appropriate way to celebrate the Hispanic world, and the interchange of cultures, which enriches all of our lives.
The most appealing event for Ruth and me on October 12th is the offering of flowers, Ofrenda de Flores, to the Virgin. As the day draws near, the roads leading to Zaragoza swell with hundreds of villagers who walk toward to the Basilica Plaza of Our Lady of the Pilar, with their arms filled with flowers to lay at the feet of the Virgin. Thanks to the bouquets brought by the faithful, Mary has an enormous cloak made of thousands of flowers brought in from the countryside.
During the final day we find a convenient curbside place along the parade route and mingle with the crowd of excited children. Many are with their mothers and fathers, grandparents or neighbors and are dressed in traditional clothes of Aragón. There are beautiful young ladies dressed in brightly polka dotted 'flamenco' feria dresses, or adorned with splendid lace mantillas and shawls.
It is such a happy occasion. Hundreds of delegations of villagers from all over Spain dance in the streets in their festive traditional clothing. There will be some pilgrims processing from as far away as Andalucía, where gracefully swirling ladies dressed in brightly colored feria dresses informally dance the flamenco-inspired Sevillana. Then there are others from as far west as Galicia and Asturias with their marching bagpipers playing ancient Celtic tunes. As countless delegations and pilgrims bring their beautiful floral offerings, a towering pyramid of flowers mounts crowned by the comparatively diminutive image of the Virgin at the top.
The majority of the participants are from the mountain villages of Aragón, with some from the Basque Country and the Pyrenees. Many are processing under the banner of a local parish, brotherhood or civic organization. As the groups pass by they are often dancing folk dances. We particularly enjoy seeing young and old dancing the jota – a genre of music and dance known throughout Spain.
The jota is the best-known expression of Aragonese folklore where it originated, dating as far back as the 18th century. Due to the complexities of the dance steps and manner of singing, the jota has evolved, but the most pure forms of the jota can still be found in Calanda, Alcañiz, Albacete and Zaragoza.
'Fiestas del Pilar' is an extravagant carnival attended by thousands on holiday and culminates with an evening of fireworks reflected in the broad Ebro River that runs through town. The devotional content is less important for the majority – as is the case of the famous Carnaval de Cádiz. The revelers enjoy the amusing procession of huge papier-mâché giants and big heads (gigantes y cabezudos) as they randomly mingle with the crowds to the delight of young and old alike. There are bands, dances, concerts, theatre and, of course, the inevitable ritual of the 'running of the bulls' takes place in the bullring where the young and daring humans encounter young and feisty bulls.
It is hard to remain a stranger for long in this jovial atmosphere where each night the tapas bars are jammed with revelers. Throughout the typical day of the traditional Spaniard there are designated opportunities to eat together – not the least of which is the daily ritual of meeting old friends at the tapas bars. Without a doubt, the people of Spain enjoy their food and companionship.
I like to find opportunities where I can place aside the skepticism that seems to saturate our age and everyday discourse. It is so much healthier to embrace life as it unfolds among families, friends and the community. There is a wonderful book, recently published by author Michael Peremiti, who took his family for an extended stay in a rural village in Castilla-León for much the same reason. It is called The Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World's Greatest Piece of Cheese. I think some of you might enjoy it as much as I did. Indeed, this is why our family chooses to revisit an older culture, to be refreshed by seeing things from a different perspective. Maybe this is how you feel too.
10 Comments
Zaragoza was one of my very first experiences of Spain back in the 1990s. A friend of mine at church paid for me to travel there with him as his interpreter to negotiate some business contracts. I even have a souvenir Nuestra Señora del Pilar in my dining room. The bridge across the Ebro downstream from the Catedral is ancient! And I love that you can go down below the current plaza level and walk Roman streets. Near the north end of the main plaza is an Irish pub in a basement with the restroom signs in Gaelic.
Response:
Dear Lon, What great memories! As you know we just returned from Zaragoza. The number of people thronging the Pilar festivities was amazing. There seemed to be two or three times the number of people we experienced five years ago. A great addition was the row of stalls along the Ebro River with all sorts of traditional cooking — homemade pastries, rustic bread, iberico secreto chops sizzling on the grill. It was fun to return.
Thank you both for the article and pictures on your ventures in Zaragoza!!! Of all my visits when I lived in Madrid, I missed Sevilla and Zaragoza… Now I find out that I have Spanish Blood, Soy un poco Espanola! Ay que bueno! Me gusta, me gusta! Thank you for the stories, food and bringing it closer to us in the USA, it’s been like celebrating from my old patio in Madrid!
Ana-Querida (Annie-Dear)
Response:
Dear Ana – Querida — What a nice name you have. Do return to Spain. The roads are great, the driving is sensible. Just grab a rental car at the airport and go. I do think Sevilla should be on your list - and don’t forget the sherry towns just an hour away. One of my very favorite places is the ancient port city of Cádiz. You can catch a ferry from the sherry town El Puerto de Santa María. The municipal market is astonishing - aisles and aisles of all kinds of sea creatures from the deep!
Thank you for another insightful column. Yesterday I just finished reading “The Telling Room”. It has some good insight into the character and culture of Castile. And it takes place in the small town of Guzman, just west of a town (Lerma) we recently visited. Our trip also included a visit to Logroño for the annual Fiesta. Like the celebration in Zaragoza that you wrote about, this is both a spiritual and a secular celebration. The Fiesta San Mateo goes back to the 12th century, and the Wine Harvest Festival was added in 1956. It is celebrated every September 21 (and days around it). It seemed to us that everyone and every family went out to celebrate, with children all dressed up and most adults wearing San Mateo neckerchiefs. Events included a special Mass in the cathedral, a parade of Gigantes (giant figures of persons), bands, and dozens of food tents featuring food products from all over Spain. People lined up to buy eggs with local red peppers, and lamb cooked over coals of burning grape vine cuttings (“Chuletas al sarmiento”). The cuttings were fired up right on the pavement of the main plaza, with smoke drifting all over the place.The highlight of the day was the parade of people dressed up in traditional outfits including a prince and princess of the day (“Vendimiadores”). Many of them carried baskets of grapes. They paraded to the big park and dropped the grapes into a large wooden vat on the stage, with tens of thousands of people looking on. Later, the grapes would be crushed, starting the process to turn them into wine. We felt privileged to be with this happy crowd.
Response:
I see you share my love for Spain. I just finished that fascinating book, The Telling Room. Clearly it resonated with you as well.
You have provided a beautiful description of San Marco and the vendimia celebrations in Logroño. It was so tantalizing that I think Ruth and I will attend next year. It is around 21 September? Is there a special place you would recommend for us to stay?
Beautiful article about my home. All I can say is that I envy you!! My whole family is in Zaragoza right now, its where they live, and I haven’t been able to see them in 4 years. Since 1997 when I moved to USA from Zaragoza, Spain, I’ve only been able to return twice for vacation and for very short lengths of time. I wish I could move back but it’s impossible. Please enjoy the Fiestas for me and all the other Spaniards away from home. You are so lucky to be there right now! Besos y abrazos!
Response:
Dear Ana,
How nice to hear from you! Yes, Zaragoza is a magical place to visit especially around the time of the Pilar festivities. However there were throngs of people everywhere, more than you can imagine! Along the Ebro River were booths with all kinds of sweets, bread, meat. We also stopped by the place who makes our dark chocolate coated orange peels that we sell at La Tienda. Of course they were super. Eating lunch along the old plaza near the river was fun. Lots of students and cordial restauranteurs.
Don, in answer to your questions, the Logrono fiesta’s key day is always September 21, but celebrations surround that date. In 2014 it seems they last from Sept 20 (Saturday) to 27. http://www.larioja.com/san-mateo/ seems to be the official site. For accommodations, in addition to the usual travel guides like Frommer’s, we found Maribel’s Guides to Spain to be very helpful. The La Rioja guide is at http://maribelsguides.com/mg_larioja.pdf. Based on this advice we stayed at the Castillo de Collado in LaGuardia, a short drive from Logrono. We were delighted with our stay, and our hotel owner could not have been nicer or more helpful. It was perhaps the best place we stayed at on our trip. LaGuardia is also an interesting town to tour and visit, and close to interesting wineries.
Response:
Thank you very much for all of this information! Maybe we will go there in 2014. I was not aware of the Mairbel’s Guide to Spain. I will check it out. Merry Christmas.