A walk in the spring sunshine with Santiago de la Ribera's oldest resident

The Romeria of San Blas, at Santiago de la Ribera

Written following the Romería of San Blas in 2011

Every Romeria has its own character and this one began with the smell of the sea in the warm wind with palm trees rustling and the harsh cry of seagulls wheeling in the air, a far cry from the mountainside treks which many of these romerías follow.

It's the only "land based" Romeria celebrated around the shores of the Mar Menor, the remainder being occasions on which Virgens are loaded into boats and taken out to sea by the sailors they protect and which take place later in the year.

So why is San Blas the subject of this Romeria and not someone connected with the sea?

San Blas arrived in the Region of Murcia in 1265, when King Jaime I, the Conqueror, took what is now Murcia from the Arab Moors who occupied this region at the time. He came from the North, and with him came his Knights, men from powerful families who were rewarded for their loyalty with vast tracts of land, and with the army came their priests and monks.

The Trinitarian monks who venerated the cult of San Blas arrived with the troops from Aragón, and in the 16th century some of their number moved to Santiago de la Ribera and built hermitages and settlements in the area which is now known as Calavera in Santiago de la Ribera.

The location of the modern day hermitage, only built in 2003, set in the centre of the park area known as la Pinada, is the oldest hermitage location in the Mar Menor and was at one time the capital and centre of what is now modern day San Javier.

The Romeria transfers the image of San Blas from the Parish Church of Santiago de la Ribera on the seafront to his own hermitage in La Pinada, leaving at 10.30am to a fanfare of exploding cohetes and cheers of Vive san Blas....Viva....Viva as he exits from the church, carried by the Hermandad de Santiago y San Blas.

These images are surprisingly heavy, so the bearers have to pause for frequent rests, the signal to rest and move on again, the ringing of a bell, and to help maintain the swaying rhythm, a brass band accompanies them on their journey, followed by the Mayoress of San Javier and local dignitaries .

The procession to the hermitage is lead by the prettiest girls in the area, dressed in traditional huertano costume, bearing floral offerings for the saint.

En-route they handed out bread rolls which had been blessed: kept through the year and allowed to dry out naturally, these would protect me from throat infection I was told, but by the time I'd met up with our roving reporter he´d already eaten his and was now probably doomed to a hoarse throat for the rest of the year. Oh well, next year he'll know.

The ladies explained that their stockings are all crocheted by hand, their shoes the traditional espadrilles, the production of which was the backbone of the economy in the northwest of the region, particularly in Caravaca de la Cruz, and their skirts embroidered with traditional patterns, woven from wool, and embroidered with woolen thread.

Dresses like these were only Sunday best they said, campo clothes were grey and white, the natural colours of the wool, and only very few could afford the dyes to colour the cloth like this. And the patterns, handed down from generation to generation, the pattern on one lady's dress an artichoke flower, copied from a photograph of her grandmother wearing her Sunday best.

These same ladies make the clothing worn in the summer fiestas and Romerias, everything lovingly made by hand, although there are many specialist shops producing versions for those who want to join in with the parades and dress for the part.

There were a good number of expats enjoying the romeria, although we couldn't find one anywhere in regional costume, some walking along the route, others sensibly waiting with a barbecue at the finish, and as the distance is about 1.5km, along flat streets, it's not a difficult Romeria for those with less energy to enjoy and participate in.

The crowd slowly ambled along with the image of the Saint, chatting and contented, followed by horses and carriages, proud riders astride beautifully groomed horses, both riders and passengers festively dressed for the occasion, undisturbed by the crowds and cohetes which filled the air with a babble of sound and the boom of explosion.

On arrival at the church, the saint was raised into the air triumphantly before being carried into the hermitage for the celebration of a musical mass, accompanied by the rondalla y coro Santiago Apóstol.

A giant paella awaited participants, and the air was filled with smoke from barbecues and fires as the peñas settled down to enjoy the party, sharing a communal meal in the shade of the pine trees or their fiesta marquees.

Traders lined the streets nearby, sweets and craft gifts, spun candy floss and candy crunch peanuts, gold painted terracotta figures of san Blas with gaudily cheerful ribbons swaying in the sunlight, a token to protect the throat all year, hung above a child's bed to safeguard them from infection.

For a couple of euros they're a lovely reminder of a walk in the spring sunshine and a special morning in Spain, and at least the roving reporter can't eat them.......

If you haven't been, put it in the diary for next year. San Blas is always the 3rd of February, so get the barbeque in the boot and a volunteer to fire it up in the Pinada, and enjoy a healthy walk in the spring sunshine in the company of Santiago de la Ribera's oldest resident.

Viva San Blas.....Viva.....VIVA !!!!!