la virgen de rocío

I know I was complaining about my lack of inspiration in my last post...but hey, I have my good days and then my bad.

Last Saturday morning I went to my first-ever mass in Spain.  I was invited by a family from my school to a very special event for their church's virgen, the Virgen del Rocío.  The Romería, or procession, de la Virgen de Rocío, takes place in Huelva, Andalucia, and is one of the most important in the country.  Over a million people will be there next weekend.

So each city in Spain has a sisterhood of this saint (as well as other saints), and the sisterhood of Rocío happens to be at La Iglesia de San Millán y San Cayetano, the church I am looking at now from my balcony, which also happens to be the one in front of my school whose inside patio we use as a playground.  My school, unlike most charter schools in Spain, is not at all religious (especially considering the wide array of ethnicities that belong to it), but it is admittedly poor and resourceful, and we are very lucky to have this space for our use.

Anyway, when they invited me I clearly had to go, because if one word could sum up my third year in Madrid, it's neighborhood.  Living and working in the same neighborhood is a luxury here, and I have never felt like such a small-town girl in such a big city.  I skip down the hill to school in the morning with my students, I walk home for lunch and a nap, I know a great part of the people I pass in the streets.  It is a beautiful, beautiful thing that I sort of can't believe I'm giving up (I officially gave notice in my school last week, more on that to come later...).   I am not religious, but sometimes when I look out over my balcony, see the rooftops, the clotheslines, the chapel, I can actually feel my soul fill up with energy.

Enjoy the photos and video...

Inside the church...in the corner is the "float" (for lack of a better word?).  Because the chapel of Rocío is in Andalucia, the typical outfits are flamenco-inspired...colorful, ruffled dresses with huge flowers on the head.  The men were dressed sort of like cowboys.

The choir.  The music was probably the best part of it all.  Going along with flamenco/gypsy theme, the choir was complete with a Spanish guitar and a flute.  I didn't realize people sang like this in church.  It's like the gospel music of Spain.  If you have never heard the way flamenco music is sung, scroll down to watch the video.  

My students :)  Also, the mother in white and red, a seamstress who works from home, literally dressed all the neighborhood women.

They blocked off Calle Embajadores to bring the float out; it took 10 men to lower it down the old church steps.

One of the main reasons I went...to see the oxen pull the float. 

Once out on the street, people threw rose petals from the balconies.  Just lovely.

My only regret about taking this video is not having started it earlier...

"Reza por nosotros, Madre, por tus hijos Madrileños..."