By Maria José Uroz Castilla. | “If they hear the water in the streets, it is because they are already in Arafo”, wrote Pedro García Cabrera in his poem entitled Arafo. And so it is: tomorrow, finally, we will hear that rumour, that music of the heart played with his people during the long-awaited reunion with his Saint.
They say that the inhabitants of Arafo are great storytellers, of their history. They tell how in 1705 the Arenas volcano gave them a pulse. The lava had buried the crop fields. Later, a landslide completely blocked the most important water spring, the Añavingo spring, leaving the municipality without its livelihood, without water, without a future.
But the Arafero people are a united people, who walk at the same time, with the same anthem. So they got organized: they went up to the spring and tried to unblock it, they even dug wells, but they couldn’t reach the water.
As if it were a last chance, Juan Hernández asked the parish priest to raise the image of San Agustín to the ravine where the collapse had occurred. That same night there was a storm that caused the land to shift and water began to flow again from the Añavingo spring. This was, for everyone, the miracle of Saint Augustine, the miracle of water and life.
Many affirm that it continues to help the people who visit it and this is what the president of the Añavingo Irrigation Community, Nicolás Santana, assures: “I tell you one thing. He has done, Saint Augustine has done, eh? Here was a girl who had cancer, a young girl…”, with eyes that throb at this story. Another miracle.
All this fervor means that, every four years, the Saint is lowered from the ravine to the Church of San Juan Degollado. It is the pilgrimage of Arafo and is part of everyone’s identity. This year faith and devotion to Saint Augustine flutter in every home more than ever after deciding that this Saturday an extraordinary descent will take place.
A festival that sings loudly that “the Saint belongs to everyone”, but that could not be celebrated without its four pillars: The Festival Commission of San Agustín de las Madres, the Aguas de Añavingo Community, the Church and the City Hall. “We are four pillars. If one fails, it can’t be done. It’s teamwork”, says Toñi Pérez, who is part of the Fiestas Commission.
The different representatives explain the preparations: the permits that are needed, the organization, the care of the path, the importance of safety…
A month before and until the day before the pilgrimage, the Festival Commission is in charge of going through the houses and collecting all the food and drink for that day. It is a precious gesture, because the inhabitants contribute what will later be returned to them.
On the other hand, the Aguas de Añavingo Community makes sure that the road to the ravine is in perfect condition. “We climb year-round to fix the trail.”
Finally, the City Council is in charge of the security protocol and the Church encompasses all the meaning of this celebration. “We do this for everyone, it’s not just a party for farmers, it’s also for those who want to come,” insists Toñi Pérez. The generosity of this people is like water, capable of flowing to any place, because there are no closed doors for what belongs to everyone: the common memory, the land.
A common memory that is celebrated without haste, because passion does not understand time, circulates to the rhythm of the party that accompanies it, where “the water sings and smiles on the verge of tears,” continues the poem by Pedro García Cabrera.
“Don’t miss this tradition!” They repeat several times between smiles that show that desire. The neighbors feel that rootedness like roots that breathe from the earth and then bear fruit: the inheritance. The transmission of this celebration from parents to children, from those who remember the previous parties to those who still have no memories. These, without a doubt, will continue to sing their hymn loudly: “Long live San Agustín, San Agustín el chiquito, San Agustín de las Madres, San Agustín de Añavingo”.
