Our Lady of Abona returns today to the mother temple, the church of San Juan Bautista, in the town of Villa de Arico. It will arrive after traveling the distance of 1.9 kilometers that separates the nucleus of Teguedite, where it arrived yesterday in the nineteenth stage of the fourth edition of the pilgrimage. In this way, the end point will be put to this four-year meeting that began on August 18.
The ariquera population commemorates the coincidence of these festivities with the 300th anniversary of the discovery of Our Lady of Abona, which occurred a year after the region’s coast was raided by pirates in 1721. As happened in all the stages, upon the arrival of the image of the Honorary and Perpetual Mayoress and patron saint of the South, a mass will be officiated.
at the time, Arico begins his lustral parties, a framework in which he has already chosen Nerea González as queen, Airam Luis as mister and Daniela García as senior pilgrim. The gala was held on Calle Benítez de Lugo, in La Villa de Arico, with a notable number of people. In it, Candelaria González, Patricia Muñoz and Pedro Manuel Afonso, comedians Paco and Maite –known for their performances on the YouTube channel JaJa– performed, and, as a final touch, the singer Cristina Ramos.
The lustrals include, as the culminating moment, the XIII Descent of Our Lady of Abona. At 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 17, the transfer of the image to La Punta de Abona will begin, where it will arrive on the shoulders of pilgrims from El Porís de Abona. At 7:00 p.m. on that Saturday, the Los Sabandeños concert will take place in the town square, with a mass at 8:00 p.m., the procession of Las Candelas at 9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. great festival. The next day, the patron saint will begin her return at 5:00 p.m., and her entry into the Villa de Arico temple is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., according to the organization.
