The municipality of Arona has celebrated today the traditional pilgrimage within the framework of the patron saint festivities in honor of Saint Anthony Abbot, which began last Thursday, January 12 and will end this Tuesday.
Thousands of people have come to Arona Casco to enjoy the culture, customs and historical heritage. In particular, the blessing of the animals, in patron saint festivities that have more than 400 years of tradition. This pilgrimage is also one of the first of the year to be held on the island of Tenerife and the one that initiates the popular festivals in the South Region.
“It is a joy to see so many people once again celebrate our pilgrimage in honor of San Antonio Abad after two years without being able to enjoy it normally,” says José Julián Mena, mayor of Arona. Likewise, he wanted to highlight “the love, dedication and effort that many neighbors have put in, especially the public workers of this corporation, to carry out this festival, which connects with our agricultural origins, and which allows us to disseminate the vast heritage it possesses. Arona, connecting at the same time with the tourism sector to show them that the municipality is a destination that has a lot to offer, in addition to the sun and the beach”.
To facilitate participation, the City Hall’s Fiestas Area launched a free transport device, both from Los Cristianos and from Playa de las Américas, so that residents and tourists could enjoy the pilgrimage. All the buses filled their quota, as well as those arranged for the more than 200 elderly people of the municipality who traveled to Arona Casco to celebrate this special day.
The day began at 10:00 am, under a clear sky, with the opening of the craft exhibition, where the “earliest” could admire the work of the craftsmen from Aron. At 11:00 a.m. the Holy Mass began, sung by the Parranda Chasnera in the parish to, at the end, give way to one of the most anticipated moments of the day: the departure of San Antonio Abad, thus starting the traditional pilgrimage.
On his journey through the streets of El Calvario, Domínguez Alfonso, La Luna and Duque de la Torre, the saint was accompanied by different folkloric groups, both municipal and invited, in addition to the six carts that, as is customary, were distributed among pilgrims and tourists hard-boiled eggs, gofio, potatoes and drinks.
When the pilgrims arrived again at the Plaza del Santísimo Cristo de la Salud, another of the key moments of each Sunday pilgrimage in honor of San Antonio Abad arrived: the blessing of the animals by the parish priest of the municipality. Dogs, cows, goats and donkeys were blessed between performances by folk groups, and before the curious gaze of tourists.
After the religious acts, with the entrance of San Antonio Abad to his parish, pilgrims gave free rein to their best dance steps with the concert offered by the Wamampy and Los Ideales orchestras in the Plaza del Santísimo Cristo de la Salud.
