Montaña Frías has been the scene of the traditional prayer to ask for the rains that the local primary sector needs, a custom that in Arona goes back at least almost a century and that this Sunday, after two years without being able to celebrate it due to the pandemic, has been remembered by dozens of people who have accompanied the image of the Cristo de la Salud.
The procession left after 10:00 in the morning from the church of San Antonio Abad to go through the streets Domínguez Alfonso, Avenida de la Constitución, La Mejora, Calle del Sitio and Camino Llano del Rey, with their respective stops during the tour where the neighbors they received the Christ with rose petals and songs. Upon reaching the issue of the Virgin of the Miraculous, the traditional Eucharist was celebrated.
The delegation, later, and after climbing to the top of Montaña Frías, moved to the municipal cemetery, where the prayer was read, which, as is customary, has been carried out by the mayor of Arona, José Julián Mena, a musical offering to the Santísimo Cristo de la Salud by the Municipal School of Folklore of Arona and blessings for all those present.
The mayor stressed that this day is “a day of union and celebration of our traditions. They have been passed down from generation to generation to remind us who we are and where we come from”. Mena recalled the agricultural history of Arona and that “this tradition goes back a century, since water was the basis of prosperity for those who worked in the fields to ensure their crops and guarantee the livelihood of their families. From the City Council we will always continue betting on caring for and betting on our history, culture and customs, as we did recovering, years ago, this prayer “.
Tradition
The Cristo de la Salud, Alcalde Perpetuo de Arona, is the most revered invocation of Christ in the south of Tenerife. It is a polychrome wood carving from the Baroque and belonging to the Canarian school, made by the Güimarero sculptor Lázaro González de Ocampo. It was made in the second half of the 17th century. The image was originally in the Convent of San José or Las Claras, in Villa de La Orotava. Later it was acquired by the Parish of San Antonio Abad in Arona, where it was transferred in 1806.
In the 1920s, the tradition of the Rogativa al Cristo de la Salud or Rogativa de la Lluvia was born. It is a pious manifestation in which the Christ is asked for the demand for rain for the fields and agriculture. This tradition was lost in the 1980s, but was brought back in 2016.
