Five thousand people enjoyed the XLVII Pilgrimage of Hope, a classic appointment with Canarian traditions every August. With a mild weather and a light breeze, pilgrims and pilgrims enjoyed the tourmarked out by about fifteen carts, boats, flocks of sheep, goats and donkeys.
Despite the fact that the pilgrimage is the central and most popular act of those that take place within the framework of the festival in honor of Our Lady of Hopedoes not mean that its celebration ends with the program of events, which will continue, at least, with the day dedicated to the elderly next weekend.
In a timely manner, the appointment officially began around 11:00 am, with the celebration of the solemn Eucharist in the parish of Nuestra Señora de La Esperanza. Then began the procession of the revered image of Our Lady of Hope. She left the parish to the sound of the Bentahod party, heading towards her place of honor in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.
As every year, she was accompanied on the journey by the local authorities, led by the mayor of El Rosario, Escolástico Gil, who together with the first deputy mayor, Fátima Gutiérrez, made the first offering to the Virgin, on behalf of the City Council.
The pilgrimage of La Esperanza, one of the most emblematic
The pilgrimage of La Esperanza is one of the oldest and most deeply rooted of those held in Tenerife and the attendance figures give a good account of it. Municipal sources, based on data from the Local Police, reported yesterday that the number of attendees exceeded last year and reached 5,000 people.
On the other hand, and once the first offering to the Virgin was made, from then on each participating group did the same, donating their own basket of food to the patron saint, which will be distributed throughout the parish to people in need of the municipality, and singing folias, malagueñas or isas. At the feet of the Honorary Mayor of La Esperanza were Friends of La Esperanza, Cumbres Gomeras, Aires Isleños, Virgen de Fátima, Princesa Iraya and a long etcetera that included the Amigos Isleños party, from Gran Canaria.
And among the first to open the procession were the wagons of La Romera and Romero Mayor, Gabriela Delgado and Alfredo Rocío, together with their respective courts of honor.
To the sound of chácaras, drums, isas and malagueñas, the pilgrims’ appetites are always whetted and in La Esperanza that is synonymous with the distribution of copious trays of meat by the carreteros, especially as is customary, those of the companies Montesano and Egatesa.
After the pilgrimage was over, it was time for the verbena enlivened by the Revelación de Barranco Hondo and Wamampy orchestras and for those who were left hungry, the carts of the sponsoring companies parked at each end of the Town Hall square until stocks ran out. .
On Monday, a public holiday in El Rosario, the La Esperanza 2023 festivities will officially close with several guided tours through the Adelantado forest, ludoparque, foam party and the Children’s Festival. Despite this official closure, the Day of the Elderly will still be celebrated on Saturday, August 12.
The festivities in honor of Nuestra Señora de La Esperanza have dressed up the municipality of El Rosario, and especially the Villa de La Esperanza, since July 22 and will continue until August 12. The main references of the program of events have been, once again, the Gala of Election of Romera and Romero Mayor (July 28), the dance of magicians “La manta esperancera” (July 29) and the XLVII Pilgrimage of La Hope (August 6), held yesterday.
Officially, the festivities began on July 22 with the IX La Esperanza Popular Race in favor of the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation (Fundame).
On July 26, the House of Culture of El Rosario hosted the presentation ceremony of candidates for Romera and Romero Mayor, one of the few completely egalitarian traditional contests held in the Canary Islands.
On Saturday 29, the traditional dance of magicians “La manta esperancera” took place (8:30 p.m.), which took place again in the two squares of the Villa, with performances by the folkloric groups Amigos de La Esperanza, Agrupación Folclórica Los Majuelos , the Parrandas Bentahod, Los Muchachos and Pal’ Porrón and the Tenerife, Revelación and Wamanpy orchestras.
Last Friday, August 4, the institutional struggle took place, an act recovered last year.
On Saturday the 5th, the 1st Villa de La Esperanza Horse Ring was held; the Solemn Procession of the Virgen de La Esperanza and a festival enlivened by the Los Ideales and Latin Sound orchestras.
Along with these, the main events, other activities have also taken place, such as hiking trails, commercial revitalization, talks and workshops on the water cycle, play park and children’s festival, gymkhana and the Day of the Elderly, scheduled for Saturday August 12.
