They often say that the third attempt is the charm, and yesterday, the Lord of Trials finally managed to proceed through the streets of the El Toscal neighbourhood. Following two unsuccessful tries, one being on Holy Tuesday when the religious march was cancelled due to rain threats, and another just last Monday, called off due to gusty winds, the Lord of Santa Cruz was finally able to parade through with hundreds of petals being showered upon the statue as per tradition.
This remarkable procession of the Lord of Santa Cruz, initiated upon the request of the Centro-Ifara district office with permission from the bishop of Tenerife, not only made up for missing out on its duties during Holy Week but also allowed the City Council to pay off a long-standing debt. A plaque was unveiled to honour the 382 lives lost during the cholera pandemic of 1893 that had severely impacted Oriente Street, now known as Lord of Trials.
“130 years ago in 1894, the City Council, upon the request of the then parish priest-bursar of San Francisco, Santiago Beyro, agreed to rename Oriente Street as Lord of Trials and to have the name engraved along with a photo reproduction of the effigy,” mentioned the mayor, José Manuel Bermúdez.
According to local beliefs, the epidemic’s spread halted shortly after the statue’s prayerful stroll through the neighbourhood streets followed by a thankful procession showered in petals. From then on, the statue has always been paraded amidst a downpour of petals.
The Mayor stated that, “we have now fulfilled that century-old commitment, thus settling a historical debt with the community and simultaneously paying tribute to the deceased in remembrance of one of the city’s most tragic events.”
During the plaque unveiling, the Mayor, accompanied by council members, accentuated that “the city’s dedication to the Lord of Trials is so profound that it was officially declared Lord of Santa Cruz in a 2011 City Council session, a title by which he was already widely known.
