“In each carnation I carry a request for health and a lot of gratitude because last year cancer did not let me come before the Virgin,” said an emotional Lola Fuentes, who brought her bouquet to Charity this Friday early in the afternoon. «I’m still delicate to mix with people and I don’t have much courage either, but I don’t lack faith». The human and the divine met in the Basilica of Charity on the great day of Cartagena. Many stories of life, tradition and devotion to the mother of the people of Cartagena flooded the temple with love, flowers and prayers.
As is customary, the people of Cartagena took the opportunity to introduce the new members of the family and ask the Virgin to protect and guide their steps. One of the youngest was Davide Legaz, just one week old and whose name means ‘beloved of God’. The baby was dressed in a tiny Cartagena outfit, matching that of his grandmother, Toñi Teba. “You have to give thanks to our Patroness because everything has gone well and ask her to take care of the baby and her parents,” she said.
Thiago Buendía’s parents left his aunt María Monje the responsibility of taking him for the first time in his six months of life at the feet of the Virgin. “The emotion of starting him on his path of Christian faith is unique.”
Family tradition
Four generations of the Quiñonero family accompanied La Caridad. The ninety-year-old great-grandmother, Isabel Quiñonero, was in charge of embroidering the costumes of her daughter, her daughter-in-law, and her great-granddaughter. “They are our customs and we should not lose them. I’ve been doing it since I was a young girl, “she explained while she waited in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento for the departure of her group, from the Torreciega Neighborhood Association. Her daughter, María Isabel Ruiz, was in charge of carrying her wheelchair, while her daughter-in-law, Anais García, carried her fourteen-month-old great-granddaughter, Sofía Romero, in the stroller. “We will ask for peace, work and health, that we do not go through the same fatigues that we had with the coronavirus and that we all get along well. You have to enjoy life more and argue less, “said great-grandmother Isabel.
tourist look
More than one tourist was pleasantly surprised to see the concentration of the fifty-one groups registered in the floral offering in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento. To the Argentine Daniel Martín, passing through Cartagena on his route through the Region to get to know Lorca, where the origins of his ancestors are, it seemed “a very beautiful custom. A lot of devotion is perceived in a very flirtatious, welcoming and contrasting city. There is a great tourist variety. Martín was one of the lucky ones who enjoyed the open day of the Roman Theater. “We have entered another era. Wonderful,” he said.
In addition, the downtown terraces were full throughout the afternoon and well into the night.
The parade in which more than two thousand people participated was opened by a municipal delegation, made up of the mayoress of Cartagena, Noelia Arroyo, the vice mayor, Ana Belén Castejón, and the councilors: Diego Ortega, Carlos Piñana, Cristina Mora and Álvaro Valdés, of the PP; and those not affiliated, Juan Pedro Torralba, David Martínez Noguera, Alejandra Gutiérrez, Mercedes García and Irene Ruiz.
pride of customs
Bagpipe, bugle and drum bands, choir and dance groups, rondallas and gangs from the Campo de Cartagena began the tour at five in the afternoon, filling the streets with joy and encouraging all passers-by to participate in the big day. They went through the streets Mayor, Puerta de Murcia, Santa Florentina, Parque and Serreta to the Basilica of Charity. Upon arrival, the groups delivered their flowers to compose the mosaic on the structure set up at the entrance to the temple and before the Virgin they exposed the customs of each neighborhood and county. Thus, for example, the president of the Neighborhood Association of the Ensanche Almarjal, Ana de Haro, sang a Salve amid cheers for Charity. The audience broke into song on Calle de la Serreta while the Quillo children’s drum section played the pasodoble ‘Tres veces guapa’. And more than one shouted “Long live the Virgin of Charity!”.
There were also many people with mobility difficulties at the floral offering. «I wait sitting down to join my group. I can hardly move but faith is bigger. I come to ask Charity to fill our hearts with hope and enthusiasm so that we can be better people and live in peace,” said Lola Armero. The people of Cartagena were able to enjoy the parade of the floral offering sitting for free in some streets, since since noon the company in charge of managing chairs was placing them for the night procession.
Arroyo danced before Caridad with the La Palma folkloric group
The mayoress, Noelia Arroyo, danced with the Ciudad de Cartagena Folkloric Group, from La Palma, which this year is commemorating its fiftieth anniversary. Since its inception, the group has worked to preserve and recover the culture and traditions of Campo de Cartagena. Arroyo dressed in the clothing of this folkloric group, including a black mantilla, and danced a malagueña torera called ‘Torera cartagena’. It is the typical dance of this day. Currently, the Ciudad de Cartagena de La Palma Folkloric Group is made up of a hundred members, from childhood to adulthood.
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