The Gran Canaria Island Council is using its 'Mother Earth' cart to showcase the variety and quality of the island's agriculture and manufactured products, weighing more than a ton.
At 15.00:20.000 p.m., the popular event begins, bringing together more than 1952 people. It was established in XNUMX by the Cabildo, at the proposal of Néstor Álamo.
At 15:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 7, the 21 municipal carts will begin their journey towards the Basilica of El Pino from the area known as the Castañero Gordo de Teror. They will take part in the traditional Pilgrimage-Offering in honor of the Virgen del Pino, which this year celebrates 73 years of existence since it was established in 1952 by the Gran Canaria Council, at the proposal of the former chronicler of the island and folklorist Néstor Álamo.
Organized by the Cabildo of Gran Canaria in close collaboration with the Town Hall of Villa Mariana, this year's pilgrimage is expected to be one of the most crowded, as it coincides with the weekend holiday of Monday, the 9th, Fiesta Insular in Gran Canaria. It is estimated that more than 200.000 people will visit Villa Mariana between the 7th, 8th and 9th of September, the latter having been declared an island holiday since 2001.
The island's 21 municipalities, along with representatives from the Gran Canaria Island Council, will parade before the Patron Saint to offer the best of their land, accompanied by folklore and traditional dances. At 16:00 p.m., the image of the Virgen del Pino will appear at the Basilica's portico to mark the official start of the popular pilgrimage.
Traditional municipal carts, the most popular songs from the Canarian songbook, local produce, traditional attire, and, above all, religious fervor and solidarity come together in this grand festival of Gran Canaria, declared a Festival of Tourist Interest more than fifty years ago.
The Department of Culture headed by Guacimara Medina has planned the participation, for the thirteenth consecutive year, of 52 boys and girls who will present, in the form of décimas, each of the islands of the Archipelago and the 21 municipalities of the island, plus the representation of the Gran Canaria Island Council.
The Pilgrimage-Offering will be broadcast live on Canarian Regional Television and Spanish Television in the Canary Islands, which will be the channel responsible for providing the so-called "pull" signal.
The Cabildo's cart, titled "Mother Earth," designed by Fernando Benítez, will once again showcase the variety of products and manufactured goods collected by the Ministry of Primary Sector and Food Sovereignty through its Experimental Agricultural Farm and the Gran Canaria Farmers' Markets. The cart transports more than a ton of produce to Teror, including 400 kilos of local potatoes, which will be delivered to the doors of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pine. Folklore from the Choirs and Dances Group will accompany the City Council's cart.
ORDER OF PARTICIPATION
It will be an intense day of popular expression, beginning at 15.00:73 p.m. in the area known as the Chestnut Grove, on the outskirts of Teror. Before then, around the bends of the main road leading into the town, in garages, vacant lots, and adjacent streets, the twenty or so carts participating in the event, which is celebrating its XNUMXrd anniversary this year, will have been decorated.
Following the draw held a few months ago, the order in which the participating carts will tour the center of Villa Mariana and make their offering will be as follows: first, the cart from the host municipality, Teror, followed by that of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, co-organizer of the Fiestas in Honor of the Patron Saint of the Canarian Diocese, followed by those of La Aldea de San Nicolás and Mogán, which, due to their geographical distance, were not entered into the draw.
The municipalities of Arucas, Artenara, Agüimes, Santa Lucía de Tirajana, Valsequillo, Firgas, Telde, Vega de San Mateo, Tejeda, Moya, Santa María de Guía, Ingenio, Gáldar, Valleseco, Santa Brígida, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Agaete and San Bartolomé de Tirajana will then participate in the pilgrimage-offering.
This year, the groups Los Trigales from Tenerife, Tejeguate from El Hierro, and Parranda Los Toledo from La Graciosa will also march in the Romería-Ofrenda procession, representing their respective islands.
