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There is nothing like the festivals and celebrations of a place to discover its character and immerse yourself in its authentic culture. Some events are inspired by tradition, others to commemorate historical events that took place in the town, and all of them have been kept alive until today. They are lived intensely by the people of Pontevedra and by tourists from all over attracted by the charm of this great city.

Pilgrim Virgin Celebrations

The second Saturday of August mark the kick off of the Pilgrim Virgin celebrations in Pontevedra, in honour of the patron saint of the province. A date that marks the start of the big week of the city.

The Alameda and Reina Victoria avenue are filled with fair attractions, concerts and shows fill the streets and squares of the historic centre with music and fun, which become the perfect setting: Plaza de España, Plaza de Teucro and Plaza de la Herrería, among others. In addition, the programme is completed with sporting and religious events. These festivities offer a wide variety of activities and events designed for all audiences. Among them are the battle of flowers, the procession of the Pilgrim Virgin and the floral offering, the fireworks and the concerts and free street shows.

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Peregrina Fiestas

Fireworks of the Pilgrim Virgin Celebrations

Feira Franca

The Feira Franca is a medieval fair held in Pontevedra the first weekend of September since 2000, declared a Festival of Tourist Interest in 2013. In this celebration the privilege granted to the city by King Henry IV of Castile in 1467 to hold a tax-free market for a month, fifteen days before and fifteen days after August 24, the feast of St. Bartholomew, is celebrated. What started at the beginning of the 21st century as a medieval market in the Plaza de la Herrería has been growing and becoming one of the best and most participative medieval fairs in Galicia. For a day and a half the streets of the city are decorated to host numerous lunches and dinners, falconry shows, craft stalls and medieval tournaments.

The second Saturday of August mark the kick off of the Pilgrim Virgin celebrations in Pontevedra, in honour of the patron saint of the province. A date that marks the start of the big week of the city.

The Alameda and Reina Victoria avenue are filled with fair attractions, concerts and shows fill the streets and squares of the historic centre with music and fun, which become the perfect setting: Plaza de España, Plaza de Teucro and Plaza de la Herrería, among others. In addition, the programme is completed with sporting and religious events. These festivities offer a wide variety of activities and events designed for all audiences. Among them are the battle of flowers, the procession of the Pilgrim Virgin and the floral offering, the fireworks and the concerts and free street shows.

You can find more information on the council’s website.

Feira Franca

Representation during the Feira Franca

El Entroido and the Ravachol Parrot

Pontevedra has a great tradition of carnival since the 19th century. With the Civil War these celebrations were eliminated and in the following years these celebrations were not well seen and the denomination of carnival was forbidden. In Pontevedra these celebrations found refuge in their societies. The city had many veteran entities that were always closely linked to the carnival. In these celebrations they disguised themselves as the Camellia, Spring or February festivities, but everyone, even the authorities themselves, knew what was hidden under that name. Thus, entities such as the Liceo Casino, the Casino Mercantil e Industrial, the Sociedad Recreo de Artesanos and other spaces served as a venue for celebrations such as the Hotel Universo, the Cine Coliseum or the old premises of the Teucro.

In 1944, the then civil governor of the city prohibited its celebration in the street, but he did authorize the celebration of the ‘carnival’ in the different societies of Pontevedra. In the 50’s and 60’s up to 25 dances were held in these societies, and in 1984 a group of people from Pontevedra recovered the carnival in the street.

Pirate night. ©Diego Torrado. Pontevedra Viva

Currently in the festive program two characters stand out, King Urco and the parrot Ravachol, symbols of the Pontevedra carnival. King Urco opens the festivities with his entourage on Friday afternoon, and also who closes them the following Friday night , with the burial of the Ravachol parrot.

The funeral of Rolo Ravachol. © Diego Torrado. Pontevedra Viva

San Benitiño de Lérez

San Benitiño de Lérez is a popular festival and pilgrimage that is celebrated every 11th July in the monastery of San Salvador de Lérez and its surroundings. It was declared a Festival of Tourist Interest in 1998. According to a popular song “San Benitiño de Lérez é o máis milagreiro de Galicia” and it is attributed the cure of skin diseases, especially warts. The devotees come here to buy or smear themselves with the miraculous oil that is burnt in a copper pot and to fulfil the rite of passing under the altar of the saint to obtain his blessings or to give him votive offerings. After the procession there are many who take advantage of the visit to San Benito to eat together in the Campo de San Benito and in the halls of the Lérez giving good account of the thousand kilos of mussels that the City Council offers for free to attendees.

Holy Week

Holy Week in Pontevedra dates back to the 14th century, according to recent research. The end of the 1940s marks the resurgence of the celebrations of the Week of Passion in the capital and the beginning of what can be called “modern” Holy Week in the capital on the Lérez. One of the fundamental facts for the recovery of the celebrations was the re-foundation that same year of the Brotherhood of the Vera-Cruz that restores the processions of Holy Thursday and Good Friday.

In 1952, due to the success of the celebrations in its first three years, two new Brotherhoods were founded, the Brotherhood of Our Father Jesus of Silence and the Brotherhood of the Holy Spirit. In 1955, the first Confraternity made up exclusively of women was constituted, that of Nuestra Madre del Mayor Dolor, the year in which the Guild of Mareantes also began to participate in Holy Week.

The “paso de la Santa Cena” is one of the oldest in the history of Pontevedra. Composed of 13 images of dress that present of carving only the heads, hands and feet, it was made around 1693 by an anonymous author from Compostela. Among all the religious celebrations, the procession of the steps on Maundy Thursday and the procession of the Holy Burial on Good Friday stand out.

Holy Week. © Diego Torrado. Pontevedra Viva

Os Maios

The Os Maios festival is a popular celebration that has been held since ancient times to commemorate the arrival of spring. Related to the cult of nature and the fertility of the fields, its origin is not very clear: while some historians speak of the Paleolithic or Neolithic, others argue that it comes from the worship that the Greco-Roman world offered to their rural deities. Since 1970, the Plaza de la Herrería has been dressed up every 1st May to host the traditional “mayos” contest, a spectacle of music and colour in which the children are the stars of the show.

The participants build a cone-shaped wooden structure approximately 1.5 to 2 metres high and decorate it with natural elements such as fennel, daisies, oranges or eggshells and, at the top, a crown made of flowers. Around this figure, and inside it, a group of children sing and beat the rhythm with sticks. Normally the coplas are critical and vindictive. In many places in Galicia they have been disappearing but here the tradition is still kept alive.

These are the most prominent but there are many more celebrations, you will find more information at www.axenda.pontevedra.gal

Os Maios

Celebration of Os Maios

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