PHOTO ESSAY: Spain's wildest pilgrimage, El Rocío, brings together faith, nature and partying

Audio By Carbonatix

EL ROCIO, Spain (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Catholic pilgrims slogged for days under a punishing sun through country roads, sandy paths, even a river ford to reach the tiny hamlet of El Rocío in southern Spain for Pentecost weekend.

An icon of the Virgin Mary — La Virgen del Rocío — has been venerated in this remote area since the Middle Ages.

Today, dressed in their finest but caked in dust and sweat, crowds jostle to be the first to pray and sing sevillanas — flamenco songs — before Mary in the white sanctuary by the wetlands where wild horses and flamingos roam.

On the multi-day journey by foot, horseback or ox-driven cart, and in the houses that line the streets of the village, there’s a lot of partying, drinking, music and laughter. But there are also solemn vows, hushed worship services, tears of thanksgiving by flickering candlelight.

“Since I was a little boy, the center of everything has been the Virgin,” said Jaime Berjano, who walked from Sevilla with the Triana brotherhood, one of the oldest and largest of the more than 100 involved. “The importance of the pilgrimage is not that it’s easy or nice, but that it’s worthwhile.”

The pinnacle of the pilgrimage is the procession of the icon of the Virgin Mary in the overnight hours between Pentecost Sunday and Monday. Crowds jostle to reach the gold-covered image of Mary looking down at an infant Jesus in her lap, which is then carried through the sand streets and plazas to visit each brotherhood house.

As the relentless sun and heat grew Monday morning, the pilgrims went back to celebrate, rest before the journey back — and start planning next year’s romería to their beloved Mary, whose image almost all carry in medals hanging from their neck, and a few even tattooed on their bodies.

___

This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.