Even the largest pedestrian square in Europe became too small to accommodate the more than 40,000 people who came to the Plaza del Pilar to receive the proclamation of the Zaragoza festivities, which kicked off one of the most important festivities most popular in our country and in Zaragoza. what greater projection they have in Latin America, thanks to the patron saint of the city, the Virgen del Pilar.
This year the criers were the last triumphs of the Operación Triunfo, Juanjo and Naiara, a couple from Zaragoza who aroused the fury of the participants as soon as they left the balcony of the town hall. Present with them was the popular mayor Natalia Chueca, who participated in this very symbolic event and above all the councilor saw it as one of the most special moments of the year due to the emotional meaning it has for the city .
Zaragoza, Zaragoza! The Pilar 2024 festivities begin! Today we experienced a very exciting proclamation in which there was no lack of jota, cachirulo and the feeling of more than 40,000 people singing in unison and celebrating the Feast of the Pilar.
8 days begins… pic.twitter.com/jWMf9hr0sx
– Natalia Chueca (@ChuecaNatalia) October 5, 2024
The proclamation in Zaragoza and the rocket
Saturday evening, around nine o’clock in the evening, the proclamation began, after the presentation of medals and distinctions in the plenary room of Zaragoza City Hall. An event of approximately one hour that culminated with the interpretation of the verses of the poet José Antonio Labordeta, El song of freedomwhich established itself as another Manicos anthem.
The truth is that the scene moved the thousands of people who joined in singing it with raised arms, in an anxious countdown until the launch of the rocket, with which the Pilar festivities officially began, to the massive cry of “Long live the holidays!”, motivated the mayor.
“Thank you to everyone who made it possible for us to be here today. For us, who have not missed the Pilar Festival from there, it is an honor to stand on this balcony, to feel the warmth of this immortal city and to kick off the best days of year,” exclaimed Juanjo.
“For me, these Holidays marked many of the best moments of my life, going down with the neighborhood group to the Plaza del Pilar to see the proclamation, going to see the empalmada heifers, going to the fairs for my stuffed animal. .. Unique and unforgettable moments with my friends,” said Naiara.
“We are like the wind, we are tradition and avant-garde. We are folklore and we are jota. With these words the two candidates of the OT defined themselves, who did not hesitate to puff out their chests and begin to sing the rondadera, adapted to the holidays with these words: “Today we sing loud and clear, Zaragoza La Inmorale, we congratulate the holiday, for the Virgin of the Pilar.
15,000 supporters in Zaragoza
Zaragoza peñas are an essential part of the festive atmosphere. “Thanks to his work at the beginning of the organization of the Pilar Fair, Zaragoza today benefits from consolidated spaces for concerts and cowboy matinees,” Sergio Gómez, president of the Interpeñas Federation, tells OKDIARIO. “There are currently around 15,000 supporters’ clubs and around 40 supporters’ clubs. “They are the life of the party,” he emphasizes.
Thus, with the traditional rocket launch, the proclamation and the fireworks, nine days of festivities begin this Saturday in Zaragoza, for which a program has been designed with around 500 activities that will reach all the districts and rural neighborhoods of the city region.
Traditional events such as the proclamation of the festivities, the offering of flowers, the offering of fruit, the crystal rosary, the various Jota competitions, the tribute to the heroines of the sites, the Comparsa of giants and big heads, the Tragachicos, the fireworks will coexist with the different and innovative shows that the performing arts will offer us, and with the great musical offer that will be brought to us by renowned personalities at the international, national and, of course, local level.
Presentation of distinctions
Previously, the Zaragoza City Council celebrated, in the Plenary Hall, the most solemn event of the festivities, the presentation of medals and distinctions, which this year were awarded to Juan Manuel Cendoya, the City Gold Medal; and as Favorite Sons, to the Coordination of Brotherhoods, to the director and screenwriter from Zaragoza, Javier Macipe; bullfighting surgeon Carlos Val-Carreres; and the former director of the Aragonese Resource Center for Intercultural Education (Carei), Paco Bailo.
The offering of flowers to the Virgin
The Pilar festivities revolve around the big day, October 12, during which the city is decorated to honor its patron saint, offering flowers to the Virgin of the Pilar. A unique day in the Zaragoza calendar, where thousands of people come from different parts of the world attracted by devotion, dressed in their regional costumes, in a floral celebration unique in the world.
Although many people do not know it, at dawn the homage to the Virgin of the Pillar begins in another church, that of San Pablo, from where the oldest Rosary of the Dawn in the city begins, which is still celebrated today, centuries ago, to meet the Pilarica inside the basilica.
A religious event that is worth knowing if you have the opportunity to attend, and whose climb on the ramp of the parish of San Pablo, both of Santo Domingo de Guzmán and of the Virgen del Rosario, with the traditional ropes pulled by parishioners, they will not leave anyone indifferent.
This year, as the country invited to the flower offering, it will be Guatemala, one of the rare Latin American states to have its own consulate in the city, and to which a delegation from the Embassy of Guatemalan country.
