To the rhythm of the “Silent Night” and Valencian Christmas carols – in memory of those affected by DANA – performed by the Madrid Youth Choir, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, mayor of the capital, inaugurated the crèche this Thursday municipal. A Christmas classic that can be visited at CentroCentro (Cibeles Palace) until next January 5.
Circular in structure and on a Spanish flag, the nativity scene, created by the Association of Nativity Scene Creators of Madrid, is made up of 278 figures and buildings from the municipal inventory measuring between 7 and 35 centimeters with the signature of the nativity scene. the stage artist José Luis Mayo Lebrija, whom the Town Hall is honoring this year. The tour reviews the events recounted by the evangelists Saint Luke and Saint Matthew, with details inspired by the apocryphal Gospels. It begins with the Annunciation, continues with the arrival of Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem, the Annunciation to the shepherds, the great parade of the Three Kings, the representation of the Birth – which evokes the passage of Saint Luke – and the flight to Egypt, in which Joseph, Mary and the Child Jesus cross a winding path that borders a waterfall and a lake, integrating into the landscape of Bethlehem.
This nativity scene also presents many everyday scenes, from preparing meals at home, to the washerwoman or the fisherman. In fact, José Luis Mayo recognized that among some of these traditional images are some of the most curious figures, such as “the little old woman who delouses the child”. But his favorite, besides Mary and the Child, is that of Saint Joseph, “the eternal unknown”. “What do we know about him? Only that he had the great responsibility to take care of this child and this mother and to work to move forward,” he stressed.
Almeida invited believers and non-believers to visit this traditional nativity scene and stop to reflect on feelings such as “love and hope”, which in his opinion are “the best form of reflection that can exist between people. He also didn’t want to forget to send the “affection and support” from the entire city of Madrid to those who lost everything. The first mayor also insisted on the wish that the “time of peace and hope” of Christmas be extended throughout the year, especially in times as turbulent as those we are currently experiencing: “Let the song ‘ Douce Nuit’ guides us all year round. “, he said.
