Fiesta time.

Our late evenings are regaled at the moment with music from concerts up on the nearby promontory of A Guía. Too distant to be recognisably any music we might be familiar with, it is just loud enough to keep us awake in the hot nights. The season of fiestas is clearly upon us. 

Yesterday it was the sound of the religious bit that floated through our window in the late morning and went on for what seemed like hours. There was the voice of the priest intoning, again too distant to hear clearly what he chanted, but in that special style that seems international and which they must teach them at priest school. Then there was the singing of the congregation/choir. I assume the sound came from the church just a short distance up the road but it could have carried from somewhere further off. 

I don't know what is special about the 5th of August. Perhaps someone can enlighten me. 

It could have been something to do with el Cristo de la Victoria de Vigo. This might have explained some of the explosions or gunshots which I also heard. The Cristo de la Victoria is apparently quite important in Vigo and he is believed to have helped with the victory over Napoleonic troops who invaded the city in 1809. I always feel it must be quite confusing for poor old God when both sides in a battle believe in him and expect him to support them. In 1809 he is supposed to have plumped for the Spanish rather than the French. I wonder what they did to upset him. Maybe it was that presumptuous Napoleon's fault. 

Anyway, el Cristo de la Victoria is due to be paraded through the streets of the city on Sunday, or so I read in the newspaper in the barbershop while Phil was having his hair cut. 

If not el Cristo de la Victoria, then the celebrations could be for Nuestra Señora de la Nieves, another of Mary's many incarnations. Quite what Our Lady of the Snows has to do with Vigo, a place which does not see snow except on television, I do not know but she has her fiesta around now as well. Or that's what it said in the newspaper. 

I also read about the continuing "success" of Vigo's Peinador airport. They called it a great success because the other day 20 planes took off in one day for 11 different destinations. Wow! Never before have they had 20 planes taking off in one day! So I suppose that for a small airport it was a big step forward. 5000 travellers went through the airport on that one day! I should not mock but it really is a very small success. But then they have spent quite a lot of money developing the airport so we should wish them luck. 

Also deserving of our wishes and hopes for their success are the 14 Gallegos who are part of the Spanish Olympic team off to Río, where they hope to exceed their record of 17 medals which they won in London. 

Not a bad contribution for one region of the country.