The Valterra neighborhood closed its festivities in honor of the Virgen del Carmen with a maritime procession last Sunday, which brought together hundreds of neighbors in the capital of Lanzarote.
The first stop of the tour took place on the esplanade in front of the Insular Hospital around six in the afternoon, where the elderly residents there awaited the arrival of the Virgin. Minutes later, the mass began, presided over by Jesús Andrés Medina Durán, a priest from the Diocese of Trujillo (Venezuela), assisted by the parish priest of San Ginés, Archpriest of Lanzarote and Episcopal Vicar of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and La Graciosa, Juan Carlos Medina, and by the parish priest of Valterra and Altavista, Nicanor Bermúdez. The Lanzarote seminarians Alejandro Carmona and Daniel Romero and the little altar boy from Valterra also attended.
The mass was enlivened with songs performed by the Coral Iris del Mar, from Valterra, as well as by the Coro Rociero Al-Andalus entre Alisios y Levante. Once finished, the procession set off for the Puerto Naos dock, led by the Unión Musical de Lanzarote music band, directed by Professor Pepe Artiles. When passing by the monument "The light that guides us", a tribute to the deceased sailors, the Coral Iris del Mar sang the "Salve Marinera".
Once at the dock, the Virgen del Carmen was boarded on the “Boramar”, a property of Líneas Marítimas Romero ceded to the Councilor for Festivities of the Arrecife City Council, Encarna Páez, to parade the Patron Saint of Sailors through the bay of Arrecife and which throughout the tour was escorted by small boats.
When the boats reached the height of the commercial dock of Arrecife, they stopped their engines and proceeded to pray in memory of the deceased sailors, as well as to make a floral offering. After finishing the tour, the Boramar returned to Puerto Naos, where the Music Band welcomed Nuestra Señora del Carmen and accompanied her, along with the parishioners, until they reached the church.
Finally, the sky of Valterra was filled with colors with the fireworks that were widely applauded, thus putting the finishing touch to the festivities.
The mayor of Arrecife Astrid Pérez and the Councilor for Festivities Encarna Páez also participated in the mass and accompanied the Virgin throughout the processional and boarding route.
