The residents of the seaside neighborhood of Valterra celebrated this Tuesday the day of their patron saint Nuestra Señora del Carmen with the first lights of dawn, at 07:00 in the morning with the Salve Marinera and Rosario de la Aurora through the streets of the neighborhood and ending with the traditional breakfast with churros and chocolate. A festivity that continued in the afternoon at 7:00 p.m. and participate in the Eucharist in the parish church.
The Eucharist was presided over by Jesús María Silva Castignani, parish priest of San Isidro and San Pedro Claver in Madrid, who was assisted by Nicanor Bermúdez, the titular parish priest of Valterra and the parish priest of Tías, Adrián Sosa. The songs were enlivened by women and men collaborators of the parish and accompanied on the piano by Professor Pepe Artiles.
This celebration had a certain nostalgic nuance with a bittersweet taste, at the moment in which the titular parish priest Nicanor Bermúdez announced his farewell after 6 years at the head of the parish of Nuestra Señora del Carmen and his upcoming transfer to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. At the end of his thanks to the entire community, for several minutes applause sounded encouraging him and wrapping him in some very emotional moments.
At the end of the Eucharist, the soprano Sheila Rizo performed Schubert's Ave María, then the procession began, headed by the music band La Unión Musical de Lanzarote, directed by Professor Pepe Artiles, with the celebrating priests, municipal authorities and numerous parishioners who accompanied the Virgin throughout the processional route. A route that this year skirted the bank of the Charco de San Ginés, to reach the headquarters of the Cultural Association Casa del Miedo, the board of directors and collaborators had erected a small altar with a replica of the Virgen del Carmen.
The vice president Pedro Cabrera recited a poem, a gift from Juan Rojas Bolaños, and to comply with the tradition the members of the murga Los Simplones were waiting for him, who with much emotion and affection sang a beautiful prayer entitled Madre Carmen. Immediately afterwards, all those present enjoyed the fireworks, thus putting the finishing touch to a day dedicated to the Patron Saint of Sailors and Valterra.
