Photos: Sergio Betancort
With a great festive atmosphere, residents and vacationers gathered at 12:30 this Sunday in the hermitage of Caleta de Famara to participate in the mass and procession in honor of the Virgin of the Sacred Heart of Mary.
The Eucharist was presided over by the parish priest of Teguise, Matías Gula, who, with guitar in hand, also led the songs of the celebration. In addition, inside the hermitage, next to the Sacred Heart of Mary, was also the image of Our Lady of Carmen, which arrived that same morning from La Graciosa aboard the fishing boat Lorenza y Manuel, owned by the Páez Guadalupez brothers.
This image is a carving made in Gran Canaria commissioned by the Fishermen's Association of La Graciosa, which is located in a chapel on the esplanade of the Caleta de Sebo dock, which was blessed on the day of Carmen by the parish priest Norberto Medina.
Tour of the coastline
After the Eucharist, the land-sea procession began with the two images. The Sacred Heart of Mary and the Virgen del Carmen toured the streets of the town, very accompanied by the Teguise Music Band, the celebrating parish priest and the parishioners, until they reached the beach, next to the pier.
There, the two images were carried on the shoulders to the boats that were waiting to take them along the coast to Caleta de Caballo, to the expectation of the numerous public that waited on the shore until their return.
The Teguise Music Band received them on their return, making their instruments sound much louder while the public welcomed them with cheers and applause. Thus, once again the Caleta residents honored their patron saint, the Sacred Heart of Mary, and the guest of honor who arrived from La Graciosa, the Virgen del Carmen.
