Public administrations and social groups are focusing on reminding people of the obligation to dress appropriately for the occasion when visiting the Patron Saint on the 22nd.

Of pilgrimage and not of Carnival

"For some time now," says Santiago Torres, president of the Cultural Association Coros y Danzas de Arrecife, "the pilgrimage of Los Dolores seems more like a Carnival parade than a religious and cultural procession." From ...

September 20 2007 (17:32 WEST)
Of pilgrimage and not of Carnival
Of pilgrimage and not of Carnival

"For some time now," says Santiago Torres, president of the Cultural Association Coros y Danzas de Arrecife, "the pilgrimage of Los Dolores seems more like a Carnival parade than a religious and cultural procession." Félix Hormiga, a cultural reference on the island and member of the Culture Department of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, thinks the same way. "You cannot subject the folklore, the heritage of a society, to the disturbances marked by a fashion or comfort. We are witnessing a distortion of the cultural apparatus of an island. Without an image there is no memory and we are creating an absolutely discordant image of the traditions and customs of traditional Lanzarote."

Torres and Hormiga agree when pointing out that "comfort is not at odds with the roots of a people." They refer to the presence of more and more beachgoers among the feet of the pilgrims. "It is not necessary for the pilgrims to come with leather sandals made of cow, bull, goat or ram. It is only necessary that when the pilgrimage begins, people wear brown or black lace-up shoes." Santiago Torres goes further. "I believe that people are free to wear the shoes that are most convenient for them during the pilgrimage. However, when the pilgrimage begins, they must change."

"I understand that we have to seek the happiness and visual pleasure of an entire town that comes en masse to worship its patron saint. And visual pleasure is not achieved by wearing a sash around the neck, like a Pamplona scarf, or wearing blue jeans," says Hormiga. "We have to work to recover the canons that mark the traditional," he continues. And what is traditional? We ask.

The men

"You can get a simple male suit for between 60 and 100 euros," announces Santiago Torres. The simple suit to which the president of the Cultural Association Coros y Danzas de Arrecife refers is made up of a white shirt, originally made of linen fabric woven in the country. Originally, these shirts folded the sleeves at the height of the shoulders, the cuffs, the bib and, sometimes, at the back of the neck. They can be found on the market for 18 euros.

The pants can be gray, black, or listed in both colors. There are half-leg breeches, which are adjusted to the thigh by means of metal buttons and which were finished with a garter with a buckle. They are narrower and tighter and are frequently trimmed in some color, generally red. But those are more expensive and more luxurious pants. They are the ones worn by the members of Coros y Danzas de Arrecife. Remember that we are trying to dress as pilgrims for a more or less affordable price. Simple pants cost 15 euros plain, and 11 listed.

A sash or belt, black, although "we ignore the reason why, lately, they are worn in all colors. The sash must be black," says Torres, "although some have been found with characteristics similar to Scottish fabric" - one in reddish tones, dating from 1880. The sash leaves a piece of unwoven warp at its ends, forming small cords or fringes. Normally it should measure about 3 meters long and a width of twelve or thirteen centimeters. It is rolled around the waist, arranging its width, or folded in half lengthwise. Tradition says nothing about putting it on the head as a pirate scarf, or around the neck as if it were a scarf in honor of San Fermín. For the modest price of 12 euros we can get one of them.

The puppy is a black felt hat, which we can buy for about 12 euros. And although we have designed a simple pilgrim suit, we cannot ignore that there is also a vest, leggings and even a marsellés, a kind of long coat of very coarse wool and thick fabric, which finishes inside like a doormat. But in September and with the rigors of the heat, it is an element that can be ignored under penalty of being in compliance with some religious promise.

As Santiago Torres assured us, this simple man's suit costs around 58 euros. With that clothing, no one will be able to look at us askance in Mancha Blanca.

The women

The simple women's suit has more elements than the male one. To begin with, a shirt, which we have seen white or with small flowers. The price ranges between 10 euros for the printed one and 18.90 for the plain one. Originally, the shirts were made of linen or cotton, with linen buttons. The sleeves can be long or short, wide with a lot of flight or narrow. They can be pleated at the shoulder and cuffs. At the union of the sleeves with the body, there is an extension of fabric or square reinforcement, folded diagonally to have more slack in the movements of the arms. But we are still talking about a simple suit.

The peasant skirt is the one that has been imposed in the latest fashion among the pilgrims. It can be plain, in bright colors, or also printed with flowers. The plain one costs about 15 euros, while the flowered one costs about 18. Under the skirt, the use of petticoats is practically mandatory, which we will get for 21 euros. Curiously, in its origin, the cord petticoat was also known as a skirt, since it was the only garment that dressed the woman from the waist down. They used to be very voluminous and were the most expensive garment of the feminine attire. They were identified with several names: naguas, saya ... to be called reverse and right wool petticoats from the conquest of the Islands. The cord petticoats were made of stripes - blue and white were the most common - and plain - generally, dark blue or brown.

And we have the accessories left: a peasant hat, in white, which costs about 12 euros. There are also palm or rye straw mats, although the latter used to be secondary since it is a very hard material. There is a lot of variety of sizes and models of hats: large high crown and medium brim, medium height crown and medium brim, large and low crown and large brim, medium crown and large brim and high crown and wide brim. Generally they are adorned with a thin ribbon around the crown, in velvet, and also on the edge of the brim. The price ranges between 10 euros and 20.

There are two other essential accessories for a simple suit: a scarf, which replaces the headdress, which is a piece of linen or cotton of variable dimensions, which was used to cover the head and neck and to protect them from the sun. Currently there are all the colors of the spectrum, and the price is around 3 euros.

The apron was, and is, a garment that had the function of protecting the petticoat or skirt from dirt while working in the fields or doing housework. It is a piece that can be of various sizes and its price is around 5 euros.

For women there is also the vest, the jaleco, the mantilla and the mantle, but they are not essential elements for the occasion.

We have, therefore, that for the modest price of 90 euros we can have a pilgrim suit for the occasion. "No strange or strange combinations. You can go simple and neat at the same time," insists Santiago Torres.

Obviously, for both men and women, we have ignored the footwear, but you can get simple lace-up boots for about 16 euros.

The little ones

In these times almost everything is manufactured. To the point that if we want to dress our little ones as pilgrims, there are packs in which the whole set comes. The boy's is a little more expensive than the girl's but it comes with a vest and scarf. The male children's suit costs 25 euros while the girl's costs 14.

The solutions to the problem

"The solution is from the Administration," say the technicians consulted by La Voz in unison. "In the first place, it is up to the City Council of Tinajo to ensure strict compliance with the rules of dress," says Torres, "because if we don't, we run the risk of the pilgrimage losing its rich heritage value. I don't know if the solution is to have more technicians on the pilgrim route and go warning or advising people of compliance with these rules, but I suppose controlling so many people is still complicated...?"

Félix Hormiga expresses himself in identical terms, extending to ensure that "it is up to the public institutions to play the role of marking the rules and issuing the models of action and behavior. If someone is dressed in Armani, for example, at the Pilgrimage, they may be well dressed and with very expensive clothes, but they are not in communion with the aesthetics of the day or the heritage and cultural values of Lanzarote."

Another solution may be to order a suit from a workshop, but you have to have time, and above all, money, to be able to do it. We have found suits that exceed 4500 euros, depending on the materials used and, of course, the price of labor.

Well, by making a sacrifice on one side, saving a little on the other, and tying up a little money on the other, we can do an important favor to the culture and historical wealth of Lanzarote. But above that, if we are able to continue well dressed halfway through the journey, we will honor our traditions and contribute our grain of sand to their conservation. All for Los Dolores. All for one of the most important pilgrimages in the Archipelago.

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