Photos: Sergio Betancort
The town of Playa Blanca paid marine tribute to the Virgen del Carmen this Sunday, embarking her on the town's small beach amidst cheers and applause from hundreds of residents and tourists who, from land, watched her figure's journey along the coastline on Adrián Yanes' Puma 1, a boat accompanied by about fifty fishing and sports boats.
A short mass presided over by the priest of Yaiza, Sixto Álvarez, preceded the descent of the patron saint from the church to the beach while the Pal' Porrón band sang and played. After 14 years of service to the southern Christian community, Álvarez is leaving the Parish of Yaiza to continue his mission in another destination, thus, 2018 was his last maritime procession as parish priest during this period of work in Yaiza.
Veteran fishermen such as Blas Francisco Martín 'Pacheco' and Aurelio Martín, and new generations who have already taken over, such as Adrián Yanes himself and the young skipper of the Playa Blanca Fishermen's Association, Cristo Caraballo, participated in the marine tribute to the patron saint. The first deputy mayor of Yaiza, Daniel Medina, and the councillor for Festivities, Javier Camacho, led the institutional representation of the Yaiza Town Council.
According to the Town Council, "the southern Association is 38 years old, maintaining the fishing activity that directly supports about fifteen families in the municipality. The sector participates in the tourist business through the fruits of the sea that residents and visitors enjoy in hotels and restaurants and their sale in the premises that the members have in the port. For these and other more personal reasons, sailors and devotees of the Virgen del Carmen express their faith in the patron saint, throwing themselves into the July celebrations every year".
