Photos: Miguel Hernández
On Friday, August 14th, at 9:00 p.m. in the Municipal Theater of San Bartolomé, the reading of the festival proclamation took place, given by the mezzo-soprano Belén Elvira Pérez. The event began with a performance by the Municipal Choir of San Bartolomé, which performed six very varied songs and well-known themes that were highly applauded by the audience, which packed the theater.
Once the performance of the Municipal Choir was over, the mayor of the municipality, Marcial Martín, took the stage, who was in charge of welcoming all those present, inviting them to participate in the festivities in an atmosphere of hospitality and good work. At the same time, the mayor introduced this year's town crier, Belén Elvira Pérez, a young woman eager to continue occupying the best positions within the musical scene of the world of opera, zarzuela and revue.
Belén, who for work reasons moved and founded her residence in Guadalajara, every summer and whenever her professional occupations allow, takes a break to her town, San Bartolomé. And this year, for a much more rewarding reason, being the town crier of the 2009 festivities.
In her proclamation, Belén reviewed the festivities that she, as a child and young woman, has had to experience, mentioning some characters within the cultural, religious and festive sphere with an imaginary walk through each of the towns that make up the municipality of San Bartolomé.
Once the reading of the proclamation, which was highly applauded, was concluded, Mayor Marcial Martín took the stage, who presented her with a sculpture with a replica of the town's church portico. In addition, the Councilor for Festivities, Aurea Mauri, presented her with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
The night continued with the performance of the Cuban singer Mayelín, accompanied by her musicians, and with a spectacular voice she performed six songs from the popular musical repertoire. Mayelín, with her good stage presence, knew how to win over the public, who rewarded her with their applause.
After Mayelín's performance, the town crier and mezzo-soprano Belén Elvira took the stage, but this time to sing, accompanied by the pianist Juan Antonio Álvarez Parejo. Together they performed four themes within the lyrical world, leaving the audience speechless. Immediately afterwards, the municipal choir took the stage and together with Belén Elvira performed the song from Las Leandras "Los Nardos", bringing the act to an end with the hymn to the town, while the audience standing up did not stop applauding.
On the same night, the jury's decision was announced for the VIII Historical Photography Contest "Military Service in Ancient San Bartolomé", with the prize going to the photo provided by the town's neighbor Reyes Tabares Betancort, who received a cash prize of 90 euros.
