Feel the magic of fantasy, the epic and the majestic, mystical and spiritual awe.
By the warmth of the bonfire and beneath the imposing presence of the centuries-old monument Arco de la Rosa, we enjoyed a magnificent performance of flamenco carols (traditional Christmas songs adapted to the flamenco style). The evening featured the Asociación Cultural El Roete, with Miguel Ángel Talaverón – who will portray King Melchior in the 2025 Marchena Three Kings Parade. In the second half, the flamenco zambomba group Vivencias de la Avenida, composed of Calé Roma, left us in awe.
The audience spontaneously joined in with dances, and at one point, we saw Lole Ortiz, who will take on the role of King Gaspar, and Agustina Galán, King Balthazar, dancing alongside Miguel Talaverón.
It was a performance I truly enjoyed.
Santa Claus paid a special visit during the Christmas lights switch-on in Marchena for the 2024-2025 season. He arrived in a sleigh pulled by two people! I couldn’t stop laughing! What happens in Marchena doesn’t happen anywhere else!
On October 26, 2024, an extraordinary departure was held celebrating the 425th anniversary of the first preserved book of rules, dated 1599, of the Dulce Nombre de Jesús brotherhood of Marchena. An outing that was spoiled by the rain, but that did not prevent us from enjoying the sweet child through the streets of Marchena.
The day before, a Ministriles concert was held in the parish, recreating what processional music was like at the time when the brotherhood was founded.
There was also a parade organised by the Dulce Nombre de Jesús Musical Band, which was also celebrating its anniversary. This impressive parade brought together more than 200 musicians from the Dulce Nombre band – including former members of the band – as well as other bands from the town such as the Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, and from other towns in the province such as Arahal, Morón de la Frontera, la Lantejuela, Áznalcollar…
I don’t have any photos or video of the extraordinary departure of the Dulce Nombre (because of the rain), but RTV Marchena together with Libetel TV made a fantastic live report:
The Dulce Nombre is a much loved figure in its village and well known in the rest of Spain for being very unique and characteristic. It represents a child Jesus already carrying the cross, as an allegory that since childhood he was predestined to die on the cross. It also represents the dreams that Jesus had as a child in which he dreamed of everything that would happen to him. The brotherhood, in fact, was founded by some children, who went out in procession with a cross, in the 16th century.
© 2025 Francisco González SOLEMNITY