Feel the magic of fantasy, the epic and the majestic, mystical and spiritual awe.
Today, it has been a very special day. My cousin Cristina’s wedding. Of all my cousins, she was the first to have a wedding (my cousin Jorge had gotten married first, but civilly without any type of ceremony or celebration). It was in the church of San Juan Bautista de Marchena:
It has been an incredible wedding. Now it’s time to rest, my body is destroyed after many hours of dancing.
As an anniversary of the day completely unrelated to the above, today marks exactly 530 years since Christopher Columbus landed on a Caribbean island and named it Guadalupe, in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Cáceres (Extremadura, Spain).
All documentation, including the ship’s logs and personal diaries of Christopher Columbus, are preserved in Seville in the Archive of the Indies building. Right next door, in the cathedral, his mortal remains lie in an impressive tomb:
Narrated by Peter Dinklage, the actor who plays Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones. The campaign has cost 38 million euros.
Searching through the trunk of memories (that is, the hard drive), recovering some photos and recordings made with the iPhone from fairs from a few years ago (especially the typical Instagram stories… should I make one again?) I found myself It seemed interesting to publish them. At the end of the post I explain some things.
Llámame Lola fair booth:
Delia Suárez with La Bejazz at the caseta Llámame Lola:
Improvised flamenco in the “botellones” (area where young people bring bags with drinks, glasses and ice):
María “La Peke” with la Bejazz at caseta El Soniquete:
Of course, improvised flamenco in the street cannot be missed after the casetas close (6 in the morning):
Caribbean rhythms with Son de Cuba:
This is where the citrus fruit joke was born:
El Soniquete is a booth created by my friends. I am not a member, but my brother, my cousin, etc. are, so I consider it my booth even if I am not a member. Many of my friends are musicians, as you can see in the videos Mane Moraza, Pablo and Javier Carmona, Kisko Hidalgo, Amaga… (la Bejazz). I have known María “La Peke” since we were kids, because she was my classmate at school. Regarding “Son del Manchón”, the two in the middle are the sisters María and Ana Dorado, I have also known them since they were little, because their parents are very friends with my uncle and aunt. On the left was their cousin Marta Ponce (blonde), and on the right Carmen Ponce, cousin of Marta but not of María and Ana. In short, I am surrounded by many artists and everything is within family. This year the El Soniquete booth has been in charge of giving the fair opening speech. Ana Martín (Mane Moraza’s wife) was chosen as the person who gives the opening speech because she was who had the idea to create the booth. She chose her cousin Leticia Martín as the host. And her son Lorca was the one who pressed the button that turns on the lighting that officially opens the fair. The name Lorca is in honor of Federico García Lorca, famous Andalusian poet. Both the poetry recited by Ana in the opening speech, and the lyrics that Son del Manchón sang during the opening speech, are by Federico García Lorca. Ah! El Manchón is the name of another booth they belong to. At the Marchena fair, unlike others like the fair of Seville, all the booths are free access, anyone who wants can enter, except during the members’ dinner on Wednesday.
For such a small town (19,000 inhabitants) it is a town with a lot of culture and history (it already existed centuries before Christ). Monuments, artists, religious processions, flamenco…. And I want to show you everything, are you coming?
© 2025 Francisco González SOLEMNITY