Because I have to solve some problems related to printing and it will take time, and because I still have to recover my energy (health problems) the launch of my online store is going to be postponed indefinitely for now.
The booths for the Marchena Fair are already being set up.
Assembly is officially underway, with this year’s Marchena Fair taking place from August 26th to 30th. I always update this page, which features the current dates every year alongside all the reports I’ve put together since 2017. (only the spanish version).
And just as the fair is right around the corner, there’s only a month left until the feast day of the Virgen de los Remedios. Next up will be the Divina Pastora, and rumor has it that this year there will be a joint procession featuring Saint Francis of Assisi and our patron saint, the Virgen del Rosario. This special occasion marks the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi as well as the 300th anniversary of the privileges granted by Pope Benedict XIII for the procession of Nuestra Señora del Rosario. Later on, the Virgen del Pilar will take to the streets on Columbus Day (Día de la Hispanidad), October 12th—a date that marks 534 years since Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas.
The Miss Universe season is also kicking off, with this year’s pageant scheduled for November 24th in Puerto Rico.
Still, my absolute favorite Miss Universe moment has always been, and will always be, this one from 2021. For her reaction, that stunning hair, and above all, the incredible answer she gave:
I know this post is a bit of an eclectic mix, but everything has its reason.
425th anniversary of the first rules of the brotherhood of the Sweet Name of Jesus of Marchena
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.
