In recent years, the Town Hall of Marchena, together with Radio Televisión Marchena, has been organizing a pre-campanadas party held a few days before New Year’s Eve. This event simulates the traditional New Year’s Eve “campanadas” (chimes). It is also a charitable event, as the proceeds from the sale of grapes are donated to an organization that supports Alzheimer’s victims. Lasting over five hours, it began at 5:30 PM and included performances for kids, artificial snow, a DJ, and at 10 PM, the “campanadas,” complete with fireworks. This year, the event was held in Plaza de la Constitución, in front of the child’s fountain. It is a fantastic initiative that brings joy and life to the town.
2024-12-27_21-20-23 – Fiesta pre-campanadas
2024-12-27_21-20-30 – Fiesta pre-campanadas
2024-12-27_21-45-41 – Fiesta pre-campanadas
2024-12-27_22-03-34 – Fiesta pre-campanadas
For those visiting from other countries who may not be familiar with Spain’s New Year’s Eve campanadas tradition, it is one of the most iconic rituals that unites Spaniards. As the clock strikes twelve midnight on December 31st in the famous Puerta del Sol square in Madrid, people eat one grape for each chime. This ritual symbolizes wishes for good luck in the coming year and brings families and friends together in a shared moment of celebration, joy, and hope. It ends with a hearty “Happy New Year!” and a toast with champagne, cava, or whatever each family prefers.
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:
