The Bajada

The procession leaving Isora

I'm better informed now. The main procession with the statue of the Virgin of the Kings leaves El Dehesa at 5 am, and travels 28 km to Valverde, the capital, arriving at 10:30 pm. But there are lots of side processions. For example, I saw one procession leave Isora with their statue of St. Joseph at 7 am, to meet the main procession at La Cruz de Los Reyes.

It was still dark to begin with, and half light when they danced away up a steep lane out of the village. I was only walking, and I couldn't keep up.

They only have three musical instruments: rather high-pitched flutes, castanets and big, deep drums. When I heard Herreñan music on the telly, I didn't like it at all, because it was far too shrill. I hadn't appreciated that my TV wasn't reproducing the low notes. In real life, the glorious WHUMP! from the big drums balances the flutes perfectly, and you want to dance.

And they do dance. They have people dancing all the way, in shifts. The costumes and dance steps are a little reminiscent of English morris dancers. I believe the tune and costumes vary a little from village to village.

In fact, five processions meet the main one La Cruz de Los Reyes, each with their own statue. It's also where people stop for a picnic lunch.

Then they all travel together, with the villages taking turns for the honour of carrying the Virgin and dancing for her. I caught up with the procession at La Raya de la Mareta, where El Pinar hands over to Isora.


The procession at La Raya de la Mareta

The sun was baking, and I was amazed to see the dancers still going at it with gusto. These people are really fit! Of course, they must have been practising for months, and I expect a lot of them have physical work anyway.


The bajada dancers

Even in the middle of the procession, the crowds were huge. I would have liked to see the arrival at Valverde, where they dance inside the big church, but I didn't fancy my chances of getting a parking space within a couple of miles of the town centre.


The huge crowd at Raya de la Mareta