Romeria

A romería (Spanish) or romaria (Portuguese) is a religious pilgrimage. The term comes from romero/romeiro, meaning those travelling towards Rome. It is a Catholic celebration that consists of a trip or peregrination (in cars, floats, on horseback or on foot) that ends at a sanctuary or hermitage. People spend weeks preparing for this "pilgrimage" by cooking food and decorating their floats. It is not necessarily always a trip, but in some cases a celebration that lasts all day long. During this celebration, there is dancing, singing, eating and drinking, of course. People usually dress in flamenco dresses or jeans and a collared shirt.

One of the most famous examples of a pilgrimage is that of Nuestra Señora del Rocío, in which the faithful move to the Sanctuary of the Virgen del Rocío in the village of the Rocío, in Almonte, Huelva. The Romeria of Sant John of the Mountain, celebrated in Miranda de Ebro, is the second most important romeria in Spain behind El Rocío with more than 25,000 romeros.

Another one of the most representative examples is the Romería de la Virgen de la Cabeza (Andújar, Jaén), which is considered the oldest pilgrimages of Spain, and consists of the displacement of the travellers coming from all over the country to the Sanctuary of the Virgen de la Cabeza, through 33 km of Andújar, in the heart of Sierra de Andujar natural park. This celebration is held the last Sunday of April and is considered of national tourist interest.

The Romería de la Virgin de Navahonda, celebrated in spring in the Madrilenian municipality of Robledo de Chavela is representative of this tradition.

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Wikipedia