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 Grazalema's first celebration of the summer 2009 was held on the 24th May with the "Romeria de San Isidro". Hailing the arrival of summer and involving a lively procession of virtually the entire village down to a pasture in the ribera valley for a big picnic (KM 4 on the Grazalema-Montecorto road). In the usual way of Spanish festivities there are copious amounts of food and drink and lots of loud music. The procession gathers at 8 am for prayers at the church of Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación and proceeds down and out of the village to La Ribera. The picnic party goes on all day and then for as long as anyone has the energy to keep going. Read more for a bit of background on Saint Isidore the Laborer and some pictures of the 2009 Romeria....
Saint Isidore the Laborer, also known as Isidore the Farmer, (Spanish: San Isidro Labrador), (c. 1070 – May 15, 1130), was a Spanish day laborer known for his goodness toward the poor and animals. He is the Catholic patron saint of farmers and of Madrid, Spain. Isidore was born to very poor parents near Madrid, about the year 1070. He was in the service of the wealthy Madrid landowner Juan de Vargas on a farm in the vicinity of Madrid. Juan de Vargas would later make him bailiff of his entire estate of Lower Caramanca.
Every morning before going to work, Isidore was accustomed to hearing a Mass at one of the churches in Madrid. One day his fellow-laborers complained to their master that Isidore was always late for work in the morning. Upon investigation, so runs the legend, the master found Isidore at prayer while an angel was doing the ploughing for him. On another occasion, his master saw an angel ploughing on either side of him, so that Isidore's work was equal to that of three of his fellow-labourers. Isidore is also said to have brought back to life his master's deceased daughter, and to have caused a fountain of fresh water to burst from the dry earth in order to quench his master's thirst.
St Isidore married Maria Torribia, a canonized saint, who is known as Santa María de la Cabeza in Spain because her head (cabeza in Spanish) is often carried in processions, especially during droughts. Isidore and Maria had one son, who died in his youth. On one occasion their son fell into a deep well and, at the prayers of his parents, the water of the well is said to have risen miraculously to the level of the ground, bringing the child with it, alive and well. Isidore and Maria then vowed continence and lived in separate houses.
Isidore died on May 15, 1130, at his birthplace close to Madrid. When King Philip III of Spain was cured of a deadly disease by touching the relics of the saint, the king replaced the old reliquary with a costly silver one. Isidore was beatified in Rome on May 2, 1619 by Pope Paul V. He was canonized nearly three years later by Pope Gregory XV
After some prayers and singing ealy in the morning the day started out well with a bright but cloudy sky and the procession left the village...
 But, pretty soon the skies turned grey and the heavens opened, being for some the first time in memory that it rained during a Romeria.
Whilst a few horseriders and people hurried for cover, others just laughed, shrugged off the rain and continued on their way... Rain never gets in the way of a good Spanish fiesta. Cars continue to arrive, the road from Grazalema is all but closed to traffic as the procession winds its way down into the Gaidovar valley. Singing and dancing, lots of hand clapping and of course copius amounts of fino to boulster the energy levels...
On arriving at the Romeria site the specially prepared road soon turns to mud but no one thinks that they might have troubles getting out later... The priroty is getting parked up, unloading the car and getting down to some proper eating, drinking and merrymaking and after that perhaps a bit more drinking just to aid the digestion...
Within an hour or so the rain storm that tried to dampen everyones spirits is gone and the clouds break to reveal a bright blue sky. The party will continue on till around 8pm if the weather holds.
Caught up in the proceeding was this group of inn to inn walkers... sticks and maps in hand and coming across the romeria by chance they posed for me in their macs and waterproofs... Not far for them to walk as they were on their way to Grazalema, the village pretty much all to themselves as everybody was down here partying!
Hope you had a good holiday!
And a few more images below from the day....
So until next year, that's the Romeria of Grazalema 2009. Undoubtedly there will be some sore heads in the morning but really this was just a practise run for the big fiestas coming up during the summer months... For me this is my favorite fiesta of the year as it revolves around a celebration of the countryside...
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Exhibitions, Religious Events and Fiestas 
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