| | |  News from Around Banderas Bay | January 2009 
Our Lady of Peace, Patron of Bucerías, is Celebrating her Fiesta, January 16th-24th, 2009
 Florelisa Hernandez - PVNN
| | The festival of Our Lady of Peace, the patron Saint of Bucerías, begins on January 16th and continues through the 24th. During the 9-day fiesta, daily processions, carnival games and rides, food vendors and nightly entertainment take over downtown. | |
Every year in January, in the little town of Bucerías, Nayarit there is a festival celebrating Our Lady of Peace (La Virgen de la Paz) who is the patron of the local Catholic church. The fiesta lasts for nine days, during which the streets fill up with vendors of everything under the sun as well as scores of carnival rides.
The origins of the image of The Lady of the Peace go as far as the VII century, and are connected to Saint Ildephonse (606-667), an archbishop of Toledo, Spain, noted as a writer and musician and also for his devotion to Virgin Mary.
The tradition tells that during a night of December a miracle occurred when the Saint entered the Cathedral of Toledo, as he found it lit by a great shining, the Virgin was sitting on the archbishop chair, an act that was interpreted as Her approval of the Saint's teachings, as a present the Virgin gave him a cloak.
Saint Ildephonse died on Jan 23rd, and the next day Jan 24th, was dedicated to remember the miracle. During the later years and centuries, a number of art works were painted about the subject, some examples are the master works of El Greco, Rubens, Velazquez, and Zurbaran, and some other great Spanish painters.
There was another related episode during the last quarter of XI century. The story tells that in 1085 during the times of the Moorish invasion of Spain, there was a battle in which the Toledo Cathedral was in dispute. The Muslims had settled in Spain, and the Cathedral was to become a mosque, miraculously the Muslim chiefs changed their minds and handed the cathedral back to the Christians. The incident occurred on the eve of January 24th, and it was thought that it had to do with the Virgin of the Peace, who mysteriously acted to save the Christian faith.
Upon the conquest of the Americas, the tradition reached our lands and somehow made it to the newly founded town of Bucerías, Nayarit, which in 1948, was comprised of seven palapas.
The image is formed by a statue of the Virgin Mary, dressed in blue, carrying the baby Jesus in her left arm. Both have crowns, and the Child is holding the Globe.
The festival of Our Lady of Peace, patron Saint of Bucerías begins January 16th, and continues through the 24th. Besides the carnival which takes place at the plaza, there are daily processions of various local organizations and nightly entertainment. The festival culminates in the evening with the lighting of the Castillo (Castle) - a three story tower filled with fireworks. An event not to be missed.
Noteworthy is "The Bull" - a young man with a wooden rack that resembles a bull's head, full of rockets, which runs through the crowd shooting off the fireworks in all directions. Another event to see is the arrival of the boats from La Cruz de Huanacaxtle to the beach of Bucerías. This happens about noon on the 24th. The boat crews then proceed to the church for the blessing.
Back in 1946, the Bucerías ejido encompassed three thousand hectares, which included the towns of Mezcales and Mezcalitos. It was not until 1974 that 100 hectares were expropriated in order to build what is now known as the Flamingos development (North of Bucerías.)
Around 1948, Bucerías had only seven palapas (palm thatch roof) huts and the main economic activity, besides fishing, was the growth of corn, sorghum, sesame, peanuts, and mango.
Getting to Bucerías now couldn't be easier, from north or south on coastal highway 200, although before 1955, Bucerias could only be reached during dry season via a dirt road, which passed 6 miles away from town.
Did you know?
Venezuela, (Latin America) has a large monument dedicated to the Virgin of the Peace. Located in Trujillo, it was created in 1983 by sculptors Manuel de la Fuente and Rosendo Camargo. Measuring 46 meters high, the monument is one of the tallest monuments in the Americas, compared with the famous Statue of Liberty, which was built by French sculptor Federico Bartholdi as a gift to the US in 1886. Lady Liberty is located in New York Harbor and is 96 meters tall.
In addition to sharing their Italian traditions and rich cuisine at Frascati Ristorante, the Defayes Family is committed to spreading the word about the local traditions of this beautiful area. Don't miss one of the most enjoyable Festivals of the region, and be sure to stop by Frascati for Italian cuisine with the spirit and a warm atmosphere derived from the beautiful region of Toscana. It is worth the visit.
 Open daily from 5-11 pm, Frascati is located at Langosta 10 in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Nayarit. For more information, call (329) 295-69185, visit FrascatiVallarta.com, or send an email to info(at)frascativallarta.com. |
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