Hundreds of people accompanied the Virgin of A Barca yesterday in the Torchlight Procession, which was held for the second year after being revived. The route was extended to 2.5 kilometres, according to the parish priest of the Sanctuary, Daniel Turnes, ‘in order to make it easier for all those people, especially the elderly, who for health reasons are unable to participate, to see Our Lady of A Barca’.
The procession had to be postponed until yesterday due to adverse weather conditions on Saturday. The Sanctuary of A Barca was already full of worshippers before the celebration of the Novena of the day, which was attended by the Episcopal Vicar of Pastoral Care and parish priest in solidum of the Pastoral Unit of Pontevedra Norte, Francisco Javier Porro. The Eucharist was accompanied by the voices of the Muxía Polyphonic Choir.
Once the services were over, Daniel Turnes took the image of the Saint to place it on the renovated platform and begin the procession. The procession was attended by hundreds of faithful who, in an atmosphere of contemplation, walked through the streets of the town under the gaze of numerous neighbours who followed the torchlight procession from the doors and windows of their homes.
Throughout the procession, the bearers of the float of Virgen de la Barca took turns so that as many faithful as possible could participate. The last stop of the procession was next to the statue of La Herida, where, as the culmination of the torchlight procession, a spectacular fireworks display was held from the A Barca Sanctuary in Muxía. The procession concluded with the arrival of the image of the Saint at the temple and the final blessing by the preacher of the day and the cheers of ‘Long live the Virgin of A Barca’.
The Novena de la Barca will continue until 12 September, with different preachers each day. The 7 p.m. services will be streamed live on the Facebook fan page and YouTube channel of the A Barca Sanctuary. The temple is open all day and the dressing room of the Virgin of the Barca is accessible.
Festive programme
The cultural and leisure programme for the Romería de la Virgen de la Barca de Muxía, declared a Festival of National Tourist Interest in 1989 and supported by the Xunta de Galicia, will begin on Friday 12 September. The firing of 21 fireworks at 12 noon will announce the start of the festival, followed by parades of giants and big-heads with bagpipe bands through the town (an activity that will be repeated every day of the festival). On this first day, which is more for newcomers, there will be a vermouth session at the Muxía pier with Disco Móvil CDC and a night-time dance with Kubo, which has the largest stage in Spain, ending with CDC.
On Saturday, the day of the Barca, there will be a vermouth session with entertainment by Alianza, which will be joined in the evening by the París de Noia show. At 12.30 a.m. there will be a grand fireworks display from the pier.
On the big day of the Romería de la Barca de Muxía, in addition to the outdoor mass and the procession to the pier, there will be the traditional setting off of the biggest firecrackers in Galicia (2.30 p.m.). This will be followed by a macro vermouth session with Acordes y Galaxia, who will perform again in the evening together with the Los Satélites orchestra.
The grand finale to Muxía’s biggest celebrations will be provided by the singer Soraya, who will perform on Monday 15 September at 11.30 pm on the quay. During the day, in addition to the procession at 1 p.m., there will be a vermouth session with the M-3 Show Orchestra.
All the information about the celebration can be found on the event’s website https://romeriadabarcademuxia.com/ and on its Facebook and Instagram profiles.