More than 50,000 people filled Muxía last week during the festive days of the “A Barca” Festival. This was reported by the Association of the Romaría da Barca de Muxía, organizer of the event, which was declared to be of National Tourist Interest in 1989 and enjoys the support of the Xunta de Galicia.
“We are very satisfied with the excellent attendance this eyar. There has been an increase compared to last year in both the recreational and religious part of the programme,” says the president of the organising entity, Ramón Pérez. Not surprisingly, the occupancy of the more than 2,000 beds registered in the municipal district of Muxía was at 100% throughout last week.
They were just as full in the restaurants of the town that were supplemented by the frenetic activity in the 3 tents of “pulperías” (octopus restaurants) -with an average capacity of 1,000 people- and in the more than 20 food stalls installed in the capital of the Muxía municipal district. “In fact, several of the stalls sold out of stock,” explains the president of the organizing entity, Ramón Pérez, who indicates that next year this type of street food and drink services will be expanded, given the high demand.
From South America, Europe and Asia
As far as attendees are concerned, Ramón Pérez indicated that “in recent years, we have noticed an increase in foreign visitors, and this year, more than on previous occasions.” Among the countries of origin, those from South America stand out, since “many people have emigrated to countries such as Argentina, Uruguay or Paraguay and take the opportunity to visit their relatives.”
A group of Asian pilgrims was especially striking, who showed great interest in all the services carried out in the Sanctuary, as well as in the different activities included in the program of this event. No less important was the number of attendees from Portugal, from where several buses were chartered to bring them to Muxía on the different festive days, especial on the main Sunday of A Barca.
Within Spain, there was an increase in “groups from Andalusia. In fact, in Sunday’s procession 2 buses arrived from Chiclana de la Frontera, with more than 100 people interested in experiencing the devotion to our Virgin,” declares the president of the Association of the “Virgin of A Barca” Festival.
The most crowded days were those of Saturday and Sunday, with an average of 20,000 attendees each. The recreational program, which filled Muxía with music, parades and different performances, contributed to the high attendance. Added to this was the main day, with the procession of the Virgin of A Barca and the solemn outdoor mass -attended by some 5,000 people- which culminated in the largest display of “palenque” fireworks in Galicia in the port of Muxía. “It is an activity that attracts a lot of attention and that surprises and impresses visitors a lot,” explains Ramón Pérez.
With respect to the rest of the days, Friday had around 5,000 people, while Thursday was somewhat lower. In the case of Monday, there were also more than 5,000 attendees, who enjoyed not only the procession to return the image of the Virgin of A Barca, but also the last recreational events of the program, among which the children’s foam party stood out, in addition to the orchestras and musical groups, which put the finishing touch to the festivities in Muxía.
An increasingly international Sanctuary
For his part, the parish priest of Muxía, Daniel Turnes, was also very satisfied because “the number of pilgrims in the procession has grown exponentially.” In the absence of specific figures, there has been an excellent response from citizens and visitors to the possibility of “accessing the place where Our Lady is kept, so they can have a closer look. It is the first time it has been opened to the public in three decades and it has been very popular,” he explains.
In addition to this new feature, the Sanctuary has made “a very special commitment” by facilitating virtual attendance at the services through streaming. The Facebook page of the Sanctuary of A Barca broadcast the different Eucharists live, starting with those of the Novena -which also enjoyed an increase in influx with hundreds of attendees each day. According to preliminary data from the parish, “we have obtained an average of 1,200 views of each live broadcast and we have not stopped receiving congratulations for these broadcasts,” says Daniel Turnes.
Not surprisingly, the use of new technologies has facilitated the internationalization of the Sanctuary of A Barca, since “there have been many visits from the American continent and we even have evidence of people who are at sea and who, thanks to streaming, have been able to follow the different acts.” Given the good response, the parish is considering the possibility of making a daily broadcast of the masses in order to expand the devotion to the Virgen of A Barca.
Extensive deployment of security and emergency personnel
Despite the massive attendance, “no incidents have been recorded,” explains Ramón Pérez. Even so, and to promote the proper enjoyment of all the events, Muxía’s “A Barca” Festival featured a large deployment of security and emergency personnel, coming from different parts of Galicia and Spain.
Thus, the celebration had 3 mobile ICUs; a SAMUR team, made up of 10 healthcare professionals, and another specialized in Gender Violence, from Getafe, with 4 members. These were joined by about twenty members of the Local Police, as well as a dozen patrols of the Civil Guard (Traffic, Seprona and riot police). In addition, Muxía had more than 60 volunteers from Civil Protection groups in Galicia and other regions such as Madrid and Extremadura.
