The Rose Festival, in Vila Franca, in Viana do Castelo, will take place again between the 10th and 13th of May, with emphasis on the traditional procession in which the 19-year-old girls from the parish carry baskets of flowers on their heads, some weigh 50 kilos. Held more than 400 years ago, the pilgrimage was classified as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2021.
“Reflection of the identity of the community in which this tradition originated and is practiced”Program highlights
The Traditional Parade of Votive Roses is scheduled for May 11th, at 4:30 pm. In addition to the flower baskets, there will be floats, drum groups, cabeçudos and Zés Pereiras, music bands and folklore groups.
“One of the highlights of the pilgrimage. Without a doubt, one of the most colorful and rich moments of Alto-Minho ethnography”, highlights the organization.
You can consult the highlights of the pilgrimage program at the end of the text.
“Reflection of the identity of the community in which this tradition originated and is practiced”
The inscription of the Vila Franca Rose Festival in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage was due “to its importance” “as a reflection of the identity of the community in which this tradition originated and is practiced”.
The document also highlighted “the production and reproduction that characterize this manifestation of cultural heritage today”, and which translates into “practices transmitted intergenerationally within the community, with privileged recourse to orality and observation and direct participation”.
The registration followed a request made by the Vila Franca Parish Council. Afterwards, the Chamber of Viana do Castelo unanimously approved a positive opinion, “expressing total agreement”, with that registration as it “aimed at the legal protection of all the symbolism and cultural expression that the festivals represent at local and national level”.
The Vila Franca Rose Festival, which has been held for 402 years in the parish of Vila Franca, on the left bank of the Lima River, in Viana do Castelo, takes place in May and opens the festive cycle in Alto Minho.
The pilgrimage is known for its flower baskets, made with thousands of flower petals.
The baskets, which can weigh more than 50 kilograms, are carried on their heads by young butlers baptized in Vila Franca, and who turn 19 in May, in a demonstration of “pride and faith”.
The flower baskets for the festivals begin to be made days before, a task that involves the whole family, friends and neighbors, in a true spirit of mutual help.
The butler chooses the motifs for the flower basket that she will offer to Our Lady of the Rosary.
The themes are kept secret to be a surprise until the day of the procession, and there is always a healthy rivalry because all the butlers want to present the most beautiful basket.
After being displayed in the festival processions, the flower baskets are on display in the parish church.
The Rose Festival is the responsibility of the Confraternity of Our Lady of the Rosary, founded in 1622 by Dominican friars. Its statutes state that butlers must bring flowers to Our Lady on feast days.
For this reason, all the butlers took great care to bring the most beautiful flowers and in large quantities, which were intended for decorating the altars, making the threads and decorating the churchyard and its carpeting.
Over the years the tradition has evolved, reinforcing the quality of the baskets carried on their heads by the butlers in these processions.
Each young person can turn to colleagues and friends to help with the task, taking into account the weight of these baskets, which are also works of popular art, made by embroiderers, also from Vila Franca do Lima.
Program highlights
May 10th
9:00 pm – Start of Arraial Minhoto with fun fair
22.30 – Youth Festival with performance by the musical group CURTISOM
00.00 – Fireworks session; night entertainment with SUPER ROSAS
may 11
16:30 – Traditional Procession of Votive Roses
18:15 – Solemn offering of the Flower Baskets
9:30 pm – XL Vila Franca Folklore Festival
00:00 – SUPER ROSES
may 12
4pm – Majestic Procession
10:00 pm – Performance by the Belcanto Show group
May 13
6:30 pm – Eucharist in Honor of São Miguel, patron saint of Vila Franca, followed by the traditional Procession
May 19th (Children’s Festival)
3pm – Children’s Parade
With Lusa
Tags: centenary celebration Viana butlers carry baskets flowers heads weighing kilos
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