18th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Travel
El Vítor night procession

On September 27, 1737, the residents of Mayorga (Spain) received the relics of the local saint Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo with torches, lighting its way in the Castilian night. Nowadays they still remember that night with a civic procession in the streets of the town. For many years, instead of burning torches, neighbors burned old wineskins suspended from long poles. As the wineskins became scarcer, they were replaced by leather skins impregnated in tar. To protect themselves from possible tar burns, the participants wear old clothes and wide hats. The procession makes a stop in Mayorga main square where several fireworks are launched.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 09.2019
Date Uploaded: 08.2020
Photo Location: Mayorga, Spain
Camera: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
Copyright: © Gerardo Alonso