The night of the Pepitas II (English version)

Sometimes, many often, you are tired of writing about things that you think might change, then you try to poor something kind in your impressions. The value of the written word in undeniable, and that is the reason for what today I in going to write about the most ferrolana night in the whole year; it can be said that this is a holy year for all ferrolanos, because the Night of the Pepitas is celebrated the Viernes de Dolores[i], the day that this year the celebration starts.

But… what is this thing called the Pepitas? Well, it is a celebration that dates from the end of the 19th or the beginning of the 20^th centuries, in which the young men of the town show affection to all women called Josephine singing under their balconies devoting them love songs.

  

I really don’t know if in those ages there was a lot of girls called as the Holy Father of God or if with half a dozen of them the tradition was stablished, but the fact is that nowadays the members of the rondallas -the musical groups that perform the matter- dressed with black clothes, white shirts and black cloaks adorned with striking colored ribbons sing along the streets until late at night, with a big profusion of wine and extras who, timidly at first, join the chorus and finally become the main actors citywide.

 There is also a more institutional event in Jofre Theater, a contest in which groups seek to win the award that distinguishes them over the others, although this is a more formal and limited capacity act.

 Any case I only want to warning you that in that dates all the city hotels are plenty of reservations so, if your intention is to know Ferrol in its best week now is the moment to book your trip and to program a journey between wines, processions and tourist visits in which you will forget that this time will rain again in Ferrol.

PS: This year the Holy Week will have as the main novelty that the Holy Meeting between Jesus, Mary and Saint John will be held in Amboage Circle. I don’t know how they will solve the problem of capacity, but I am completely sure that all visitors will assume why the Pepitas is distinguished as Galician Tourist Interest and Easter and its processions as International Tourist Interest party.

I hope we’ll see there.

---

[i] The Viernes de Dolores is the Friday before the beginning of Easter, the Holy Week for the Christians.