“When I saw the pictures of the Virgin returning to the cult, I thought it was something artificial intelligence.”

– Last summer did not begin or end as I expected, with the intervention of the Virgin of Hope and the announcement of his candidacy for the position of Big Brother, respectively.

— Indeed, at the beginning of the summer, I experienced one of the most unpleasant surprises in my life. In mid-August, I made the decision to run for Big Brother without ever thinking about it, but I did so out of responsibility to the brotherhood.

– This decision, announced on August 21, came several weeks after the resignation of Eduardo Dávila Miura. To what extent do you consider your candidacy a continuation of that nomination?

– It is not continuous, but it has many points in common. Eduardo was the candidate he supported. After his resignation, we made this attempt with the other candidates to ensure that there was only one candidate in such special circumstances for the Brotherhood. I thought this was the most appropriate thing to do, but it was impossible, because the other candidates did not want it. Given this, I have decided to present myself, not as a continuation of Eduardo, but with a fair number of points in common, because we have a very similar way of understanding the Brotherhood and its government.

He talks about his failed attempt to draw up a consensus list, even commenting that an external candidate came to propose a list asking those who were in the way to step down.

-This is correct. On the one hand, there had been some attempts before my announcement to reach an agreement between the different sensibilities with which we chose to present ourselves, and once that agreement was reached, we looked for a big brother to lead it. But since this agreement was impossible, I decided to take this step. However, later it was the brother who took the initiative to try to organize a consensus nomination. He is a well-known brother in the Brotherhood and in the Seville community. It seemed to me that he could have some good qualities to lead this nomination. He asked me and I told him that I was of course willing to back down if the other two candidates took this step as well, and that he could count on my support and help, because this is what I had been fighting for for a year. What happened is that the other two candidates did not want to back down.

– In a group like the Macarena, which has more than 17,000 brothers, it is almost inevitable that several candidates will emerge.

-I think it can be avoided. It is true that this is an indication that the Muslim Brotherhood is alive, but also that holding consecutive elections with two candidates, and in this case with three, is not desirable. In the time of Juan Ruiz, the number of brothers was 13,000, which is not a small number, and he served two terms without any other candidate in the elections. That is, it is complicated because we are a very large brotherhood, and we have people who think in different ways, but it is not impossible. What we should look for are points of common agreement, those that unite us, not those that divide us.

– It cannot be said that he is a beginner in Macarena. He has been associated with the brotherhood all his life and has served as priest of Rosario and Esperanza.

-I have been in the Macarena fraternity since I was born, 60 years. At my house, we talked about the macarena every day of the year. My father was an army lieutenant, later a captain, and a close friend of the officers of the military council that ruled the Muslim Brotherhood at the time. Later, when I was 36 years old, I joined the board, for four years as priest of Virgen del Rosario and eight years as priest of Esperanza. I have all kinds of experience, as a brother who was not on the board, as a brother who was on the board, and as a brother who is no longer on the board. They are three very different ways of seeing brotherhood.

– What is this family’s relationship with weapons, and does the presence of a captain on the list affect the presentation of projects directed to this group? For example, the new training space that has been proposed for Centuria.

—I have two weapons on board: Fernando Vaz, the captain, and also Antonio Luis Martín. The band’s rehearsal space is a need that we discovered and was sent to us by the band themselves because the space they have in the Arte Sacro business park has become really very small. The band is much larger. They are rehearsing, the children’s band is rehearsing, and the place is not enough for what they need.

– Many of its proposals are related to heritage, whether to create new acquisitions or to preserve and restore others. Has the Macarena community been abandoned in this area in recent years?

-We focus above all on preserving heritage, rather than creating new works. Preservation is necessary. Already during my time as a priest, I intervened and supervised several restoration works on objects: the light blue cloak of the Virgin of the Rosary, the canopy, the ruffled skirt, and the tabernacle. But the most important work was the restoration of Juan Manuel’s textile cloak, which took us five years. I’m a sensitive person about these things. Moreover, with regard to heritage, the first obligation of the Fraternity is to preserve, in a very special way, the honorary images, so that the month of June will never be repeated again. This is the priority.

As for new construction, in all fraternities, heritage can be improved. We have a very rich and unrepeatable heritage, but there are things that can be improved and should also be combined. This happens with the new badge, because given the number of Nazarenes we have, we should have more sections, and the sections are unlocked by the badge. I cannot say that this has been neglected, but the quality of what has been done may in some cases have been up for debate. Maybe he didn’t live up to the history of the brotherhood.

– How did you experience everything that happened when Virgo returned from the June intervention with her brother in the board of directors?

– I learned in the morning on the day that the Virgin returned to worship because some of the brothers who were there called me. I didn’t go, but they sent me pictures and at first I thought it was artificial intelligence, something fake. I couldn’t believe it. But these brothers literally called me a crybaby, and I realized it was true. It was a huge disappointment, a huge confusion, and something that couldn’t be explained. The fact that my brother was there made it even more painful, because he suffered so much, as did the entire board. I believe that what the Council was exposed to, regardless of the responsibility it bears, is beyond doubt, because they are people of the Brotherhood and lovers of brotherhood.

– Will the return of the Virgin after her restoration in Pedro Manzano’s workshop lead to closing this wound and turning the page on brotherhood?

– The return of the Virgin will help us regain our joy. I believe that what happened to the Virgin did not cause any harm. The division and estrangement in brotherhood precedes the intervention in the Virgin. The resulting great dissatisfaction, confusion and pessimism, and the loss of the brothers’ confidence in the institution, as well as the erosion of the prestige of the brothers outside our home. When Our Lady is with us again, we will regain our joy and be able to begin working to regain that confidence and prestige.

– Proposes a specific conservation plan for honorary portraits in which a nominating member who is an expert on this issue such as Enrique Gutiérrez Carrasquilla will have a lot to say.

-Yes. When I made the nomination, I looked for the profile of Enrique, a conservative restorer who would ensure that we would carry out these tasks, and combine that with a more creative priest who was more devoted to the decoration and assembly of the altars. I wanted to make a duo that complemented each other in both tasks: preservation and the most creative part of the priesthood.

—La Madrugada is the most complicated day of Holy Week. What would you suggest to ensure that the 4,000 Macarino Nazarene residents can continue to carry out a season of atonement as dignified and safe as possible?

—Early morning is perhaps not the most complicated day of Holy Week. There are days that have historically suffered more delays than Madrugada, but they may be the most complicated due to the number of Nazarenes. It is clear how Macarena Christians have to do penance, especially in the official race: we pass in droves. We will try to make sure that our brothers can do their station of penance with more decorum and also with more safety. We will do this by always seeking to reach agreements with other fraternities and striving for the greater good of the day. We will not enter into conflict with anyone, but we must defend the interests and rights of the Macarena because it is our responsibility.

– The President of the Brotherhood Council himself mentioned today’s general progress as a possible action. How do you value this option?

We are open to studying any proposal that makes it easier for our brothers to spend their lives more decently and safely, and also contributes to getting through the day in the best way. If the Council considers this possibility, we will consider it, although I understand that this also means that Maundy Thursday would agree to it.

– Will your candidacy, if it reaches the Board of Directors, change the situation within the Madrugada system in order to improve the situation?

– It is a decision that the board of directors must make. We have not yet talked about this, among other things, because we have not received this proposal. When we are a board of directors and it comes to us, we will see the pros and cons and we will make the decision that we think is best for us and the rest of the day.

– At the conclusion of La Madrugada, how satisfied are you with the current return journey that has been going on for a few years now, and which has changed the surroundings of Encarnación in favor of Alfalfa?

-I think this path has already become the most logical for the brothers. I feel more emotionally connected to the street on Kona Street, because it’s where I’ve spent my whole life. But I think this change has been good for our brothers. In addition, it is a very beautiful route with very interesting points.

-Do you have estimates about the percentage of support for your candidacy in the elections? How much support do you think the winning slate should receive in what is expected to be a crowded city hall?

We do not have accounts, although we feel that our candidacy is very well received in the environment. We are the ones who started later. We haven’t even been in this endeavor for three months. But last Thursday, for example, we had a nomination event on a night of terrible weather, and there were over 400 people there, which is an indication that there is a lot of support. How many votes will it take? I don’t know. I think the number of voters would be closer to 5,000 rather than 4,000. By that calculation, you would have to get about 2,300 or 2,400 votes to get elected.

– What message do you want to send to the brothers on November 30?

– I honestly believe that the best thing that can happen to the Macarena Fraternity now is for our candidate to be elected. We are convinced that we are the most prepared and most knowledgeable list of the Brotherhood. I am running because I believe that our way of understanding the Brotherhood government is better for the Brotherhood than what the other two candidates presented. Everyone who knows us knows that.