There are returns that do not depend on the calendar, but on the soul. Since December 8, when Esperanza Macarena returned to worship after the restoration carried out by Pedro Manzanothe neighborhood and Seville breathe differently. The city had to meet his gaze again … do the housework, with this shine between his eyebrows which orders life.
And right now, in the week that bears his name, the brotherhood calls for a gesture full of memory: the extraordinary kiss of the hands from December 18 to 21 in San Gil, the parish where the first of them took place a hundred years ago, to celebrate the feast of the expectation of childbirth.
The new board of directors, with Fernando Fernández Cabezuelo ahead, begins its path in the middle of this symbolism, with a restored Virgin, a historic hand kiss and a neighborhood that once again feels that Hope is exactly where it should be: at the center of everything.
The shelter where the bullfighters take off their shoes inside
With the return of the Virgin to her box, an ancient transit has also returned: that of the bullfighters who enter the Basilica as if they were crossing an intimate threshold. Some arrive before a decisive afternoon; others come to be grateful for a snag they avoided; everyone seeks this slow breathing that only their gaze grants. Seville has known for centuries that Between the Virgin and the men of the albero there is a silent conversation, deeper than words and as old as the bullfighting liturgy itself.
Los Gallo: the origin of a link that Seville still hears
In this conversation, a last name constantly resonates: Gomez Ortega. Rafael “The Rooster”a mysterious goblin bullfighter, the “Bald Divino”, came to her with the naturalness of someone who seeks consolation more than miracles. But it would be Joselitothe great architect of modern bullfighting and the soul of Seville, who will forever seal this devotion. In 1913, he proposed the brotherhood the sissiesfive green glass flowers from Paris which came to define its iconography. He promoted festivals, supported projects, donated jewelry, and supported initiatives that grew Macareno’s heritage. His death in Talavera caused a historic event: Macarena dressed in mourning. Since 2021, her bronze statue watches over all those who come to see the Virgin with the big eyes, the same as the one with the squares.
La Macarena mourns the death of Joselito el Gallo
The museum where bullfighting breathes beneath the windows
The Macarena Museum allows you to explore this history as if you were crossing a timeline. Old photographs seem to shake the air; and a walking cape Sébastien Castella or a jacket Diego Ventura They remember that the devotion is still alive among today’s bullfighters. We can also see them dressed Father Manzanares or Palomo Linaresin addition to other pieces, or the farewell dress of Eduardo Davila Miura in Seville in 2006, the same one he asked for again and returned after his last goodbye to Santander in 2022.
Courage under the gaze of Hope
Livestock farms like Miura, Pablo Romero, Hermanos Sampedro or Gabriel Rojas They have maintained close relations with the brotherhood for decades. Jose Luis by Pablo Romero And Eduardo Miura Fernández They were older brothers and Zahariche’s grandson, matador Eduardo Dávila Miura, served as his older brother’s lieutenant, in addition to promoting the 2018 Maestranza charity party. In 2024, during a round table, he left a sentence that sums up the dedication: “In important moments of my life, I always came here. “Some decisions can only be made in front of the Macarena.”.
The pulse of the bullfighters of Macareno
The list of dedicated bullfighters is long. An old Macareno remembers an anecdote from the town hall: someone lamented that there were few brother bullfighters, “with what the Virgin is for the party”, and another responded sarcastically who was going to become brothers when there were the Miuras and the Pablo Romeros. Among the bullfighter brothers, the Family Martín Vázquez, Pepe Luis Vargas, Pepe Luis Vázquez, César Rincón or young people Rafa Serna And Javier Zuluetaamong others.
The Macarena which crosses squares and oceans
In the Royal Maestranzamany swords pray in front of their tile; In Bilbaoa ceramic presides over the exit of the groups, as happens in countless Spanish squares. And in America, things like La Macarena from Medellin They keep his name alive, just like the painting that watches over the chapel of the Plaza de Lime. Wherever a bullfighter called for courage, there was always a vigilant Macarena..
The devotion that always comes back to the same place
Next December, Seville will see it bright and restored again. The bullfighters of life, as always, will be the first to arrive. Because Esperanza Macarena is not just an image: it is a horizon. A refuge. A way to learn to be courageous without having to fight.
About The Author
