Pics from last week’s Velá de Santa Ana. Managed to pop over on the final day to see the Cucaña (which I love) when young people, mostly teens, vie to grab the flag at the end of a greased wooden pole. Noticed this time the unfortunate BURGER KING ad on the side of the boat but the joy of the participants is always fun to watch.

On the way to the Cucaña I passed these three pretty young ladies in colourful attire with bright flowers in their hair and, having never seen this before, I asked if I could take a photo of them. Later I found out that this new “tradition” has been cooked up by promoters of the Velá and the Association of Flamenco Fashion Designers and these girls are known as Santanitas. And well… okay, but, it seems a bit premature to be calling this a tradition when it first took place last year (which I missed).

The previous week, at the start of the festivities I witnessed for the first time the Procesión Fluvial de la Virgen del Carmen (patron saint of sailors) and it was quite lovely. In coastal towns she is put out to sea but here we only have a river. I was glad to finally see it, especially the bit where everyone on the bridge showers her with flower petals.

I hadn’t planned on waiting for her return to land as she made her way around Triana but a cold beer was calling and by the time Peter and I had finished… there she was! Along with some costaleros taking a break and happy to pose for pics. It was nice to be back. My first time since before Covid.

There’s also a short vid on my Instagram…  https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu7vdUVAPi-/