A batch of 27,000 bricks of water with a 33 centiliter capacity have been distributed this morning among the 16 brotherhoods of El Rocío in the municipalities that are part of the Commonwealth of Services of the Province of Huelva (FURTHER).
The new edition of the “Agua del Camino” event, an initiative organized by the public company Giahsa on this occasion in the Almonte Town Hall building in the same village of El Rocío, has had the collaboration of the Cajasol Foundation and the Provincial Council and the presence of the president of the Commonwealth, Laura Pichardo.
Also present were the vice president of the Provincial Council, Juan Antonio García, the president of the Cajasol Foundation, Antonio Pulido, the delegate councilor of the village of El Rocío, Macarena Robles, and a large representation of the representatives of the different town halls and brotherhoods, both the Matriz de Almonte, in the person of his older sister, Verónica Ramos, and the affiliates.
The councilor for El Rocío welcomed the attendees and defined the act as “original and genuine”, while wishing that this 2023 pilgrimage “be the best of all that we have experienced, which is what we pursue year after year.” Robles has valued “the gesture of helping the brotherhoods during the pilgrimage” and recalled that “a great effort must be made among all to preserve the environment and, in this time of drought, preserve a resource as important as water” .
The president of the MAS and Giahsa, Laura Pichardo, opened her speech by highlighting that “the great novelty of this new edition is that we have changed the venue for the event, and I think we are where we need to be, in the same village of El Dew”. She recalled that since January 1, “Giahsa has begun to manage services in both Matalascañas and El Rocío, with which this public company continues to grow and reach more parts of our province.”
He has thanked the “hospitality of the Almonte City Council, the affection that the Cajasol Foundation always dedicates to this initiative and the effort and coordination of the rest of the city councils and the Rociera brotherhoods”.
The vice president of the Provincial Council, Juan Antonio García, recalled that El Rocío is a mass pilgrimage that crosses one of the most important protected natural spaces in our country “and a treasure of our province, such as the Doñana National Park”, of hence our duty, as public administrations, is to guarantee both the well-being and safety of people and the preservation of nature”.
Garbage bags and water for the road
Thus, the Provincial Council has distributed 25,000 garbage bags (5,000 more than last year) among all the brotherhoods of the province and in the area of Doñana it will place 69 waste bins (5 more than last year) in 34 points of the roads, where the different brotherhoods take a nap or spend the night, along with other contributions to the Romero Plan.
Antonio Pulido, president of the Cajasol Foundation, has highlighted “the commitment that we have acquired with Huelva and its province for more than 60 years, a commitment that we have extended to popular religiosity. Hence, we are delighted to collaborate both with El Rocío and with other cultural and religious manifestations”. At the same time, he has recommended a “defense of our natural environment, which is a true heritage” and has wished that during the pilgrimage “we enjoy normality”.
For her part, the older sister of the Hermandad Matriz de Almonte, Verónica Ramos, closed the event by appealing to the “rociero feeling that unites us here and that will help us, along with this water that they give us today, to reach the village for another year . May this year be a path of union and harmony and that we do not forget to take care of the environment ”, she concluded.
The bricks and garbage bags that have been distributed during the event will serve as support during the Camino de Rocío to the brotherhoods of Rociana de Condado, Trigueros, Bonares, Lucena del Puerto, Gibraleón, Punta Umbría, Paterna del Campo, Villarrasa, Isla Cristina, Ayamonte, Villalba del Alcor, Niebla, Chucena, Manzanilla and Escacena del Campo, as well as the Matriz de Almonte.
