Local festivals

The local festivals that stand out for their celebration for the people of Salamanca are:

• San Juan de Sahagún, patron of the city - June 12th
• Virgen de la Vega, patron of the city - September 8 (opens the week of fairs and festivals).
• Lunes de aguas, the Monday following Easter.
• El "Mariquelo" - October 31th
• Easter in Salamanca, declared International Tourist Interest in 2003.

On June 12, Sahagun header becomes the first county to celebrate their patron saint. Dedicated to San Juan de Sahagun, the patron saint of the town of his birth and Salamanca, in both places he carried out his major miracles and humanitarian aid work.

This is the festival of the town for six days in which nothing is lacking, but perhaps the most characteristic and entrenched are the traditional running of the bulls and bullfights, always very famous because of the importance of their posters. These days Sahagun becomes a very lively place, both for the variety of activities and the quality of them, bulls, festivals, performances from top bands, fireworks, etc. ... they liven the days and nights and the hospitality and friendliness of the people invited to attend the town. You can also see the charm of a celebration as they have not lost many traditional features.

La Virgen de la Vega is dedicated to the patron Virgin of Salamanca. Her festival day is on September 8, the day that the fairs of the city begin.

Salamanca´s fairs originated from an agricultural fair which was held during the month of September in the ´Teso de la Feria´, near the Roman Bridge, on the left bank of the River Tormes.

La Virgen de la Vega, has been the patroness of the city of Salamanca for centuries. Legend has it that the Virgin helped the people of Salamanca and defended the assault of the troops who wanted to invade in 1706, during the War of Spanish Succession.

It is a holiday that is celebrated every year on the Monday after Easter in the city of Salamanca, Spain and it´s also extended to some villages in the province.

It´s origins go back to the sixteenth century, when King Philip II gave orders under which the prostitutes who lived in the local brothel house were to be taken, during Lent, out of town so that the men of Salamanca, without the presence of hookers could avoid the temptations of the sin of lust. From Ash Wednesday these prostitutes were taken to Arrabal's bridge across the River Tormes. Until the first Monday after Easter they remained in the custody of the Father of Whores who, on this date drove them back to the city, cheered by a crowd of students who didn´t hold back with the ´hornazo´, drink and dancing to celebrate the arrival of these courtesans with a party on the banks of the Tormes and on decorated boats.

The date is still celebrated today, and even adapted for theatre since the eighties. The return of the Father of Whores on board boats shows the role of women in the past. The afternoon of this day is a public holiday in the city and it is traditional to leave the city for the countryside or parks to eat a picnic, mainly 'hornazo'.

In memory of the earthquake of Lisbon (1755), a person ("The Mariquelo"), with drum and flute, climbs up outside the tower of the New Cathedral ("Catedral Nueva"). On the cross, the public greets and interprets "charrada".

Easter in Salamanca is a deep rooted popular celebration in the city. The oldest of the brotherhood is the Illustrious Confraternity of the Holy Cross of the Redeemer and of the Immaculate Conception, her mother, Vera Cruz, whose foundation dates from 1506 although it has earlier origins.

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