With all the guests compressed into a tent, without the rain giving a respite, this Saturday the traditional proclamation prior to La Rioja Day was held in Santa Coloma. The event commemorates the anniversary of the Convention of 1812, which vindicated … autonomy of the region for the first time during the aftermath of the War of Independence.
The programming started shortly before seven in the afternoon, with the introduction to the audience of the president of the Community, Gonzalo Capellán, and his parliamentary counterpart, Marta Fernández, as highest authorities. Next, there was a performance of jotas and a regionalist composition was sung. Music was to play a key role in the rest of the event, with similar songs serving as an interlude between the speeches.
The first turn at the lectern went to the mayor of Santa Coloma, on whom the public address system played a couple of tricks during the institutional claim she made of the municipality. At the end of her turn, a young girl from Logroño, Alba Iruzubieta, aged eleven, sang another jota. When she finished, she ran sobbing into her mother’s arms, totally emotional, in one of the most emotional moments of the afternoon that captured everyone’s attention.
Later, the president of Parliament took the floor, who toured the region for ten minutes and left phrases such as “La Rioja is feelings that are rooted and sunk into the ground.” Throughout her speech, some people were busy doing other things, like former president Concha Andreu, who was listening to WhatsApp audios. “Since I no longer have positions, I don’t care what they say,” she later stated. Another curious note was the relaxed conversations held by deputies from PSOE and Vox.
When the president of the Rioja Chamber finished her speech, there were several more singing and dancing performances, which caused happy faces among the authorities present. The choreography was carried out by young residents of Santa Coloma, for example, the Morga sisters. “We have been performing on this day for seven years, we don’t even get nervous anymore, it’s routine,” they explained later. Her show drew the biggest applause of the afternoon.
After 7:45 p.m., the proclamation concluded with the distribution of the ‘preñao’ and the wine inside the tent, as a prior to the great event that will be held this Sunday in San Millán.
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