The “picaos” return to the Via Crucis of San Vicente de la Sonsierra

Logroño (EFE).- Six “picaos” have made the Via Crucis of San Vicente de la Sonsierra (La Rioja) this Friday on the second day in which this ancestral rite is repeated, and they have done it with added difficulty, the dust from the roads that lead to the “calvary” of the town, hit like so many others by the lack of rain.

On Good Friday there are again two outings for the “picaos”, who revive this ancient tradition of “disciplining oneself” until they bleed, guided by the Brotherhood of the Vera Cruz de San Vicente.

But on this occasion, unlike Holy Thursday, the procession route is longer and reaches a nearby hill, with the “picaos” as witnesses of the stations of the Via Crucis.

A suffering to which has been added on this occasion the dust raised by the wind, persistent all morning and which has given a greater feeling of sacrifice, even of recollection among the thousands of people who have followed the procession, which will be repeated to commemorate the Holy Burial, again with disciplinarians.

The picaos deal between 800 and 1000 lashes

The “picaos” have made the journey covered at all times with a hood and a white habit with an opening in the back, in which they hit each other during the journey with a skein of cotton that weighs almost one kilogram; In about twenty minutes it is estimated that each of the “picaos” deals between eight hundred and a thousand lashes.

After the “discipline”, the “practice” who accompanies each disciplinarian, lightly hits his lower back three times on each side, which allows him to spurt a little blood and avoid further discomfort.

The crystals that the “sponge” contains and that the practitioner uses for the “chopping” allow each disciplinarian to receive 12 punctures, which symbolize the 12 apostles, after which a hygienic and sanitary wash is practiced with rosemary water so that there are no effects on the puncture and bruises produced.