Lagartera (Toledo) (EFE).- This Sunday, June 11, the streets of Lagartera (Toledo) will shine again on Corpus Christi day thanks to the altars, full of ancient embroideries, that the residents of the streets where The procession passes, they have been brought to the doors of their houses since the year 1590.
The president of the Amigas del Traje de Lagartera association, Hortensia Moreno, explained to EFE that the festivity dates back to the apostolic letters that Pope Sixtus V granted for the foundation of the Brotherhood of the Blessed Sacrament of Lagartera in 1589.
This made it possible for the first Corpus Christi procession to take place in Lagartera on June 21, 1590.
The route that is carried out every year is always the same and in it you can see old textiles with embroidery that are not carried out today and that the neighbors define as “the jewels of each house, since they are very old pieces that are only exhibited that day”, highlighted Rocío Lozano, a master artisan from La Garter.
The around 40 altars that are placed in the houses are different, but they coincide in the main composition since usually a figure of the baby Jesus is placed in the middle, who will be blessed when the priest passes by, or a cross if someone has died that year in the house
During the procession, a hundred people dress in typical Lagarterano costumes. “There are about 20 different ways to dress,” Moreno said.
Corpus Christi de Largartera is an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), with the category of Intangible Asset, since 2017.
“We Lagarteranos are very proud of our Corpus, there is nothing like it. Until you live, you can’t really get an idea of what it is”, highlighted the artisan, who stressed that everyone who comes tends to repeat; “they leave delighted”.
Likewise, the mayor of the town, Sergio Alía, has stressed that “it is a pride” and the “most important festival for the municipality in which tradition, art and faith come together.”
“We want Corpus Christi to be recognized at a national level, which is why we have gone and will continue to go to museums and tourist offices making representations of what is experienced that day in Lagartera,” Alía detailed.
tourism and economy
On the day of the Corpus Christi festival, the Amigas del Traje de Lagartera organize guided tours of the different altars in the town until the mass begins.
This year there are seven volunteers who will be explaining to the visitors an emblematic piece of each altar.
In turn, the town hall is preparing a program of activities to encourage the arrival of visitors, which this year includes a nod to Joaquín Sorolla on the centenary of his death, with a conference.
The council and the artisans agree that during Corpus Christi the influx of visitors to the town grows and the establishments increase sales.