Rebecca Palacios |
San Millán de la Cogolla (La Rioja) (EFE).- Ismael Maestro, the youngest municipal candidate in La Rioja, will be the first to take office as mayor of San Millán de la Cogolla. He will do it just a minute after midnight, and all to guarantee his neighbors the traditional pilgrimage to the hermitage of the saint that is celebrated on June 17, the day, this year, that the town halls are constituted throughout Spain.
The PP candidacy led by this 26-year-old young man achieved in the last municipal elections, those of May 28, 4 of the 5 councilors of this municipality, one of the most visited in La Rioja due to its monasteries of Suso and Yuso, which they house the only declaration of World Heritage by UNESCO that the community of La Rioja treasures.
A native of Logroño with paternal ancestry in San Millán de la Cogolla, since last Christmas he has resided permanently in this town located at the foot of the Sierra de la Demanda, although he works as a legal adviser in the San Vicente de la Sonsierra City Council, according to his account. to EFE.
“I applied basically because they proposed it to me. It was not in my plans and I had never thought about it, but the mayoress, Raquel Fernández, and other members of the Corporation thought that I could be a good option to continue the work that they had started”, she related.
This graduate in Law and International Relations from the University of Deusto has recognized that he has always been “very involved in social and cultural issues and in activities to revitalize the people.”
For this reason, after completing his studies with a course in Geneva (Switzerland) and completing the master’s degree for access to the legal profession in Logroño, he decided to settle in San Millán de la Cogolla.
A 13th century pilgrimage
On the third Saturday of June, the traditional pilgrimage to the San Millán cave is celebrated in this town, in which only men participate, a custom that dates back to the 13th century in memory of the saint’s help to heal a disease that only women suffered from. Valley women.
While the men of the town climb from the monastery of Yuso up the mountain to the hermitage of San Millán, the women celebrate the festival on their own with different acts, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
“First there was the pilgrimage, before the date of constitution of the town halls”, he joked, so that, in order not to annoy anyone this festive day, he decided to advance his inauguration to the night before, but already on the date of 17 of June. EFE.