Ávila, Apr 02 (EFE).- The procession of La Borriquilla or Las Palmas has approached a dozen blind people this Palm Sunday during Holy Week in Ávila, declared of International Tourist Interest, based on the audio description promoted , for the second consecutive year, from the City Council of the capital.
Organized by the Franciscan Fathers, with the collaboration of the Archconfraternity of our Father Jesús Nazareno de Medinaceli, this processional parade has started from the cathedral of El Salvador, to reach the church of San Antonio.
La Borriquilla, with the blind
On this route, a space has been set up for blind people with the aim of bringing them closer, through the audio description system, to this simple procession made up of the passage of Jesus in Jerusalem “La Borriquilla”, next to the carving of Our Lady de los Infantes -anonymous from the 19th century-.
The person in charge of transmitting the spirit of the parade to people with visual disabilities, within a limited space, has been the art historian and Accessibility technician of the Ávila City Council, Israel Muñoz.
This is the second year in which the council has launched this system of helmet receivers which, on this occasion, has failed, forcing Muñoz to carry out the descriptions forming a circle around which the people have been placed blind.
Palm Sunday with La Borriquilla
If last year the initiative was used in the procession of Los Pasos, on Holy Thursday, on this occasion Palm Sunday has been chosen to bring this group closer to Holy Week in Avila on a sunny day, although somewhat cool.
Israel Muñoz has commented that, unlike the procession chosen in 2022, longer, in the historic center and in the evening, this year’s has been shorter, in the morning and with only two steps, which have traveled relatively quickly through the space set up on Calle Duque de Alba.
In his explanations, made out loud, Muñoz has been describing this processional parade in which the musical group Oración del Huerto y la Vera Cruz, from Medina del Campo (Valladolid), has participated.
The art historian has underlined the fact that the band from Medina, whose members wear a red habit and a white cape with the emblem of the brotherhood, has among its characteristics the use of the Galician bagpipe.
As they pass through the space reserved for the blind, its members have interpreted the march “Oh sinner”, composed in 1984 by Manuel Herrera Raya.
Ávila, also with people with reduced mobility
With this initiative, the Ávila City Council wants Holy Week in the capital to reach all groups, which is why people with reduced mobility (PRM) also have a raised platform installed in the central Plaza de Santa Teresa, from where you can follow all the processions whose route runs through that point of the city.
In addition, an area with fences will be delimited in the Mercado Chico square for the processions that pass through this point.EFE