Spanish views from a small town

It was described as the second weirdest festival by The Guardian in 2008, right after the mud festival at Boryeong in South Korea. To those who are not Catholic (and even quite a few Catholics), visiting Santa Marta de Ribarteme on its feast day, July 29th, is a sight to make you think you've fallen through Alice's looking glass.  Normally, when someone asks a saint for a favor, they then go to the festival of that saint carrying a votive candle, as a way of thanking the saint for having answered their prayers. But Santa Marta is special. She was the sister of Lazarus and Mary Magdalen, and is now the patron saint of those about to die. In the New Testament, there are a couple of stories about her. When Jesus visited their house once, Mary sat by Jesus and listened to him talk. Martha bustled about in the kitchen and was put out that her sister didn't help. Another time, when Lazarus had died and Jesus asked to be taken to his tomb, Martha declared that it was now too lat...

Do you have a health problem? Particularly, ugly warts on a visible part of your body? Visit San Benito on his feast day, June eleventh. All you have to do is dip a hanky in blessed oil, rub it on your warts and presto! warts be gone. Though if you have any other health problem, he'll also help you get over it. You just have to rub the blessed oil over the afflicted part of the body. Now, while there are many parishes that celebrate San Benito (Saint Benedict), the most miraculous one is in the monastery of Lerez, right next to the city of Pontevedra. After all, the traditional song goes: Si vas a san Benitiño, Non vaias ó de Paredes. Que máis milagreiro é O do conventiño de Lerez. (If you go to little San Benito, Don't go to the one at Paredes. Because more miraculous is The one at the little monastery of Lerez.) There are many ancient beliefs like this one that were once attached to a local deity. With the advent of Christianity, the miracles were taken over by ...