A small rock in the Atlantic: Mother's Day

Today is mother's day in Spain.

And to the best of my knowledge, the first place in Spain to have an official Mother's Day was Breña Baja. The local poet, Félix Duarte Pérez , left home for Venezuela at some horrendously young age (fifteen, I think). Not surprisingly, he missed his mother a good deal, and they sent each other lots of letters. When he finally came home at the age of 35, he persuaded the town hall to adopt the "American" idea of Mother's Day.

They decided to celebrate it on the first Sunday in May. And in Breña Baja, people traditionally wear flowers. If your mother's still alive, you wear a red one, and if she's died, you wear a white on.

Labels: Breña Baja, Canaries, Canary islands, culture, fiestas, La Palma