A small rock in the Atlantic: Mother's Day Again

Mother's Day in most of Spain was last week, the first Sunday in May. But Breña Bajae celebrates it on the third Sunday in May - today. A local poet called Felix Duarte (1895-1990) emigrated to Venezuela, alone, at some horrendously young age (15, I think) and boy did he miss his mum. He became a published poet, and moved to Cuba and later, the United States. He finally came home in 1930, and by 1936 he'd persuaded the town hall to start mother's day here, the first village in Spain to eclebrate mothers.

They usually have a concert or two, with music and maybe poems in praise of mothers. This year that was Friday and Saturday. Today they have a special sung mass, and they give out flowers. You get a red rose if your mother is still alive, and a white one if she's passed on.

Labels: Breña Baja, fiestas, Mother's Day