Semana Santa Estepa

Seville enchants

The monument in honour of the Our Lady of El Rocío, located at Paseo Juan de Dios Soto, was unveiled on 15 January 1978, with the blessing of the auxiliary bishop of Seville, Rafael Bellido Caro.

The most important festivity in Gines is, undoubtedly, the day the wagons set off for the Pilgrimage to El Rocío. This event draws a huge crowd each year, both locals and visitors from the province of Seville and the rest of Andalusia. This is particularly noteworthy as the event takes place on a non-holiday Wednesday.

“Una Pará en Gines” has been declared an Andalusian Event of Tourist Interest in 2018. This major tourism event focuses on nature and the town’s long-standing traditions related to the El Rocío Pilgrimage. It is organised in September or October by the Town Council’s Festivals Department.

The renovated Hacienda de Santa María is now the seat of a Peña Rociera and a meeting place. Only the olive mill, counterweight tower, one courtyard and a building with small rooms –possibly the miller’s quarters– have been preserved. 

The Confraternity of El Rocío of Olivares was founded in 1933, an offshoot of the Confraternity of El Rocío in the neighbouring town of Umbrete. However, it was not until the following year, 1934, when the parent organisation, the Confraternity of El Rocío of Almonte, accepted it as an official affiliate, once the Confraternity of Gines had sponsored it.

An old, small farmhouse that currently houses the seat of the Confraternity of Our Lady of El Rocío. This religious building, now in disrepair, was decorated by Santiago del Campo. It was initially a farmhouse, that was later used a parish run by the Capuchin friars until the construction of the San Rafael Arcángel Church.

This is the museum of Villamanrique de la Condesa’s Confraternity of El Rocío. The exhibits highlight the age-old relationship of this Sevillian town with the El Rocío pilgrimage.