The festive calendar begins with the celebrations for San Sebastián on the 20th of January, during which there is a tradition of eating palm heart. This is followed in February by the all- important Carnival, with the popular burial of "El Choco" with is always attended by numerous "widows". Then the streets fill with the highly baroque Easter processions, whilst in May they are colourfully decorated for the celebration of the May Crosses.
Following on from the start of the pilgrimage to El Rocío, a very emotional event for the people of Huelva, are the Fiestas Colombinas, during the first week of August. These commemorate the setting sail of Columbus and his caravels, but they also mark the beginning of the bull- fighting season.
Columbu´s feat is also related to the festivity in honour of Nuestra Señora de la Cinta in September, during which the Virgin´s effigy is taken out for a procession from its sactuary to the Cathedral. It says there for nearly a month before being returned once more to its sanctuary. This tradition, widely followed amongst the seamen of the area, goes back to Columbus, who, experiencing difficulties during his return journey made a pledge to visit the shrine, a promise that he later kept.
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Iberian-American Film Festival
Huelva's Festival de Cine Iberoamericano has established itself as an important acid test of critical and public opinion for recent Iberian-American cinematic works.  more |
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El Rocio Festival, Huelva
Every spring around one million people converge on the Blanca Paloma shrine in the village of El Rocío, at the edge of the Doñana National Park, in the biggest pilgrimage in Spain. more |
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