The fine weather since the opening proclamation last Saturday has encouraged locals to leave their homes almost every day. “The temperature has been fabulous,” says a woman who got up early to attend the Vaquillas and has also enjoyed the Rosario de Cristal and the Flower Offering in recent days. The large crowds have, precisely, been one of the most recurring sights throughout Zaragoza’s main festival days.
Another attendee recalls the difficulty of reaching Plaza del Pilar after the opening proclamation: “I had never seen so many people.” In her case, her festivities have combined the Rosario de Cristal, the Flower Offering and music by Los 40 Dance with a plan that requires no timetable: wandering the streets and stopping at some of the bars in the city center.
FROM JOTAS TO CONCERTS
Plaza del Pilar remains one of the meeting points on the penultimate day of the festivities. An Aragonese family has headed there to watch some friends of their eldest daughter perform jotas. Afterwards, the plan is to eat at the food trucks and head to ZGamer in the afternoon. It is a way of stringing activities together without considering the festivities over just yet.
Among those who have opted for music throughout the week, there is still enough energy for another night of concerts at Espacio Zity. A group of teenagers has just left the Vaquillas and has lunch ahead of them before returning to the venue, which they have attended every day using their pass. “I’ve really enjoyed it, I’ve had a great time,” one of them says. Another attendee sums up his intention to bid farewell to the festivities with the resolve to “give it everything.”
VISITORS JOINING IN THE FINAL WEEKEND
The atmosphere in the city center has also welcomed those who have come to Zaragoza to make the most of the final days of the Pilar festivities. Some visitors from Mallorca landed on Friday and will stay until Monday. Their first impression has been of a city with “lots of people in the streets, everything very lively and cheerful.” Visiting El Pilar is among their plans, but they prefer to decide on the rest without rushing: “We’re taking it a little as it comes.”
For other visitors also arriving from Mallorca, the festivities have provided an opportunity to meet up with a friend who now lives in Zaragoza. They already knew the city from a visit two years ago, although they did not coincide with the Pilar festivities at the time. This time, they want to explore it with him and enjoy the atmosphere in its streets.
There are also those who have come from Madrid and encountered the jotas while walking through Plaza del Pilar. “I really liked them; I’d never seen them before,” one of the young men says. Although it is not his first visit to Zaragoza, there are still plans to fulfill, such as exploring the city center, visiting the Basilica of El Pilar and taking home a measure of the Virgin.
