A thousand women from Portugal and 10 other countries will take part in the Mordomia Parade of the Romaria d’Agonia on Friday, the largest number ever in the history of the Viana do Castelo festivities, it was announced today.
In a statement sent to the press, VianaFestas, which organizes the pilgrimage, said that “760 mordomas come from the municipality of Viana do Castelo and the rest from various cities in Portugal, France, the United States of America, Switzerland, Andorra, Luxembourg, Mexico, Brazil, Canada and the Netherlands, with the youngest participant being 14 and the oldest 84”.
“These are extraordinary numbers and they keep growing every year, making this parade even more unique,” said Manuel Vitorino, president of VianaFestas and councillor for Culture at Viana do Castelo Câmara, quoted in the press release.
The mordomas will parade “in front of tens of thousands of people” who usually attend this part of the Romaria d’Agonia “completely filling the city’s main streets to enjoy what is also known as the world’s largest spontaneous open-air showcase of gold”.
Registration for the Stewardship Parade took place from July 5 to 31, again using the form available on the official Romaria d’Agonia website, with 900 places initially available. On August 2, a further 100 places were made available, which were completely filled in just 15 minutes.
“The volume of registrations was such that we ended up opening another 100 registrations, compared to those submitted last year. These were duly analyzed and validated, one of our concerns being the organizational conditions in the gardens of the former Civil Government, but also the safety of everyone. For these reasons it is not possible to accept an unlimited number of entries,” explains Manuel Vitorino.
In view of the number of participants, the organization will “readapt the space where the stewards will be welcomed, creating more ‘QR code’ reading stations and counting on the presence of more employees to guarantee more shaded spaces in the gardens of the old Civil Government, the place where the women will gather to leave the parade.”
This year, the Vianesa costumes from Ribeira Lima (red) and Terras de Geraz, as well as the black Mordoma costume with vest and palm fronds, represent the largest number of entries for the Mordomia Parade.
This year, the Romaria d’Agonia will once again be celebrated over nine days, from the 14th to the 22nd, a format tested in 2023 and which, according to the organization, resulted in a “greater influx” of people to Viana do Castelo.
During that period, more than 1.1 million people will have passed through the capital of Alto Minho.
The figure was revealed by the Viana do Castelo City Council on the basis of “a study carried out during every day of the pilgrimage, using a questionnaire to assess satisfaction with the event”.
