SAIN JOHN BAPTIST - VILLAFÁFILA

Century: XVII towards the middle.

Baroque style.

Measure: 1 m.

Unknown author.

Proceeds: Church of San Juan, of which he was the owner, festivity on June 24.

Location: Undetermined.

Processional Image: Parades since 1831 in the Encuentro procession, on Good Friday morning, together with Jesús Nazareno "El Nazareno" and María. Surely since that year the Encounter ceremony has been held, in addition to the fact that it is auctioned for the first time, just like the trumpet.

Image Description:

It has a head with abundant and curly hair and beard. His eyes are open and his mouth is closed. The body wears a short camel-skin tunic, tight-fitting and knotted in front. On it has a reddish carmine mantle. That leaves his right arm and part of the chest uncovered, collected on which is the Divine Lamb (Agnus Dei). The cloak and tunic are short and reveal part of the extremities (the right, forward) with bare feet. It is intended to give a real sensation to the penitential body, subjected to the life of the desert. It is the symbology of the saint. The position of the hand, of his right arm, makes us think that he would carry a cross with a very long vertical crossbar compared to the other, according to the symbology. The rhythm of the body and the way of arranging the arms and legs follow an implicit movement,

Its polychromy is in the naked parts of a matte incarnation and in the carmine red cloak, called Indian.

History:

But as in all parish books we find it without an adjective, the doubt may arise as to whether it was The Baptist or Saint John the Apostle. It can be affirmed, without fear of being wrong, that it is about Saint John the Baptist; because you fear an image of Saint John and this is of Saint John the Baptist as denoted by its symbology (the lamb), bare feet, right arm totally bare, exposing, under the cloak, part of the tunic, abundant hair and beard, etc details that fully fit into the traditional way of representing the figure of the Baptist. Now, if we take into account that in none of the other parishes is an image of San Juan inventoried, not even alluded to, we will conclude that this cannot be other than that of the head of San Juan.

Surely San Juan, June 24, was the patron saint of Villafáfila and its festivities are attested to in documents already in the 16th century where a bull was given or run on those days:

Although the first documentary news is collected in the mid-16th century, the oral tradition may not be misguided, since the presence of King Fernando el Católico in the town while negotiating the Concord of Villafáfila with his son-in-law King Felipe el Hermoso, on the succession of the kingdoms of Castile, in June 1506 is well known to historians and chroniclers [1] .

It is very likely that, during his stay, which lasted a week, he was presented by the council with a bullfight. The fact that the confinements were run in the 16th century on the day of San Juan, coinciding with the dates of the king's stay in the town, since the arrival of King Fernando's court in Villafáfila must have occurred on the 22nd of June, according to Zurita's review:

"being the King in Villafáfila on twenty-three of the month of June" ,

On the 27th, he signed the Concord in the church of San Martín and remained in Villafáfila itself at least until the 27th. These conjectures can be supported. In addition, it was customary to receive the kings with the release and bullfight of a bull.

1546 as indicated in a testimony of a resident of Villafáfila in a lawsuit between the town and its first private lord, the I Marqués de Távara:

" Don Bernardino Pimentel had an old house in the square that used to belong to the Count of Benavente where the bulls were locked up when they ran on San Juan's day " [3] .

 That was the way it was until the 17th century, at least until the profession by the council of a "Vote of Villa", this is a solemn promise by the council, which was made in honor of San Roque, coinciding with one of the epidemics of plague that struck the town in the 17th century, the bullfight must have been moved to August 16 and the patron saint by San Roque, surely coinciding with dates on which the harvesting and threshing work was already ending.

1775, as the church of San Juan was suppressed, it became dependent on the church of San Martín.

1807 already before the church of San Juan was demolished, passing the image, to the church of San Martín, without any data of where it would be located.

Saint John has always been carried by the youngest, being the image of the least weight, it is the one with which everything began carrying, the fact that on the night of Holy Thursday the youth spent the whole night awake until morning from Friday to the procession, emerged through what centuries, given to be the lemonades of that mezcal of faith with tradition, made some young bearers go with a point of joy, that San Juan carried in small mischief of youth , as it is traditional that morning to have churros and chocolate for breakfast, San Juan not infrequently went with the morros pasted in chocolate, among many others that each young person carries with them. Like the groups of María and Jesús Nazareno,

Since 1831, in addition to Jesús Nazareno, María, the image of San Juan [4] and the trumpet have been auctioned on Palm Sunday afternoon, at the doors of the church of San Martín, under the Brotherhood of Jesús Nazareno, which for San Juan goes out in procession for the first time on the morning of Good Friday, and so it is to be assumed that since then the "Ceremony of the Encounter" has been held, and that year they are worth less:

“Jesus 72 R.,

The Virgin 33R,

St. John 9 R,

trumpet 9 R,

and the crosses to ask for 7 reales.

The image of the Virgin receives various names such as La Soledad or María .

The "Ceremony of the Encounter" consists of the representation of the Encounter between the three images and making each other reverence, this act was carried out in the Plaza Mayor in the house (today of Isabel Rodríguez) from this house on its balcony the preacher who He was giving the Sermon of the Encounter, the penitents with his image, were located, Jesús Nazareno "El Nazareno" in the corner of Plaza San Martin (home today of Gerardo Delás Gómez), María in the Town Hall and San Juan in the Plaza Mayor next to at the entrance of Costanilla street (today D. Daniel Fuertes street) while the preacher was giving the Encounter Sermon, the penitents were acting under his words, first Saint Johnwho went up to the square on the right side to reach Mary and make the "bows" between the two of them, then San Juan went to bow to Jesus Nazareno "El Nazareno" did them between the two and finally Mary followed by Jesus Nazareno "El Nazarene" both bowing and that said ceremony has later given name to the procession as we know it today.

In April 1882 [5] , it is recorded with what the images and the trumpet are worth :

“In Villafáfila, on April 2, 1882, the brothers also ring the bell, whom it is customary to hear the accounts of the previous year, at the same time at six to take the images on Holy Friday. and for taking her... to one to one patient.

D. Eufrasio Martínez gives eighty reales for taking Jesus.

D. Martín Costilla offered to give forty reales for taking María.

D. Gregorio Tejedor gives present sixteen for taking to San Juan.

D. Gaspar Lorenzo gives 16 reales as a present for carrying and playing the trumpet” .

1896 the church of San Martín is suppressed as a parish and is annexed to Santa María el Moral.

The auction at the beginning of the 20th century, happens to be done at the doors of the church of Santa María del Moral.

The accounts of the 30s of the 20th century are preserved and we can see the evolution of the brotherhood in those years.

In the 1950s, the brotherhood ceased to function as such. Possibly between 1953 is when the Church of San Martín disappeared.

Although the brotherhood disappeared, the images continued to be auctioned to this day, including that of San Juan, the procession has continued to the present day, it is also the one with the most devotion.

1953 the church of San Martín disappears, the images are transferred to Santa María del Moral, we do not know that it was placed inside the church, it would be kept in the rectory. And the procession that year begins to leave the church of Santa María del Moral.

Between the year 1959 (March 27) or 1960 (April 15), the fall of San Juan occurred in the procession, at the time of the Encounter.

Perhaps the morning of the San Juan group did not start well, they had met in an old house on Zamora street next to the San Juan square, (today the house of D. Juan Antonio Martín Vega "Tiarruco") after spending a night as it was the tradition to be at a party, among lemonade, until the time of the procession, after trying to make churros that came out like noodles, they lay down in a room between reeds, covered with blankets, they were so asleep that it was time for dinner. procession and they did not get up, one of the group that his mother had not let him stay that night D. Jesé Fidalgo Benayas "Pepe" knowing where they were went to call them when they arrived at the procession it was already nine in the morning.

When the time comes for the meeting, as tradition dictated, they are placed at the entrance to Costanilla street (today D. Daniel Fuertes street) just to the other side is the entrance to Lavapiés street, in a corner of the square. The placement of these on the litter was, in front of the image, on the left D. José Luis Fernández Alonso "Caña", on the right D. Jesé Fidalgo Benayas "Pepe", behind on the left D. Julián Martín Vega "Tiaruco" and to the right D. Isidro Domínguez Calzada "Chonche". At the words of the preacher "Run Juan to see María" the penitents leave in the direction of María to make the salute that was stationed in the Plaza del Reloj or City Hall, those of San Juan shortly after starting their march and going by the side of the ratchet enfilading the runway D. Isidro Domínguez Calzada "Chonche" advises D. José Luis Fernández Alonso “Caña” who stepped on the tunic (it must be remembered that the paving of the streets did not exist, making it difficult to carry the images, and the tunics did not always fit you like a well-fitting suit) the tunic in the end It became entangled with the consequence that the saint collapsed, Saint John fell to the ground, the headshot that he took resounded throughout the square, presumably the fright of the four of them, the surprise and disgust of all those present, of which San Juan was left with a sign and some opening from his head slammed into the ground. One of the neighbors came to rebuke Mr. "Sinculo" to which Mr. Julián Martín Vega "Tiarruco" with the pike threatened him that he would be in carcass, desisting the rebuke aptitude. and the tunics did not always fit you like a well-fitting suit) the tunic in the end got tangled with the consequence that the saint collapsed on them, Saint John fell to the ground, the headshot that he took resounded throughout the square , presumably the fright of the four of them, the surprise and disgust of all those present, of which there was a sign and some opening to San Juan from his head smashed into the ground. One of the neighbors came to rebuke Mr. "Sinculo" to which Mr. Julián Martín Vega "Tiarruco" with the pike threatened him that he would be in carcass, desisting the rebuke aptitude. and the tunics did not always fit you like a well-fitting suit) the tunic in the end got tangled with the consequence that the saint collapsed on them, Saint John fell to the ground, the headshot that he took resounded throughout the square , presumably the fright of the four of them, the surprise and disgust of all those present, of which there was a sign and some opening to San Juan from his head smashed into the ground. One of the neighbors came to rebuke Mr. "Sinculo" to which Mr. Julián Martín Vega "Tiarruco" with the pike threatened him that he would be in carcass, desisting the rebuke aptitude. of which San Juan was left with a sign and some opening from his head slammed into the ground. One of the neighbors came to rebuke Mr. "Sinculo" to which Mr. Julián Martín Vega "Tiarruco" with the pike threatened him that he would be in carcass, desisting the rebuke aptitude. of which San Juan was left with a sign and some opening from his head slammed into the ground. One of the neighbors came to rebuke Mr. "Sinculo" to which Mr. Julián Martín Vega "Tiarruco" with the pike threatened him that he would be in carcass, desisting the rebuke aptitude.

The time came for the Saint to pay for the adjustment made, no one wanted to pay fearing the anger of Mr. Cura Camilo Pérez Bragado who had arrived as parish priest in 1955, in the end D. Isidro Domínguez Calzada "Chonche" accompanied by another They went and paid, surely they were expecting a fight, but he didn't say anything to them [8] . San Juan still has his marks from that

Around the beginning of the 1970s, the 20th century stopped saying the Sermon on the Encounter, but the meeting and reverences were maintained, but its realization is in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, San Juan is placed at the corner of San Martín that arrives crossing all the Plaza Mayor on the side of the ratchet being first with Mary and second Jesus Nazareno while they wait for them at the corner of the City Hall to revere, approaching San Juan, and performing the reverences.

1995 is preserved in the Parochial Museum.

Author: José Luis Domínguez Martínez.

Bibliography - Text:

Manuel de la Granja Alonso and Camilo Pérez Bragado: Villafáfila History and present day of a Castilian-Leonese town and its parish churches, p. 415, 436, 443.

Manuel de la Granja Alonso: The art of a Castilian-Leonese town, Villafáfila. p. 26, 32, 85.

Elías Rodríguez Rodríguez: Brotherhood Jesus Nazareno,

historiasdevillafafila.blogspot.com https://historiasdevillafafila.blogspot.com/2020/04/la-cofradia-de-jesus-nazareno.html

villafafila.net - https://villafafila.net/cofradianazareno/cofradianazareno.htm

Elías Rodríguez Rodríguez: News stories about the running of the bulls in Villafáfila. The Opinion of Zamora year 2000.

villafafila.net https://villafafila.net/encierros/encierros.htm

Elías Rodríguez Rodríguez: Riots at parties because of bullfighting at the beginning of the 20th century. historiasdevillafafila.blogspot.com

https://historiasdevillafafila.blogspot.com/2020/08/algaradas-en-las-fiestas-por-causa-de.html

Isidro Domínguez Calzada: Personal data.

José Luis Domínguez Martínez: Personal data.

ADZa. Villafáfila Parish. 113.4: Books 15 and 16. The first account book of this brotherhood that is currently preserved in the diocesan archive and dates from 1819 [9] .

Photography: Manuel de la Granja Alonso, Elías Rodríguez Rodríguez and José Luis Domínguez Martínez.

Transcription and editing: José Luis Domínguez Martínez.

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