“I have been soulless.” Half thousand folks demand explanations and recuperate the unique picture of the macarena | Culture | EUROtoday

“I have been soulless. This is not my virgin.” Natalia Redondo, sister of the 56 -year -old Macarena, rinses the tears that don’t cease sprouting from her eyes. It is without doubt one of the 500 individuals who have concentrated in entrance of the Basilica of the Brotherhood of the Macarena at seven within the afternoon to protest the restoration – which have truly been three – which has been carried out on the scale of the seventeenth century and has modified considerably the expression of the picture.

The congregates have drawn the gathered anger since on Saturday they dawned with a face of the Virgin that didn’t reply to the promise of minimal upkeep work that the brotherhood moved them final November. The stupefaction was rising when in lower than 24 hours, the scale was re -retouched twice – first to chop the eyelashes after which to return a part of the reddish tone that surrounds his eyes – and attempt to recuperate the looks of a face that may be a image not just for the Sevillians, however for the 1000’s of devotees he has exterior the town.

But lots of the protesters regretted greater than bodily change, the shortage of transparency of the brotherhood all through this course of. “The brothers, the devotees, has been hidden, what has been done to the Virgin already this time we still do not know who has carried out the interventions on Saturday afternoon and at night,” explains Antonio Gravito, 20 -year -old brother.

That demand for explanations was included within the manifesto that has been learn shortly after seven within the afternoon. “We ask and demand a detailed report in detail of the maintenance work that has been carried out in our sacred image,” stated the doc. To the request for transparency, the resignation of the older brother, José Antonio Fernández Cabrero, and of his Government Board that was exactly gathered at that very same time on the headquarters of the Brotherhood, subsequent to the Basilica, in a rare assembly referred to as yesterday to handle the disaster. “They are going to hold on to the armchair because only five months remain for the elections for older brother, but they have forgotten that the Virgin is not theirs. The macarena is not a statue, it is something very large that escapes them,” stated Álvaro García, one other 25 -year -old brother.

But above the request for explanations and the resignation of these answerable for the Brotherhood, among the many congregates underlying the craving – hope, by no means higher – that the Virgin might recuperate her earlier face. “Now he looks a little more to our Virgin, but he has totally lost the expression of his eyes, his gaze. Now he has a sad look, the eye as more closed and we want our hope to come back,” Carmen Lencina stated after singing the anthem of hope of hope Macarena, which is sung each time the tempo cross enters the basilica after the early morning. Some specialists say it’s attainable. But Natalia, even in tears, doubts. “I think we have lost it forever.”