The Virgin del Carmen of Torazo in Cabranes

On the last Sunday of August, Torazu dresses up in its finery in order to celebrate the feast of the Virgin del Carmen. This town in the district of Cabranes, well known for having been the Exemplary Town of Asturias in 2008, and for joining in perfect harmony the traditional architecture Indiana or American architecture due to the emigration of many of its inhabitants to America, it is really a welcoming and colourful place, where the festivity of the Virgin del Carmen is celebrated in a big way and at the wrong time, but it has been this way for several centuries.

Although the Virgin del Carmen is on July 16, in Torazo it is celebrated one and a half months late, and tradition tells that this change of date was perhaps owing to the fact that the spelt had to be harvested in order to be able to make the bread which is traditionally offered to the Virgin as a sign of gratitude.

On Sunday, the celebrations begin early with a street procession and the moment most expected and spectacular, which is also a centenarian tradition, is the parade of branches, with the neighbours of the districts wearing regional costumes as the main players. This parade is one of the most crowded and colourful in all Asturias, and is undoubtedly the distinctive part of the Carmen de Torazo, whose fiesta is crowned with a first class verbena (open air dance).

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