Skip to content
Santa Águeda Espinosa de Henares Español
Women in traditional dress carry the flower-covered litter of the saint, seen side-on, past a large pile of green branches burning and smoking under a cloudy sky; behind them are a mural and golden crosses held aloft.

Chapter 6 of 12

Mass, procession and maneros

This is the part of the festival that brings the whole village together: the saint on women’s shoulders, the blessed bonfire and the bidding at the church door.

The Mass

The women sing the Mass themselves, with an offering of fruit, sweets and flowers. The 2026 Mass was a special moment, presided over by the Bishop of Sigüenza-Guadalajara, Julián Ruiz Martorell.

Women in traditional dress and shawls seated in the pews of a church, one with a sheet of paper in her hand, follow the service. (enlarge)

The procession

Afterwards Saint Agatha is carried through the streets on a litter by women who dance and sing along the route. This is when the bonfire is blessed, one of the festival’s great symbols. And around the fire the Castilian jota dedicated to the village, brought back a few years ago, is offered to the saint.

Procession along a sunny street: women in traditional dress with red, yellow, purple and blue skirts shoulder a wooden litter bearing the statue of the saint under a large arch of flowers; a priest in a red chasuble walks behind. (enlarge)

The maneros

The maneros are the handles of the litter. On the way back, in front of the church, the procession stops and the honour of carrying them to bring the saint inside is auctioned; sometimes a traditional sweet goes up for bidding too. That brings the religious part of the festival to a close.

Women in yellow and purple skirts carry the litter of the saint, framed by a floral arch, beside a whitewashed wall; one of them holds a small child in a navy padded jacket. (enlarge)

Photographs