Tradition, devotion and leisure will come together once again this year around San Blas, the patron saint of throat diseases, to whom one of the oldest pilgrimages in the region, declared to be of Regional Tourist Interest, is dedicated in Santiago de la Ribera. At 10:00h on Friday 3 February, the image of the saint will leave the church of Santiago Apóstol in pilgrimage to his hermitage located in the leafy area of San Blas. The Mayor, José Miguel Luengo, the Mayor of Santiago de la Ribera, Mauricio Ruiz and the Councillor for Festivities, Isidoro Miñano, presented today, along with the festival committee, the festive program, which is celebrated from 1 to 5 February, without health limitations for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.
The councillor for Fiestas, Isidoro Miñano, unveiled the programme, which begins on 1 February with an Offering to the Saint in which non-perishable goods will be collected in aid of Caritas. The Red de Puntos de Encuentro de Personas Mayores (Network of Meeting Points for the Elderly) is taking advantage of the feast of San Blas to invite the elderly of the municipality to a verbena and chocolate party in the park in front of the hermitage on Thursday 2 February. On 3 February, a public holiday in the municipality of San Javier, a pilgrimage is held to the hermitage where a huerta mass will be held at around 11:30 am. The paellas of the peñas and groups will be complemented with a giant paella and beer courtesy of Estrella de Levante. The day will continue with a musical evening and the return of the San Blas candy throwing competition at 16:00.
The festivities take advantage of the weekend and on Saturday 4 February, the San Blas site will host at 10:30 a new edition of «In your park or mine», with the show «A day at the movies», and at 12:30 the II edition of the Regional Meeting of Cuadrillas with the participation of the Cuadrillas of Torreagüera, Albatalía-Arboleja and Coros y Danzas Mar Menor. The day, with a clear Murcian flavour, will continue with songs and a recital of Panocho a San Blas by Koki Marín and Nando González and a tasting of broth with balls. Finally, on Sunday 5 February a new edition of BlasRock 2023 will be held from 12 noon with free entry and the participation of the bands Malaverguenza, Kavando a Pala, Si nos dejáis, Kanelaje and Loco Tren. A migas (breadcrumbs) for all those attending and an end-of-festival castle at 18:00h will bring this edition of the festivities to a close, which from 1 to 5 February will feature the typical San Blas stalls and fairground rides.
Mayor José Miguel Luengo praised the programme of activities «designed for all ages and focused as always on coexistence» around the pine forest of San Blas. «This festival also allows us to be more hospitable because of the huge number of people who come from outside the municipality attracted by a festival that was declared of Regional Tourist Interest», Luengo recalled. The mayor, Mauricio Ruiz, recalled that San Blas is one of the most deeply-rooted and multitudinous fiestas in the municipality and stressed the importance of maintaining and transmitting this type of tradition. Ruiz thanked the efforts of the committee and the Department of Festivities, and invited not to miss the festive program, with special mention «to the gastronomic sample that includes paella, broth with balls and migas».