Huércal-Overa closes the Soledad gathering with an eye on 50 years of devotion

The image of Nuestra Señora de la Soledad turned fifty. It was carved in 1976 by the Murcian sculptor José María Sánchez Lozano and is the titular of the Cofradía del Paso Negro. For that reason, Huércal-Overa hosted on Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8 the 51st National Gathering of Hermandades y Cofradías de la Soledad, the first time it is held in the town, according to the Diócesis de Almería. The Teatro Villa de Huércal-Overa opened the event on Saturday with a day of lectures. The bishop of Getafe, Ginés García Beltrán, a native of Huércal-Overa and brother of the Paso Negro, gave the opening lecture, «La religiosidad popular como expresión de fe». Afterwards, the historian and municipal archivist José Luis Cuadrado Beltrán reviewed the history of devotion to the Soledad in the municipality and its countryside. The morning closed with a concert of processional marches by the Banda de Música Martín Alonso, which premiered «Madre de la Soledad», by the musician and fellow brother David Sánchez Uribe.

At five in the afternoon on Saturday, the image left the chapel of the Paso Negro accompanied by the invited hermandades. The route through the centre included two stops: in front of the Virgen del Río care home, on calle Ancha, and in front of the birthplace of the beato Cura Valera, on calle Era. The Agrupación Musical Virgen del Carmen de La Alfoquía opened the procession alongside the cruz de guía, and the Banda de Música de la Cruz Roja de Sevilla accompanied the paso of the Virgin. On Sunday morning, the image was moved from the chapel to the parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción. There the closing Eucharist was held at ten, broadcast live by Canal Sur Televisión. It was presided over by Ginés García Beltrán due to the physical indisposition of the bishop of Almería, Antonio Gómez Cantero. The parish priest, Francisco Jerónimo Ruiz Gea, and other priests concelebrated. At the opening, the parish priest thanked the hermandades for the work they do throughout the year and remembered the beato Cura Valera and Sánchez Lozano, also the author of the Virgen del Río. The sister superior of the Paso Negro, Blanca López Gómez, noted that the gathering gave the cofradías the opportunity to share the faith under the same advocation.