Descent of the Angel in Peñafiel

This popular religious celebration takes place on Easter Sunday, during Easter Week, in Peñafiel, in the legendary Plaza del Coso Square. It is a performance in which an angel-boy comes down from heaven to tell the Virgin Mary about the resurrection of his son, followed by the encounter of Mother and Son.

The celebration has a long tradition in the town, and probably evolved from religious performances in the Middle Ages. The ceremony begins in the Plaza de España Square, when bells and rockets announce the beginning of the procession of the Virgin from the Church of Santa María. When it gets to Plaza del Coso, a huge crowd, which gets larger every year, witnesses the moment in which a boy dressed up as angel, moved by pulleys, "flies" to the image of the Virgin between two towers. While the angel "comes down to earth" he releases two doves and when he gets to the image of the Virgin, he removes her veil, which symbolises her mourning. The procession then continues to the Parish Church of San Miguel de Reoyo, where Mother and Son are reunited and the Holy Sacrament awaits under a canopy. An extraordinary spectacle that is worth seeing.