Third Quadrennial San Geraldo Day / Tercero Día Cuadrienal de San Geraldo

La versión español está después de la versión inglés.

I’M SO ASHAMED. This is the Third Quadrennial San Geraldo Day and I haven’t arranged for the parade float, the costumes, nor have I hired the half-naked muscle men. If you aren’t familiar with this historic holiday — “Día Cuadrienal de San Geraldo” in the original Spanish — here’s the story.

In late 2011, after our first few months in Spain, we noticed there was a procession of some sort just about every day in Sevilla. There would be a float carried on the shoulders of burly men. Atop the float would be a statue of some saint or other, which was hauled out of storage for a stroll around town before being stowed away for another year. The increasingly anti-social San Geraldo decided that would be perfect for him. To be hauled out of storage once a year and carried around town by a group of half-naked hunks. (He added the half-naked hunks bit.) I said we could call it the Día de San Geraldo (San Geraldo Day). And then he had an even better idea. He would be paraded through the streets only on leap years. He could remain “in storage” for four years at a time. As luck would have it, our first leap year (2012) was fast approaching.

Our brother-in-law Tom and I went out and bought SG a solid-gold crown embedded with emeralds and rubies — because Sevilla Cathedral, keepers of the original crown and mortal remains of SG’s 22-greats grandfather King Ferdinand III, wouldn’t let us borrow the real one. I hope San Geraldo likes what I managed to pull together at the last minute this year.


ESTOY TAN AVERGONZADO. Este es el tercer Día Cuadrienal de San Geraldo y no he organizado la carroza del desfile, los disfraces, ni he contratado a los hombres musculosos semidesnudos. Si no está familiarizado con estas vacaciones históricas, aquí está la historia.

A finales de 2011, después de nuestros primeros meses en España, notamos que había una procesión de algún tipo casi todos los días en Sevilla. Habría una carroza sobre los hombros de hombres fornidos. Encima de la carroza habría una estatua de algún santo u otro, que fue sacada del almacén para dar un paseo por la ciudad antes de ser guardada por otro año. El cada vez más antisocial San Geraldo decidió que eso sería perfecto para él. Para ser sacado del almacén una vez al año y llevado por la ciudad por un grupo de tíos semidesnudos. (Añadió tíos y semidesnudo). Dije que podríamos llamarlo el Día de San Geraldo. Y luego tuvo una idea aún mejor. Sería desfilado por las calles solo en los años bisiestos. Podría permanecer “almacenado” durante cuatro años a la vez. Por suerte, nuestro primer año bisiesto (2012) se acercaba rápidamente.

Nuestro cuñado Tom y yo salimos y le compramos a SG una corona de oro macizo incrustada con esmeraldas y rubíes — porque la Catedral de Sevilla, guardianes de la corona original y restos mortales del tatara abuelo 22 de SG, Fernando III, no lo haría. Prestemos el real. Espero que a San Geraldo le guste lo que logré reunir en el último minuto esta año.

Second Quadrennial San Geraldo Day, 2016, in Fernando III’s ermine cape.
Segundo Día Cuadrienal de San Geraldo, 2016, en el cabo de armiño de Fernando III.

Tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-tatara-abuelo, el santo.
Third Quadrennial San Geraldo Day, 2020.
Tercero Día Cuadrienal de San Geraldo, 2020.

Author: Moving with Mitchell


33 thoughts on “Third Quadrennial San Geraldo Day / Tercero Día Cuadrienal de San Geraldo”

  1. You made me smile, first thing in the morning. Happy SG Day. As long as he isn’t stored in the glass box he should be happy.

    1. David:
      I wouldn’t mind owning that glass box (crystal, silver, and gold), but no thanks to being stored in it.

  2. HAH! From the looks of things, 2020’s celebration is a whole lot more fun! SG really looks good wearing a crown 🙂

    1. Debra:
      I have such a good time. Don’t know what I’d do without my muse, though.

  3. Obviously you just don’t know what we are going through here in the States. Such frivolity! Such joux de vivre! Such irreverence! We envy you.

    1. Frank:
      Oh, we’re going through it with you. That’s why there’s such a great need for half-naked men.

  4. Ha! Hilarious! I can relate to SG’s increasing anti-socialness. It’s funny how socializing becomes less appealing as you get older. At least it has for me! (I wouldn’t mind being paraded around by hunks in Gucci pants every four years either, though, come to think of it.)

    1. Steve:
      I’m staying in today because there are just too many people around town (it was a holiday week here). Although, there have been a number of hunks on the beach and out running and not in Gucci pants either.

  5. I love that there’s an SG Day, though I’ll keep the news from a jealous Carlos.
    And, um, where’s my half-nekkid mens at? SG needs more of those.

    1. Bob:
      I had planned to actually get some guys together to walk him down the street in a push chair, but I never got around to it. Carlos deserves his own day, don’t you think?

    1. Willym:
      Completely forgot about the virgins! I could find some guys and make them wear vests. Then they’d be “vested virgins” (which is what i thought it was when I was a kid).

  6. I’d be willing to wager that if those half-naked guys wore tops, they would be in clashing patterns and colors to their bottoms. Oh, wait… tops… bottoms… where was I?

    1. Walt the Fourth:
      I had to start reading a second time because I actually did think you were talking about tops as opposed to tops! Oh, wait, you were!

    1. larrymuffin:
      I might have to start planning now for 2024. Then again, maybe I should just wait and see if we all make it to 2024!

    1. Urspo,
      Each one has to be a step up from the previous. The pressure is tremendous.

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