Elche

He Orchard of San Placido of Elche, where the Palmeral Museum is located, has been the scene this Wednesday of the presentation of the majestic white palms that the Elche City Council will send to the Pope Francisco (a handicraft bouquet and a smooth palm), to the queen letizia (a bouquet of crafts), to President of the govermentPedro Sánchez (a bouquet of crafts), the bishop of Orihuela-Alicante, Jose Ignacio Munilla (a handicraft bouquet and a smooth palm), to the president of the GeneralitatXimo Puig (a smooth palm), al Bishop of Solsonathe man from Elche, Francisco Conesa (a bouquet of handicrafts) and the mayor of Jaca, a twin city with Elche (a smooth palm).

The Consistory thus complies with the tradition in the days prior to the start of Holy Week and has sent the white palms that it gives to different personalities for the celebration of the Palm Sunday next April 2.

The palms have been elaborated in the Serrano Valero family workshopwhat started preparing them in January and finished them last week. The height of the palms is about three meters and they have ornaments related to Elche traditions and religious iconography. As the artisan Paqui Serrano has explained to this newspaper “we always make changes”.

So, that of the Pope has a chalice and two tassels like those that hang from the papal coat of arms, that of the Queen this year has a crown with a cross and that of the president of the government has ornaments with flowers. “The flowers are similar, but we have moved them so that they are not the same,” says Serrano.

“We wanted to wink, the Pope, King of the Church, and the Queen, representative of society“adds the artisan who is having some hectic days these days. Each of these pieces has more than a week of work.

The presentation has been made by the mayor of Elche, Carlos Gonzalezthe mayor of Fiestas, Mariola Galiana, the councilor Esther Diez, and the master craftsmen Paqui Serranotogether with his father Paco Serrano. He has also attended the Minister of Culture, Raquel Tamarit, visiting Elche for the constitution of the Patronato del Palmeral.

“Behind these white palms there is not only talent, a great skill and a deep love for the Palmeral, but there are also hundreds of hours of work and many families that for decades and centuries have been able to maintain a tradition that makes Elche a unique city in the world for being able to preserve this very important and unique tradition towards which we have such deep affection”, pointed out the mayor.

González has had words “of admiration and gratitude” towards those who “they dedicate their time, love, effort and talent to create these authentic works of art that we share with these authorities and, above all, with the world”, indicated the councilor, who was full of praise for all the families that still today preserve this centuries-old tradition, and who recognize that the generational change is scarce.

Likewise, it has reaffirmed its commitment to continue working “so that this beautiful tradition is not lost” and that every year Palm Sunday can be celebrated with those works of art that allow us to have this singular and unique procession in the world.

For her part, the Minister of Culture, Raquel Tamarit, He has recognized that it was the first time he had seen this work live “and it impacts a lot.” Therefore, he wanted to show his “admiration”. “It’s a pride”, has added. In addition, he has also shown the Generalitat’s commitment to this age-old trade “which we hope will last for many more years.”

The minister has taken the opportunity to invite the public to come to Elche to learn a trade of a lifetime, that of a palm tree, to guarantee generational change, since fewer and fewer people dedicate themselves to it. “Mr. Serrano told me that palm trees are needed, a trade that should last a lifetime,” he concluded.

Pride

Meanwhile, Paqui Serrano, in charge of making these white palms, has been proud that her pieces are city ​​ambassadors and has explained that those made for the President of the Government and the bishops are similar and simpler compared to those of the Queen and the Pope“which are much more voluminous and expensive jobs because the palm is split in half and the work is double.”

Serrano has also explained that these palms get wet for transport and they take some special packaging, inside some plastic bags, and are transported in some wooden cages so that they do not rub, remain intact and do not get damaged. They are special palms that are selected and from the same palm tree so that neither the texture nor the color changes.

On the other hand, with Holy Week, The Palma Blanca market returns to, with its genre, decorate the streets of Elche for Palm Sunday, Festival of International Tourist Interest since 1997.

The Palma Blanca trade, whose first mention dates back to the Cabildo books of 1429, continues centuries later. The artisans will sell their traditional creations in a twenty stalls in the Plaça de Baix and his or her environment, from Friday March 31 to Palm Sunday itself, April 2.