The Mermaid Maruxaina

Statue of Maruxaina

The Maruxaina is a legendary mermaid that lives in a cave on the Farallóns Islands, off the coast of San Ciprián/San Cibrao. As the story goes, she blows into her shell with either good or bad intentions, depending who you ask. Is she blowing to warn the sailors of upcoming storms, telling them to stay ashore? Or is her siren song meant to lure the sailors to her cave where they will never be heard from again? The trial of the Maruxaina seeks to get to the bottom of this. 

The Maruxaina Festival is a weekend-long affair in this coastal town of A Mariña Lucense (province of Lugo), culminating in the mermaid's trial. While Saturday is without a doubt the main day, the party gets started on Thursday night. And it goes late, every night. Believe me, I know. Coincidentally, we went camping just a short walk away from the main stage that weekend, and heard music booming til the wee hours, three nights in a row. 

On Thursday night, a roving band we had just seen a few weeks earlier got people in a merry mood, on this occasion staying put in the main square. They even have a song called Maruxaina which they taught to the small crowd gathered around them. The music video represents the Saturday festivities well, so take a look: 

 The chorus has been stuck in my head ever since. It goes: 

Maruxaina, deusa do mar                                                     Maruxaina, goddess of the sea
Protexe aos mariñeiros entre algas e coral                          Protect the sailors between the coral and algae
Maruxaina, vante xulgar                                                      Maruxaina, you'll be on trial
Queimade augardente e bailade ata fartar                          Burn the moonshine and dance until you drop

 
The pre-festivities continued on Friday evening with Cantos de Taberna. As we were camping, we weren't planning on going back into town, but rather decided to eat out far from the center of the action. Lo and behold, two small groups singing traditional Galician songs made it to our restaurant, so we had charming background music to accompany our meal. We turned in early, but once again, the celebration was audible until 4 AM.

Finally, Saturday: the main day. As we were having breakfast in town, I noticed all the bars and cafés had huge bars set up outside in preparation for the swarms of expected festivalgoers. And the waiter even warned us: it may be family friendly in the morning, but after 5PM kids shouldn't really be around. I can see why. Around noon the party starts. Multiple charanga bands prance around the streets. Groups of teenagers and young adults congregate in and around the bars and beach. The typical is for ¨young people¨ to share a wagon or cart with friends, stocked up with food and booze. They move as a massive pack around town, sometimes following the bands, sometimes providing their own tunes on a loud speaker. Rather than roam around, the ¨old people¨ gather for lunch on the beach. The town council provides boards that can be used as tables for beach picnics. 

So tons of people drinking from noon onwards, what do you expect? While the Maruxaina may have started as a quaint festival to recognize local lore, in its 40th edition it was essentially an excuse for debauchery.

I popped in around 8 PM to see what the vibe was like. In some places it was so crowded with stumbling youth that you could barely get through. 95% of them were wearing the costume, I'll give them that. Typical coastal gear which for men includes a white shirt, blue pants, and a blue and white plaid kerchief. For women it entails a white top, a black and white patterned skirt, a black and white kerchief, and sometimes a shawl. 

Before her trial

At 11PM the real action starts. And I got there just in time for them to drag Maruxaina out of the sea. A dozen ¨sailors¨ carry her ashore on a platform. The group was accompanied by about 20 people, including one older sailor shooting off red lights so that they could see where they were going. As she got closer, members of the crowd yelled, ¨Maruxaina!¨ ¨Fire!¨ ¨Witch!¨ Despite the throngs of onlookers, I actually got quite close to the action. Once fully ashore, it's time for the trial. At this point, I could no longer see the mermaid, but the audio was played loud enough to be heard by all in the vicinity. I'm not sure if it was recorded or was being played out in the moment. Some women accused her of being a witch and stealing away their sailor husbands. A wise old man argued that with her sounds she was warning of treacherous waters. After a little back and forth, it was decided. Maruxaina was innocent! There would be no burning at the stake that night. Show's over. You can go home.

I was probably the only one there who did just that. Back to my tent I went. Meanwhile, the party continued, 12 hours after beginning. Two fun orquestas sang and danced until.... SEVEN O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING. Believe me, I know. I could hear it from my tent.