The legend
The Maruxaina is an old legend of the Lugo coast. According to the Xunta de Galicia’s listing, the people of San Cibrao disagree about her: some say she is a mermaid with a woman’s body and a fish’s tail who, jealous of the fishermen’s wives, lures them away with her song; others maintain she is a kind old woman who warns them of storms and saves them from the weather.
The legend is not only old. In recent decades it has drawn on the shipwrecks along this coast: the Castillo Moncada (1945), the Marifran (1950s) or the Carebeka VIII (1982) fed into the local fishermen’s memory of the Maruxaina.
However it came about, the village decided to put it on stage. Since 1985, every second Saturday in August, San Cibrao performs the story of the Maruxaina — seized and put on trial — with its own people, its own lanterns and its own music.
How the night unfolds
The morning. Chupinazo, street parade and the “Engaiolamos á Maruxaina” procession, to the sound of the mariners’ horn and the bagpipes; street bands through the town; popular games on O Torno beach and, in the days before, boat trips to the Farallóns from the harbour of San Cibrao.
The Pre-Maruxaina (Friday afternoon). Chupinazo in Praza Nardo Martínez, a gathering of Maruxain@s, popular tasting of empanadas and bolos preñados, the Cantos de Taberna from one tavern to the next, and the naming of the Maruxain@ of Honour, by the Amigos da Maruxaina association.
The procession. With the village lights turned off, the procession walks down to O Torno beach with candles and lanterns. The fishermen and the women dress as the seafaring folk of old: the men in rolled-up trousers and shirts, the women in long skirts.
The landing (around 11 p.m.). The fishermen put out to sea in search of the Maruxaina, sounding horns and foghorns so as not to hear the siren’s song. They return to O Torno beach with the figure of the Maruxaina amid fireworks.
The Gran Xuízo Popular. It begins on the beach, with the Maruxaina just landed, and continues in the village square. The prosecutor accuses, the defence replies and the townspeople act as the jury. The Maruxaina is always acquitted, and the sentence orders a big party that carries on until dawn.
The end. The queimada popular in Praza dos Campos and the verbena with the village’s music close the night.
The Gran Xuízo Popular
It is the central act of the festival. It is a piece of theatre, and the village takes it seriously.
- The prosecutor makes the accusation.
- The defence replies.
- The village acts as the jury, and its verdict is always the same.
- The judge reads the sentence and, if the Maruxaina is innocent, orders the party to carry on.
The trial begins on O Torno beach, as soon as the fishermen set the Maruxaina down on the sand, and continues in the square, where the sentence is read. According to tradition, she has never been convicted.
The Town Council of Cervo’s programme places the Gran Xuízo Popular just before the walk to the square, where the celebration continues.
Festival facts
- Name: The Maruxaina · Festa da Maruxaina de San Cibrao
- Where: San Cibrao, municipality of Cervo, A Mariña Lucense
- When: every second Saturday in August
- Entry: free
- Recognition: Festival of Galician Tourist Interest (declared in 2003)
- First edition: 1985
- Organised by: Town Council of Cervo, with the collaboration of the local associations
- Meeting point: O Torno beach and the village square (Praza dos Campos)