Tejerina

Tejerina is a village situated in the north of Spain, which belongs to the León province and to the Prioro municipality, which also forms part of the Riaño shire.^[1]

Location

This village is surrounded by territories belonging to the neighbor villages such as Remolina, Horcadas, Prioro and Mental, a cattle house which in the older times used to be a village.^[2]

Soon before arriving to the place, there is a little church called La ermita de Retejerina (The Chapel of Retejerina) by its inhabitants. This church is the annual host place of the festivities in honor to the Virgin of Retejerina, the patroness of the village, which are celebrated every weekend after the August 15th. It is said that this little religious building used to be part of a very big monastery. The virgin of Retejerina is deeply adorated by its inhabitants because they consider that always has answered their prayers.

The ground of the village is the source of the Tejerina creek, which flows into Cea river, inside Prioro. That river flows into the provinces of León, Valladolid and Zamora, being an affluent of the Esla River.

Although Tejerina is a very little village, there are many people living there in the summer months; specially in August, when people used to go there in order to spend their summer holidays.

Some years ago, was built a private propriety rural house, which is rented by tourists who want to know more about the local culture and the numerous landscapes. Tejerina forms part of the national park of Picos de Europa, known in the whole Spain by its high ecological importance. In fact, the village is known by its high mountains that are usually visited, such as Piedra del agua (Waterstone) and El pico de las palabras (The peak of words), which is the highest of the region (About 1800 meters high).

Nature

The nature of the village is formed by domestic animals such as sheep, hens, pigs, and formerly, caws (Since 1990, there are not caws anymore in Tejerina).

Due to its location inside the Picos de Europa national park, the place has got a booming wildlife. Animals like foxes, boars, roe deers, owls, eagles and brown bears are common in the surroundings of the village and much appreciated by the nature lovers, who use to go there to see those animals.

Culture

The local culture of Tejerina is deeply rooted in the transhumance and the cattle farming, which has been the way of life of many of their inhabitants for many years. This old way of living is present in the popular culture and has been transmitted by various forms. For example in songs.

Every Saturday nights, is celebrated "La ronda" (The round), which consists in singing traditional songs in front of every house of the village. The round used to be celebrated ages ago, and still is celebrated.<ref name="Preguntados los vecinos de mayor edad en el pueblo nos confirman que recuerdan la tradición de la Ronda desde que eran niños, aunque también coinciden en decir que si bien, la costumbre de "echar la Ronda" no se ha extinguido nunca, si perdió parte de su esplendor durante muchos años.>Preguntados los vecinos de mayor edad en el pueblo nos confirman que recuerdan la tradición de la Ronda desde que eran niños, aunque también coinciden en decir que si bien, la costumbre de "echar la Ronda" no se ha extinguido nunca, si perdió parte de su esplendor durante muchos años</ref>

The most important festivity of the village takes place in June 29th, the Saint Peter’s day. Two months later, it’s celebrated the day of the virgin of Retejerina. That day, the virgin is carried from the chapel to the main church of the village in a procession that is followed by all the inhabitants. <ref name="El 17 de agosto se celebra la romería de "la Virgen de Retejerina". La gente de Tejerina baja andando a la ermita, se oye misa, se come, luego se reza el rosario y continuación se organiza una fiesta con juegos infantiles, bailes, cánticos, etc">El 17 de agosto se celebra la romería de "la Virgen de Retejerina". La gente de Tejerina baja andando a la ermita, se oye misa, se come, luego se reza el rosario y continuación se organiza una fiesta con juegos infantiles, bailes, cánticos, etc.</ref>

Both festivities are organised by the round association.

Early history

The first information about Tejerina come from the Middle Ages, specifically from the 11th century. Most of these documents are deeds of sale, lease and donations.

The first document where the name of the village appears, belongs to the monastery of Sahagun. In it, it is related how a priest from the village donates to the monastery of Sahagun the inheritance received from his elders in Tejerina, which was composed by seven lands in seven other places.

The rest of the places where the village is mentioned mostly belong to the monastery of Gradefes. In one of these documents, the whole village, along with other possessions, is given as a dowry to Teresa Peláyz, by Gonzalo Alonso, a feudal lord from the zone.

Notable people

Fidel Villarroel – historian born in Tejerina
Balbino Villarroel – canonized priest who died in the Spanish Civil War.

References

External links

Coordinates: 42°55′N 5°00′W / 42.917°N 5.000°W / 42.917; -5.000

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