The mascot of the festival is Marijaia (her name roughly translates to "Lady of the Party"). She was designed to look like traditional Basque women, complete with rural clothing and a handkerchief (though her face is suppose to look comical). She comes complete with her own song, “Badator Marijaia” Here’s her song (also comes with some video from the festival):
Marijaia parades through the festival, stopping at different points so that people can dance to her song. Here’s her parade (Courtesy of Michelle Morris):
The festival ends with Marijaia floating on a barge down the river, shooting off fireworks as she passes. They also play this very somber music that really tugs at your heartstrings. A couple of my pictures of her floating down the river:
She stops near the Town hall and that’s when the people of Bilbao say goodbye to her. Then they light her on fire. Here’s video highlighting the ceremony:
But alas don’t worry, next year there will be a new Marijaia to preside over the festival!
There’s also a spectacular fireworks show after Marijaia is burned to a crisp (video couldn't upload b/c of bad internet connection, check back in a few days!)
As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, there was a lot of traditional Basque dancing during the festival and here's 2 videos (Both courtesy of Michelle Morris):
The Professional Basque Dancers (courtesy of Michelle Morris):
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