Ciudad Real.- The Deputy Delegate of the Government in Ciudad Real, María de los Ángeles Herreros, and the Mayor of Villarta de San Juan, Irene Ruiz, have chaired a Local Security Board to finalize the coordination work of the device between Civil Guard and Local Police on the occasion of the next patron saint festivities of the town, ‘Las Paces 2023’.
This year the festivities in honor of the Virgen de la Paz, patron saint of the town, will be held from the 22nd to the 24th of this month and is marked by the launch of rockets concentrated in two moments of the celebrations: during the procession and in the so-called ‘Operation 2,000’. The latter involves the simultaneous launch of 2,000 dozen rockets into a traca that concentrates 123 kilos of gunpowder. As a novelty this year there is a commemorative event of Operation 2000 the day before, on January 23, when another 47 kilos will be thrown away.
This festival, which has been declared of Regional Tourist Interest since 1994, has a tradition of more than five centuries of history and, in recent years, the City Council has incorporated changes of regulations for this type of celebration, which guarantee stricter security measures. Thus, the processional route and pyrotechnics are carried out under strict control and all participants have to comply with a series of mandatory rules, such as the realization of an approved course that accredits them as launchers or shooters.
This year, a total of 22 rocks will be thrown and it is controlled, from the moment of arrival of the gunpowder, to its custody, the distribution to the rocks and the runs.
“The interest in the safety and responsibility of the rocks is evident,” explained the mayor, “and all this is the result of the improvements made to extreme precautions and minimize risks, it is noticeable that people live them intensely and feel safe.”
For her part, the subdelegate has given an example of the close relationship between the local police and the Civil Guard troops, “in addition to the one you maintain with the Intervention of Weapons and Explosives, the degree of involvement and coordination that you develop means that this awareness has spread throughout Villarta de San Juan for the development of a safe and controlled party”.
They have been present at the Local Security Board, in addition to the subdelegate and the mayor, the head of the Local Police, the president of the Association of Coheteras Rocks, the president of the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Peace, the Chief Post Commander and the lieutenant of the Company, as well as Weapons and Explosives Intervention Officers of the Civil Guard Command of Ciudad Real.