Ana del Barrio Madrid

Madrid

Updated Thursday, March 28, 2024-00:02

Besieged by souvenir bazaars, surrounded by fast food franchises, cornered by the endless headquarters of the San Ginés chocolate shop,

the religious goods stores

remain undaunted, resisting the passage of time as if they were the Gallic village of Asterix.

In just 500 square meters, around Calle Mayor,

there are a handful of shops specializing in sacred crafts

. On Bordadores Street, Nazaret, Salve and the Liturgical Center are located; in nearby Esparteros is El Ángel; Belloso is located on Mayor Street and Santarrufina is located in La Paz.

Entering into these businesses means taking a trip back in time and getting lost in a sea of

​​Christs, virgins, births

, capirotes, monstrances and rosaries. Its repertoire is very broad and has three legs: goldsmithing with chalices, ciboriums and crosses for the liturgical rite; the textile part with chasubles for the priests and tunics for the brothers or the Virgins and the religious imagery with handcrafted figures, medals and chains.

A huge Castilian Virgin welcomes Salve's customers, wrapped in an aroma of incense that hypnotizes from the street.

In the middle of Holy Week

, the hustle and bustle is constant in this store on Bordadores Street, one of the few in Madrid that has maintained the craftsmanship that gave rise to its name.

Fulgencio Escalona

has bought two chandeliers

and is ecstatic because his son Rodrigo, 13, is going to parade in the Hermandad Fusionada y Cautivo de Fuengirola.

-My son has set up an altar at home and

has 40 virgins

. He can spend an hour dressing the Virgin. Now he wants to go to all the processions and he enjoys them like crazy, but I'm already 70 years old and it's a lot of beating," says this man from Extremadura who has been living in Atocha for years.

At the counter is Pedro García, a former priest who gave up his habits to embark on new paths. He is a born salesman, although he also acts as a psychologist with clients. «This is like a parish and a family.

"I act as a confessor

, although I no longer give absolution," jokes the clerk at this business, which opened its doors in 2016.

Tourists, priests and brothers

While unpacking the newly arrived merchandise - a Virgin of the Apocalypse from Ecuador - García narrates that his main clients are tourists, priests and brothers. «And then there is what I call the

peluseo

, that is, the little stamp or the little cross. With that you earn very little, but

this Easter we are noticing a lot of movement

. People are buying what they didn't buy last year," says García.

In the back room of the establishment is Christian Obando, who is in charge of restoring the craft pieces and expresses his pride in working in such a special establishment: "These businesses are dying out and, for them to survive, the public has to feel good welcomed. I advise them in their daily lives.

It's not just about selling but about accompanying

," says Obando while he gives a wax patina to a Sacred Heart.

Right next to Salve is Nazaret, one of the oldest and most traditional businesses in the capital. It opened its doors in 1888 as a chandlery and in 1914, the Corrales family acquired it. In addition to selling nativity scenes and religious items, they make cloaks and dresses for virgins, make banners for processions,

reproduce oil paintings for paintings

and practice wood carving.

A shop assistant shows a Saint Joseph, in Nazareth.S. GONZÁLEZ VALERO

The business was run by the father, then by Carlos Corrales and is now run by his two children, Elena and Santiago.

«Latin American tourism is saving us

. It is a believing and religious public, because the Church is now in crisis," says Carlos Corrales, the soul of the business.

Evangelize the customer

In all these bazaars they are aware that selling a fashionable sweatshirt is not the same as selling a Saint Jude and that many people go to these places

in search of spirituality

. "If I can evangelize, I evangelize," admits Isabel Valiente, administrator of Santarrufina, one of the most beautiful establishments in the capital, located next to the Umusic Hotel Teatro Albéniz.

In its hallways, there are carvings that are authentic works of art and contain items for all tastes: from life-size Christs to

small virgins without polychrome "for Ikea houses

," he adds. But the specialty of this house is goldsmithing, since it has its own Molina factory, which is known throughout the world.

Valiente denies the cliché that young people are becoming less faithful and indicates that there is a large movement of

believing kids with many religious concerns

. In the store they help them like many customers who come with tears in their eyes to buy a rosary.

Because as Pedro García asserts, «this is not selling churros or potatoes. «People with depression or problems come to acquire a Saint Jude and you help them. It is selling God, but how he wants it to be sold, without abusive prices or usury.

You are speaking on behalf of God.

"I am the happiest man in the world," concludes the former priest.

Two employees of the El Ángel.SGV store