On 31 August and 1 September Ambroa Parish had it's summer fiesta in honor of San Ramon, one of the parish's Patron Saints. It's our biggest celebration of the year. (The winter fiesta honoring San Tirso occurs in January.)

Here's what happens each day of the fiesta:
   1. A Mass in the nearby church at about 1:00PM.
   2. A "Vermut Sesión" (drinks, socializing, live music) right after the Mass lasts for an hour or so.
   3. Everyone goes home to eat lunch and rest up for the night's celebrating.
   4. Music, dancing, drinking, etc., begins at about 11:00PM and goes on until 4, 5, or even 6:00AM.

Music for the Vermut Sesión is sometimes provided by one of the same orchestras that will play during the night session. They play and sing in their normal street clothes and without the theatrical stage effects that they'll use that night. That's what is shown in the photo above, which was taken on the first day of the two-day fiesta.

At other times, the daytime music is provided by smaller musical groups such as the one shown at the right. This group played at the second day's Vermut Sesión.

It's a whole 'nother matter at night, though. That's when the show gets bigger and more elaborate - with costumes, fancy lighting, smoke effects, etc.

These big groups (there are usually two at the nightime sessions) don't come cheap but rightly so, because they have huge investments in their equipment and they put on good shows. Typically, they arrive in the morning, having played elsewhere the previous night. Their lights, amplifiers, speakers and the rest of their equipment are transported in a huge trailer that opens up hydraulically to form their covered stage. They bring their own portable diesel generators because the capacity and reliability of the electricity at some fiesta sites leave something to be desired. The next morning, usually at or before sunrise, their crew folds everything back up and they move the trailer to the site of their next engagament.

Below are some photos of the bands that played Ambroa the second night this year. Because of the difficulty I have taking pictures at night, the photos are from the bands' websites but resemble the scenes at our fiesta (except we didn't need umbrellas):
 

Both of these groups are hugely popular and attract people from miles away, no matter where they play. They even have fan clubs and websites. Ambroa Parish takes pride in its reputation for hiring some of the best bands available (to the tune of over $26,000 this year). It's no wonder our fiestas attract hundreds of visitors from all over this part of Galicia. (There's no admission charge.)