A controversial restoration of the Macarena sparks a storm on social media and forces an urgent rectification: "We apologize."

The Virgin of the Macarena has had a turbulent weekend due to her new appearance. The Brotherhood of the Virgin of Seville had to replace the Virgin of Sorrows and perform emergency surgery after her controversial and criticized recent restoration, which, among other things, changed her eyelashes. This Saturday, when she was put on public display after five days of being removed from worship, they explained that this complete change in her gaze was an "undesirable effect" and that they are open to all relevant explanations. The brotherhood even deleted the first tweet with photographs of the Virgin after replacing her for the first time.

The intervention of the statue had provoked complaints from many brothers, both on social media and in their temple. On the social network X, "the Brotherhood apologizes to brothers and devotees for this incident, emphasizing that its desire has been, is, and always will be to preserve in the best possible conditions the greatest heritage that the Macarenos possess, their Sacred Images, and especially the Most Holy Virgin of Hope," says one of the most prestigious brotherhoods of Holy Week in Seville.

A second touch-up was added on Saturday night, darkening the face and touching up the eyebrows, reports El Diario de Sevilla , rather than just removing the aforementioned eyelashes. With this new appearance, with the touch-up of the touch-up, the Virgin will be on display for extraordinary veneration on June 22, 23, and 24 in the presbytery of the Basilica. It will be placed at ground level so that Sevillians can see the changes firsthand.

Before the new facial intervention, in the Basilica of La Macarena, in the neighborhood of the same name in Seville, there were tense scenes and protests this Saturday, and some people cried in front of the image upon seeing its new appearance, according to sources close to the brotherhood who spoke to Efe. Social media, in turn, was filled with messages from devotees complaining about the change in appearance. The brotherhood has stated that it "understands and shares the concern expressed by its members and devotees," and therefore has acted "with the greatest possible diligence, and guided by technical criteria, to repair this unintended aesthetic alteration."

Officially, the image of the Virgin of La Macarena is anonymous and dates back to the 17th century, although there is speculation that its creator could have been the sculptor Pedro Roldán or even his daughter, La Roldana. Along with the Christ of the Great Power, it is the most popular and venerated image of Holy Week in Seville , the great icon for which this festival is known worldwide. It is carried in procession every year during the so-called Madrugá, the night from Thursday to Good Friday .

La Macarena will celebrate a thanksgiving mass on Monday at 8:00 p.m. for the restoration of its main images after the completion of the conservation work. In a statement, it detailed that "over the last three weeks, the team of conservators and restorers led by Emeritus Professor Francisco Arquillo Torres has carried out maintenance and conservation work." Arquillo is one of the most well-known professionals in this sector in the brotherhood world and is closely linked to the aforementioned brotherhood. He was urgently called in by the brotherhood to try to resolve the restoration problem, which he himself carried out.

"These works have consisted of radiological and CT analyses, as well as analysis of the polychromes using non-invasive techniques; cleaning of the polychromes, consisting of the removal of surface dirt resulting from religious and devotional use; and chromatic reintegration of the existing polychrome gaps caused by such uses," the organization stated before the controversy arose on social media. Now they will have to wait to see if the new touches convince the devotees.