The Macarena is withdrawn from worship to be restored

"We hope that she returns as she was before." This is the wish of Carmen Marcelo and Manuel Pino, brothers of the Macarena, who have just left seeing their Virgin for the last time, before she is removed from worship tonight to be restored so that the face the statue had before the controversial and failed intervention last June can be recovered. Like them, devotees have been parading through the Virgin's dressing room since 9:30 a.m. to bid farewell to the image, all with the same hope that "she will return as she should." Work to try to reverse the alterations, which were confirmed by the Andalusian Institute of Historical Heritage (IAPH), will begin this Wednesday, according to sources from the Brotherhood. Today was the last day that the people of Seville were able to contemplate the altered face following the controversial intervention carried out in June, which was questioned by the Andalusian Institute of Historical Heritage (IAPH).

According to the report prepared for the brotherhood by the Andalusian Regional Government, the 17th-century statue suffered alterations to its eyelids, which altered its original shape after the intervention the Brotherhood commissioned from Professor Francisco Arquillo. According to the IAPH, Arquillo used inadequate techniques that caused obvious alterations to the image's original morphology. The technicians also observed changes in the Virgin's hands and determined that the tears on her face, which should have been translucent, were opaque due to the application of inadequate adhesives.

But the restoration, entrusted to expert Pedro Manzano , is not limited to reversing the alterations caused by Arquillo's intervention. In its report, the IAPH denounced the poor state of conservation of the sculpture, which dates back long before this last, unsuccessful retouching. The technicians warned of the presence of wood-eating insects and a crack that runs across the entire face of the Virgin. Manzano, in an interview with this newspaper , insisted that the intervention he was going to carry out on the image, in addition to being "necessary and urgent," must be, given this accumulation of circumstances, "comprehensive." "We must address all aspects that compromise the stability and legibility of the image," the restorer indicated.

The botched restoration of the Virgin, which, according to the Brotherhood's order, was to be limited to maintenance, inflamed not only the devotees of La Macarena, but all of Seville, due to the symbolic nature of the image—one that transcends religious belief—for the city. The indignation of the faithful and members on the Saturday, when the image was restored to worship after the restoration, forced the brotherhood to cut off her eyelashes while the basilica was closed to the public. During the night, another restorer retouched her cheeks, partially restoring her characteristic reddish hue. These retouches further infuriated the devotees, who gathered outside the basilica on Monday demanding an explanation.

The restoration work, which will take place inside the basilica, is expected to last three months, and could extend into Lent, although Manzano has already warned this newspaper that the work will not be scheduled according to the liturgical calendar. "Let it take as long as it takes," say Carmen and Manuel, although they are confident that the restorer will have finished on time and, most importantly, will have restored the sculpture to its former state.