The Blessing of the Fruit

The Fruit Blessing event is the official inauguration of the grape harvest celebrations. In Mendoza, the peasants thank their saints for the good harvest obtained.

In former times, the ceremony of the offering and blessing of the fruit was a biblical tradition that begun with Mosses and then it was spread to all the celebrations to honor Pentecost.

Thanks are given to God for the harvest and the new wine is offered while evoking the Carrodilla Virgin, patron saint of the vineyards. Thus, the new fruit is blessed before being processed and put in casks for the wisdom of time and the patience of men to do the rest.

The Fruit Blessing event began in the third issue of the Grape Harvest Festival. From then on, the Virgin is taken among the crowd and worshiped at every step. Brought along from Aragon, Spain by Antonio Solanilla, her presence guarantees a good harvest every year for all the people in Mendoza.

What started in 1938 as “the blessing of the harvest” succeeded in summoning thousands of citizens from Mendoza who refused to miss the ritual and the words of the then Monsignor José Verdaguer, who blessed the dish of fruit at the Roundabout of the beautiful General San Martín Park in Mendoza.

One year later, the ritual of the already famous “blade strike” was added. The governor on those days, Rodolfo Corominas Segura, inaugurated the custom of the three plow strikes.

The rite continued to be held in the same place until 1946 at General San Martín Park. However, as from 2006 (in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Festival), the Blessing of the Fruit was moved to different locations in the province, letting all denizens from Mendoza participate in this event.

After this sensible decision, the various districts of Mendoza and their main cities await the moment when the Virgin of Carodilla gets past their doors. A memorable instant indeed.