Blessed is the cow

Today was the annual fiesta of San Antonio del Monte. It is the largest one on the island and attracts around 2000 people.
One of the main points of the fiesta is the presence of animals - cows, oxen, goats, sheep, horses, etc. and it is one of only two like it here. None of the other fiestas feature animals and are just basically an event at which you can eat, drink and dance to live music in the open air.
But today is the day when the animals are blessed by a priest in the name of San Antonio, the patron saint of the municipality. It is also a great day for the statue of San Antonio - pictured here - as it is carried out from the church and paraded around the animal ground to the sounds of a brass band.
Not to say there isn't eating, drinking and dancing at this fiesta too. Well, it would be a poor blessing of the cow without a little paella and wine to go with it.