A magnificent concert and lowering of the Flag by the Spanish Navy in the Port of Vigo

This Friday, May 23, the Spanish Navy made its presence felt in the Port of Vigo by land and sea.

A spectacular air-naval exhibition of the Spanish Navy in Vigo in images
A video of the Spanish Navy highlights the city of Vigo for its importance at sea

In the morning, the frigate "Blas de Lezo" F-103, of the "Álvaro de Bazán" class, and the combat supply ship (BAC) "Cantabria" A-15 arrived at the Transatlantic Dock, where this Saturday morning a flag oath was held for civilian personnel.

Open days are also scheduled for both ships this weekend, which will set sail this Sunday afternoon, according to the Vigo Pilots (the BAC "Cantabria" at 5:00 p.m. and the frigate "Blas de Lezo" at 9:00 p.m.).

In addition, this Friday the Navy organized a concert and a solemn flag lowering ceremony in the Plaza del Nadador, next to the A Laxe Shopping Center. The concert was led by the Music Unit of the Northern Regiment of the Marine Infantry, based in Ferrol, which treated the audience to several pasodobles and some of its own pieces.

You can see some of the pieces played in this concert below. Here you can listen to the beautiful Galician pasodoble "Puenteareas", composed in 1929 by Reveriano Soutullo Otero (1884-1933) in honor of his hometown:

The musicians of the Tercio del Norte also performed the bullfighting pasodoble "Gallito", composed in 1905 by Santiago Lope Gonzalo (1871-1906), one of the most beautiful pieces of its genre (and one of my favorite pasodobles):

The last piece of the concert was the most popular military pasodoble in Spain: "La Banderita", composed in 1919 by Enrique Paradas del Cerro (1884-1944) and Joaquín Jiménez Guillorme (1902-1937):

Below you can see the solemn lowering of the flag, presided over by the Admiral in Chief of the Ferrol Arsenal, Vice Admiral Gonzalo Villar Rodríguez, with the participation of the Mayor of Vigo, Abel Caballero. The ceremony was carried out by an Honorary Company made up of members of the crews of the aforementioned Navy ships, accompanied by the Music Unit of the Tercio del Norte:

The video is divided into the following parts:

• 00:02: Sailors parade to the sound of the Spanish Navy's military march "Mares y vientos" (Seas and Winds).
• 02:13: Beginning of the flag-lowering ceremony, accompanied by the Spanish National Anthem.
• 08:05: The Spanish Navy's "Oración de la Noche" (Night Prayer), also known as "Oración del Ocaso" (Sunset Prayer), as it is performed on Navy ships and installations at sunset.
• 10:18: "Toque de Retreta" (Retreat Call), used by the Spanish Armed Forces to order troops and sailors to gather for the night.
• 13:08: End of the ceremony and sailors parade to the sound of the Spanish Navy's military march "Ganando barlovento" (Winning to the Wind).

You can see some photos of the event here. You can see more images of this event in the albums I've uploaded to my Flickr account here (concert) and here (Flag Lowering).