• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Search
  • Things To Do in NYC
  • Art
  • Dance
  • Festivals
  • Film
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Theatre
New York Latin Culture Magazine®

New York Latin Culture Magazine®

World-class Indigenous, European & African Culture since 2012

  • New York
  • Latin
  • Culture
  • Magazine
  • Subscribe
  • Sponsor

The Feast of St James Celebrates the Patron Saint of Spain Guatemala and Loíza Aldea Puerto Rico


St James the Greater was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. His Catholic feast day is July 25. He is the patron saint of Spain and Guatemala. He is also the patron saint of Galicia, the nation-state in the northwest corner of Spain, and many small towns across the Latin world including Loíza, Puerto Rico which holds one of island’s most beautiful patron saint festivals.

St James

In this epoch when we are reexamining the meaning of icons of identity, Saint James is a complicated figure. The way some cultures use him to justify thievery and violence is sickening and not worthy of any saint.

In Spain, Saint James is an icon of the Reconquista, the Christian wars that pushed the Moors out of Spain and expelled the Jewish people. Basically, he is a potent national symbol who represents the wanton killing of people of color.

We think it is weird that we would celebrate someone who symbolizes killing us, but there may be some genius to it. Sometimes the best place to hide is in plain sight. Preserving your own forbidden traditions by hiding them inside the colonizer’s most revered traditions just may be brilliant. We’re not honoring our gods. We are honoring yours. LOL.

Who is Saint James?

James is a common biblical name and there are many variations of it in different languages. Santiago and even San Diego are variations.

There is another Apostle Saint James, the brother of Jesus, who is known as Saint James the Lesser to distinguish between the two.

Saint James the Greater was the son of Zebedee and the brother of John the Apostle. He was one of the first apostles of Jesus and was present at the Transfiguration.

Symbols of the Saint

Saint James the Greater by Spanish artist Gil de Siloe, ca. 1489-93. (Met Cloisters)
Saint James the Greater by Spanish artist Gil de Siloe, ca. 1489-93. (Met Cloisters)

Scallops are his primary symbol. He is usually depicted with a staff, cockleshell (scallop) and a man bag. You can see all three in the sculpture. Such shells are common on the Atlantic coast near the Spanish town of Santiago de Compostela.

The Cross of Saint James is a sword with a scallop as its handle.

The Met Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park in Washington Heights has several artworks that show Saint James in its collection.

Santiago de Compostela

Saint James the Greater had a bad temper. He was beheaded by the hand of Herod Agrippa, King of Judea and grandson of Herod the Great.

Saint James’ head is a relic of the 12th-century Armenian Cathedral of Saint James in Jerusalem. The Cathedral honors both Saint James.

According to legend, Saint James the Greater’s body miraculously washed ashore in Galicia, Spain. It was found and buried in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The story was recorded in the twelfth century.

The Way of Saint James

El Camino de Santiago was a pilgrimage route, or series of routes, in the Middle Ages from the Pyrenees across Northern Spain to the cathedral in Galicia. It has long been a perilous journey, and can still be dangerous today.

The ancient pilgrimage died out, but was repopularized by Walter Starkie’s book The Road to Santiago (1957).

The Original Way through Spain became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. The routes in France, the French Way, were added in 1998. There is also a Portuguese Way.

Santiago Matamoros is Complicated

The name means Saint James the Moor killer. It refers to a legendary Battle of Clavijo, a small town in La Rioja, Spain. According to legend, the long-dead Saint James suddenly appeared and helped an outnumbered Christian army defeat the Moors. Santiago Matamoros became an icon of the Reconquista, the reconquest of Muslim Spain, by Christian forces which began in Asturias, the nation-state to the east of Galicia.

Today, we should know better than to kill each other for religious reasons.

Fiesta de Santiago Apóstol in Loíza, Puerto Rico

Most towns with a Hispanic heritage have a patron saint.

Santiago Apóstol is the patron saint of Loíza, one of the most Afro-Puerto Rican towns. Loíza’s Fiesta de Santiago Apóstol has carnival parades and bands for about a month in July. It is one of the most beautiful patron saint festivals in Puerto Rico.


Published July 25, 2024 ~ Updated July 25, 2024.

Filed Under: FESTIVALS, Guatemala, Guatemalan, July, Puerto Rican, Puerto Rico, Spain, Spanish

Subscribe

Get New York Latin Culture Magazine weekly in your email. We don’t share, rent, or sell addresses. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Primary Sidebar

Things to Do in NYC

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

Spanish Classical Music

Teatro Real, Royal Opera of Madrid Orchestra Gala Musical Fantasy From Spain (Teatro Real)

Teatro Real, the Royal Opera of Madrid Orchestra, Plays a Gala Musical Fantasy From Spain Featuring Violinist María Dueñas, Soprano Saioa Hernández, and Conductor David Afkham

African, Middle Eastern, Latin American Film

Nova Frontier Film Festival (Harlem Stage)

Nova Frontier Film Festival Screens Films of the African Diaspora, Middle East, and Latin America with Talk, Live Music and Community at Harlem Stage

Nuestros Sonidos Latin Culture

Nuestros Sonidos at Carnegie Hall (Sol Cotti)

Carnegie Hall’s “Nuestros Sonidos” (Our Sounds) Festival of Latin Culture

Theatre Professionals ~ Employers Network

Find your next project. Discover your next team. Do it on RISE.

Sponsored By The Best Of New York

92nd Street Y, New York

Capulli Mexican Dance Company 🇲🇽

Brooklyn Museum

Carnegie Hall

Harlem Stage

Hostos Center

Melvis Santa & Jazz Orishas 🇨🇺

Metropolitan Opera

National Indigenous Peoples of the Americas Parade 🇺🇸

New York City Center

NYU Skirball Center

RISE Theatre Directory

Teatro Real ~ Royal Opera of Madrid 🇪🇸

World Music Institute

Footer

Search

Things to do in NYC

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

New York City

Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island ~ New Jersey

Latin Music and Dance

Bachata, Ballet, Cumbia, Classical, Flamenco, Hip Hop, House, Jazz, Merengue, Modern Dance, Opera, Pop, Reggaeton, Regional Mexican, Rock, Salsa, Samba, Tango, World Music

North American

African American, Honduran, Indigenous, Jewish, Mexican

Caribbean

Cuban, Dominican, Haitian, Puerto Rican, Trinidadian

South American

Argentine, Bolivian, Brazilian, Chilean, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Peruvian, Venezuelan

African

African American, Nigerian, South African

European

French, Portuguese, Spanish

Follow

X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Threads, YouTube, TikTok

Subscribe

Get New York Latin Culture Magazine in your email

advertise

Sponsor

Details

Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy

New York Latin Culture Magazine® and Tango Beat® are registered trademarks, and New York Latin Culture™ is a trademark of Keith Widyolar. Other marks are the property of their respective holders.

Copyright © 2012–2025 New York Latin Culture Magazine®. All Rights Reserved.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we assume you are ok with it.Ok