Discover "Peregrinas", a play about women on the Way of St. James

The documentary "Peregrinas," directed by José Antonio Vázquez Taín, highlights the crucial role of women in the history of the Camino de Santiago, from the Middle Ages to the present day. Premiered in 2022, it will receive international screening and showcases its impact.

The Camino de Santiago will once again return to the television screen thanks to the Galician judge and writer José Antonio Vázquez Taín, who now, for the first time, presents his role as a screenwriter and director for the small screen. "Peregrinas" is the title of the new documentary with which the multifaceted magistrate from Ourense aims to showcase the prominence of women in the history of the Camino de Santiago, defending the role and impact that many women left on the various routes to Compostela.

Passion for the Camino

All of us who love the Camino de Santiago are well aware of the research and outreach work of José Antonio Vázquez Taín regarding the Jacobean phenomenon, in addition to his career as a judge, where he has been a key figure in the fight against drug trafficking since 1999, investigator of the theft of the Codex Calixtinus between 2011 and 2012, or in cases such as the tragic train accident in Angrois in 2013. With several books published since 2013, his passion for the Camino de Santiago has led him to write novels such as Santiago. The Legend of the Hidden Saint (Teófilo Ediciones, 2013) or more recently Beyond, Above (Espasa, 2020).

On this occasion, Vázquez Taín embarks on a new project, a first experience in the audiovisual world that for him is a technical challenge, as he has never created a script or done voiceovers for audiovisual productions. "It has been my first entry into the audiovisual world, I was taught how to capture emotions and those angles to enjoy. I have learned even to dub myself", he states.

The Pilgrim Woman

In medieval society, pilgrimage came to be a punishment and a sanction, especially concerning everything related to sex (adultery and other sins). In the case of these women, as well as many men, they abandoned everything for their faith and set out to seek the Jacobean glory at the tomb of the Apostle. Not only that, as Vázquez Taín states, who was advised regarding historical documentation by a woman, the historian Marta González, these women made significant donations and wills for the construction of infrastructures such as bridges, hospitals, and others, essential for making the way safe and comfortable for every pilgrim.

"Even in the harshest times, at least a third of the pilgrims were women. A large part of the infrastructures of the Camino were built by women. We have sought four figures to explain four different paths. There is only one Camino, but there are many routes, all equally important." Thus, Vázquez Taín illustrates the female presence on the Camino de Santiago and reveals that women needed a religious permit that authorized them to leave their husbands and children to embark on this adventure, adding that "some took up to three years to return. All this information is known because before leaving, they made a will."

Not only in history, but the documentary also presents testimonies from current female pilgrims, who speak to us about all the benefits that the Camino de Santiago offers: the feeling of freedom, the connection with nature, the ease of finding oneself, and the emotion that arises upon arriving at the Plaza del Obradoiro. Furthermore, as Vázquez Taín indicates, "since 2017, more women have been undertaking the pilgrimage", as we can confirm by looking at the monthly statistics from the Pilgrim's Office of Santiago de Compostela.

Great anticipation and international projection of the documentary

Vázquez Taín is amazed by the expectation that this production generates internationally. Sources from the production company, and even Vázquez Taín himself, confirm that throughout the stages of the French Waythere are distributors from Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and others interested in the documentary, even before filming began, which will lead to it being dubbed in several languages.

Filming began last August 2021, "Peregrinas" will premiere on January 18, 2022 at the City of Culture in Santiago de Compostela, and will also arrive two days later at the Fitur fair in Madrid. While waiting for a specific date, we will be able to see this documentary on Galician Television, and we will be very attentive to learn more about the mark that women have left and will continue to leave on the Camino de Santiago. Together with Vázquez Taín, we encourage you to discover"the story of the female pilgrims to also tell the story of the way". Including the Route of the Portuguese Way from Tui.