Last Saturday Spain held festivities marking the feast of Saint Anthony the Great, patron saint of domestic animals

Near Madrid, in the village of San Bartolomé de Pinares, which has a population of about 500, the rite of Las Luminarias has been held every year for centuries. Riders lead their horses through bonfires lit right in the streets; the ritual is believed to purify the animals and protect them in the coming year. Despite criticism from animal welfare organisations, the locals maintain that the horses are rarely, if ever, injured. The tradition is thought to have arisen after an epidemic that struck the village's animals several centuries ago. At that time, the villagers used smoke to heal their horses.

Livestock farming and agriculture were once the main occupations of the inhabitants of San Bartolomé de Pinares and of many other villages in central Spain, which today stand almost empty for most of the year