Holy Week in Spain; I can’t even begin to explain it. I’ve never been much for parades but I could watch the processions of Holy Week for the rest of my life. Spanish people go all out. They don’t get a truck to pull their float, they carry it themselves. Even the children have their own floats. Everyone participates in their own way; men, women, and children. Some are penitents (often carrying a cross, don’t wear pointed hoods, and sometimes go barefoot), others Nazarenes (the ones who look like the KKK), and others carry the floats or play in the band. The band; the marching band. Although part of me was appalled by the lack of rank and file at times, there’s one thing you can’t deny. The music of Holy Week cuts through any other emotion or thought you might be having and fills your spirit with this unusual peace and want of God. You lament Jesus’s death on the cross and celebrate his life all within the same piece of music. And I thought the saetas (really sad Flamenco music) were going to be the best. The truth is I only heard one….and it wasn’t even in the gypsy central that is the south of Spain, but in Salamanca. She might not have even had the flamenco in her; she could have been a poser for all I know. But it was beautiful, just not as amazing as the marching bands. Well that’s the good part about Holy Week. The bad part is it always rains. This year it rained so much that the most important processions called La Madrugada, starting at 12:00am Friday morning, were canceled. Canceled! ¡Qué mala suerte!
Although there’s really nothing like being there yourself, here are some pictures of some of the processions I did see.
Domingo de Ramas / Palm Sunday (Salamanca)
The kids carry their own float
In Spain they use HUGE palm branches
Here it comes!
Señor Obispo (The Bishop)
Nazarenos
And there it goes...
Martes Santo / Holy Tuesday (Salamanca)
Un penitente
The float
Please forgive my horrible camera
The woman on the balcony is singing a saeta
Miercoles Santo / Holy Wednesday (Sevilla)
-Interesting fact, in Sevilla the Nazarenos give out candy : )
Jesus
Madre de Dios de las Palmas
All the empty chairs from the canceled processions
Domingo de Pascuas / Easter Sunday (Salamanca)
THE BAND!
In the crowd in the Plaza Mayor
La Virgen con su capa de luto
(The Virgen with her cape of mourning)
The Resurrected Christ
They meet in the center
And the Virgen takes of her cape of mourning to
reveal the cape of alergria (happiness)
Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
