Semana Santa - Holy Week - Spain: By Horst Max Cerni

Among the most popular events that draw tourists to Spain are the Holy Week processions taking place in practically every town. Most famous are the ones in Andalucia (Seville etc), with many big floats and bands. It's not just a religious ceremonial happening, but also a social and cultural and, of course, touristy one.

The tradition goes back many centuries, and every year thousands take the opportunity to wear colorful costumes to demonstrate their repentance for wrong doings or living with bad habits. The penitents wear pointed hoods, often in different colors to identify the brotherhood they belong to. Women carry flowers. Even young children participate.

The floats, called "Pasos", are very elaborate and artistic. Some brotherhoods have owned their floats for centuries and include life size sculptures from famous artists. The floats are very heavy and require between 24 and 48 strong men to carry them. Originally, dock workers were hired for this job, but since 1973 the brotherhoods became responsible for the task. A leader directs and guides them with an amazing precision, sometimes barely having inches to spare in narrow streets.
The floats move slowly, step by step, and are accompanied by a band which plays solemn music,. There are different tunes for the different days. It's a haunting kind of music, mostly by trumpets and drums.

We were fortunate to experience the Holy Week processions in Valencia during our visit in 2001. The celebrations there are somewhat different from the rest of Spain and are called "Semana Santa Marinera" - Holy Maritime Week, and they take place primarily in the areas close to the Mediterranean Sea. One procession actually goes along the shore and people throw flowers into the waves in remembrance of lost sailors.

To compare the festivities with another part of Spain, we went for a few days to Seville and enjoyed some sightseeing at the same time.

We arrived around 6pm and learned that there would be a procession "passing" at around 10 pm. Naturally we wanted to experience it, although it meant walking for a good hour to the actual location. The atmosphere was electric or mystical, and in any case, it was an unusual experience. In Seville there are many processions, almost one each hour, coming from all the churches of the surrounding parishes, and all heading to the cathedral, where they pass through, or possibly spend the night. The cathedral is big enough to allow these big floats to enter, and there are spaces for them to rest and meditate.

One famous procession is dedicated to the Virgin of the Macarena, which is a particularly beautiful image of the Virgin Mary. She is considered the patron saint of the bull fighters. A special song was composed to honor her and it is frequently played at the beginning of a bullfight. It seems like a strange combination, but the Holy Week's processions are followed by the April Fair, and bull fighting is one of the highlights.

The procession of the Macarena float was late at night, but it gave us also the experience of a special flamenco-type song called the "Saeta", which was sung from a balcony, It was beautiful and haunting.

We were too tired to wait for the float to enter the church, and watched the rest on TV at the hotel. As a matter of fact, special programs cover the processions from all over Spain, which gives a good glimpse of the variety of the celebrations and the devotion of the people.