The Semana Santa experience is an incredible, once in a lifetime spectacle. It is one of those things where you have to see it to believe. In order to understand it, you have to live it. You need to use all five of your senses to really soak it all in.
Before seeing any more pictures, I think it's important to learn a little about the history and traditions of Semana Santa, so that you can better understand the experience.
The traditions of Semana Santa date back to the 14-century. The processions give a special insight into both Spanish Catholicism and the enormous strength of tradition. Every day from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, large, lavishly decorated, life-size tronos (translation: thrones, however best understood if you use "floats" or "platforms") are carried from cathedrals in a circular route throughout the streets of the city. Each cathedral has it's own trono and they are carried in pairs - first Jesus, then the Virgin Mary. The tronos are carried by a group of men, called a brotherhood, from a particular church who prepare for weeks (if not months) in advance to carry the trono. A trono is typically carried by around 40 men, each supporting about 50kg of weight, which means the trono weighs a total of about 4,400 pounds. Keep in mind these processions ca last anywhere from 6 -13 hours+. In order to help support the weight of the trono, the men carrying it move in a hypnotic swaying motion to the rhythm of the band. Watching them move and stop and start again, each time lifting up the heavy trono with such force is a truly mesmerizing experience.
The trono is accompanied by long processions (up to a few hundred costumed members), children holding candles and incense, a large brass band, and the most symbolic being the penitentes. The penitentes are probably the most controversial figures for foreigners (especially Americans). These people are dressed in a long robe with a tall cone-shaped hats, a cape and eye holes... no these are not members of the KKK. The costumes come in a variety of colors based on the brotherhood and the day of the week, and they are designed to help conceal the identity of the person wearing them, so that no one knows who they are apart from God. They are marching as a symbol of their desire to repent from their sins. Some people believe the shape of the cone is symbolic because it points towards heaven helping people feel closer to God. Nonetheless, we felt a little uncomfortable watching a bunch of men parade around with white hoods on.
Today 90% of people in Andalucia say they are Catholic, however only 20% attend mass. Despite the statistics, people come out in the masses for Semana Santa - Spaniards and tourists alike. Each city prints a schedule for the week with the processions of the day and the routes, but they were almost impossible to figure out -- therefore we basically walked around, exploring a city, doing our sightseeing until we happened upon a large mass of people standing and watching a procession go by. But if you're really serious about watching the processions from start to finish you would need to stake out your spot in advance and then watch the procession in its entirety - some take more than an hour to pass!
Hopefully you feel a little more knowledgeable about Semana Santa now... I think you're ready to take a look at the rest of our pictures below. Enjoy!
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| Penitentes |
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| A typcial trono of Jesus. |
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| Look at all of the feet! There are 4 rows of men under the trono. |
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| Children create balls of candle wax from the penitentes and add on to them each year. |
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| People participating in the procession. |
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| This trono of the Virgin Mary was especially beautiful in the candlelight. If you look closely you can see the Alhambra in the background! |
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| People lined up down the sides of this narrow street in Cadiz to let the trono pass-by. |
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| Easter Sunday in Linares! |
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| People participate in the processions in all different ways - here you can see people have thrown flower petals down from their balconies. So beautiful! |
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