Events

Semana Santa

 

Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is one of the most important holidays in Christian Spain, which attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world, turning a quiet city into a great mystery, and the narrow streets are filled with crowds of onlookers waiting for the processions. It is also one of the most exciting events of the year, preparations for which take a whole year, starting at the end of Easter. This is the most spectacular event is in Andalusia, and above all in Malaga.

 

The processions are organized by brotherhoods - hermandades or cofradías penitenciales, i.e. associations (communities) centered around a specific parish, from under which platforms, called thrones, depicting the crying Mother of God and genre scenes from the New Testament related to the Passion of Christ are raised. Each of the fraternities has a characteristic color of their robes and takes part in the appropriate day of Holy Week by marching around a specific throne that weighs several hundred kilograms or even several tons. The figures on them drowning in live flowers and candlelight, often decorated with an elaborate canopy, are sometimes priceless works of sacred art from the medieval times, and are carried by over two hundred men (hombres de trono), the so-called costaleros.

 

The procession begins and ends with an orchestra creating a sublime atmosphere by playing solemn music, often written especially for this occasion, which makes the procession impossible to miss. Dozens of trumpets and drums are heard from a distance, before the first of a dozen or so group of hooded penitents walking in a careful formation, associated with the Ku-Klux-Klan, called nazarenos, appear. It is they who arouse the great curiosity of onlookers, because they wear colorful habits that cover the body from head to toe, topped with a head covering with a stiff, pointed hood, which is an element of the outfit from the times of the Holy Inquisition, wearing which was then one of the forms of penance. Each nazarene has its place in the order of the procession and during it performs a specific function by walking in neat rows around the platform, holding burning candles in your hands, or carrying various items belonging to the brotherhoods, such as insignia and books.

 

The processions begin on Palm Sunday (Domingo de Ramos), where the first throne sets out with Jesus on a donkey, and the last one with the Risen Jesus accompanied by nazarenos from each congregation can be seen on Easter Sunday. Where did such a tradition come from and what were the beginnings? When in 1487 the Catholic Kings - Isabella and Ferdinand - recaptured Malaga from the hands of the Moors, numerous convents and religious brotherhoods began to be established. They dealt with burying the dead and taking care of the sick; over time, the Passion began to be played out with the use of movable wooden figures. One of them is Jesus blessing the people - still carried in procession today.

 

Semana Santa in Malaga is an incredibly intense week, filled with the smell of incense, rumbling drums and intricate sensations. It is also the time when in confectioneries we find - consuming only during the Holy Week - torrijas (more in the Tastes of Semana Santa tab). For the inhabitants of Semana Santa it is sometimes tiring, because processions lasting several hours also take place throughout the night, and getting to the apartment is sometimes almost a miracle, because the streets on each side can be blocked by crowds of people and parades. The Andalusians take time off during this time, so all state institutions are open only in the morning. Nevertheless, it is a period of amazing experiences that will bring everyone to the time of Holy Week and the events associated with it.

 

Whatever you call Semana Santa - fanaticism, excessive celebration or waste of money in a crisis, this is an extraordinary week and an admirable tradition, because it is not without reason that it is said that not to experience Semana Santa at least once in Spain, it's like not to see the Pope in the Vatican ;) You must see the video from the ceremony.