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LA SEMANA SANTA EN SEVILLA
Exploreseville.com
Santa for many means more than
the processions in the streets.
It marks the arrival of spring
in Sevilla with a week long
celebration that fills the
streets, churches, bars and
restaurants. It's moving your
way around the center of the
city and through the crowd in
search of the best spot to catch
a procession or float, all the
while testing your knowledge of
the winding streets of Sevilla.
Semana Santa is la madrugá,
when you "leave for the day"
around 10:30pm and spend the
entire night and morning
following the action. It's a
mixture of smells: orange
blossoms or azahar,
incense, candle wax and cheap
cologne of the person standing
on your foot because there's no
room to spare. Semana Santa is
torrijas, wine, beer and
the bocadillo in some bar
you swore you'd never go to
until you were dying of hunger.
It's valuing the comfort of a
good pair of shoes you put on 10
hours ago. Semana Santa is
exercising restraint as you keep
from pushing over that mean old
woman next to you who just took
your space. If you live in the
center Semana Santa is hearing
the drum beat of a processional
march at almost any hour as it
makes it's way down your street.
And for weeks after who can
forget the sound of cars
screeching in the streets as
their tires run over candle wax
left by the nazarenos.
In 2007 Semana Santa will be the
week of April 1- April 8. Semana
Santa is Holy Week and Sevilla’s
celebration is likely the most
famous in the world. Whether you
are religious or not there’s
something to enjoy and I
guarantee you won't see anything
like it anywhere else. There are
more than 55 church brotherhoods,
some dating as far back as the
13th century, which take part in
Semana Santa, carrying over 115
different floats, or pasos,
through the streets of Sevilla.
Nazarenos accompany the
pasos in the march and in
some cases number more than
2,000 for certain processions -
in this case you may have to
wait an hour to see the actual
float. Marching bands play music
- la marcha procesiónal -
which influences the pace and
action of the pasos. Some
processions, such as El
Silencio, march in silence
and without music. Almost every
procession includes an image of
Christ - different depending on
what scene in the bible it
depicts - as well as an image of
the Virgin Mary, always in
mourning for the death of Christ.
The images of the Virgin are
often the most anticipated for
their subtle differences - from
facial expressions and
characteristics, to tears or
other details in the paso.
The paso from the
Macarena is perhaps one of the
most famous imagenes of
the Virgin Mary.
It was
La Madrugá
and the
hermanos
who made up the
hermandad
gathered in the church around
11pm before the
salida
of the
procesión.
Nazarenos
were already dressed, each with
a
túnica,
capirote
and
antifaz,
while the
penitentes
made sure they had their crosses
to carry. The
costaleros
hiding beneath the
paso,
awaited the orders from the
capataz
to lift and move towards the
doors of the church. Great care
was taken to make sure the
imagenes
in each
paso
were perfect in every respect,
with last second adjustments to
the
manto
of the image of the
virgen
procesión.
The first
paso
to leave the church was the
image of
cristo,
and upon successfully exiting
the
banda de música
struck the first chord of the
marcha
procesiónal,
greeted by cheers and clapping
from the crowd. The second
paso
to leave was the
imagen
of the
virgen,
and the
costaleros
took great care that the
palio,
held up by several
varales,
fit beneath the doorway. After
the success of the
salida
the
procesión
made it's way down the streets
of Barrio Santa Cruz, where some
10 minutes later the
costaleros
carrying the virgen
rested under the orders of the
capataz.
A man in the crowd began a
saeta,
singing with much passion. A
little
monaguillo
who had been passing out candy
stopped and began to cry as the
smell of incienso burning
was too much for his taste. He
longed for the
entrada,
marking the end of the
procesión,
so he could go home and eat the
torrijas
his mother had prepared the day
before.
Everyone seems to have a
favorite procession for various
reasons: they’re members of the
church or maybe a family member
is part of the procession, the
church is in their barrio, the
music accompanying a paso or
lack of it , the time of night
or day can all be reasons to not
miss one in particular. Some are
certainly favorites of many and
arriving an hour or so early may
be necessary to see the
salida (when the procession
first leaves the church) or
entrada (entrance into the
church). To try and see every
procession in one week is a
recipe for frustration and will
likely drive you crazy. It’s
almost impossible to take them
all in if only for the crowds.
Good knowledge of the winding
streets of Sevilla will help you
navigate to the best spots to
see a paso, but then you’ll have
to hope you don’t run into
another procession that blocks
your way. And rest will be
necessary if not obligatory
after spending 10-12 hours on
your feet. So does every
Sevillano love Semana Santa?
No! Many can’t stand the crowds
and the waiting - they view it
as an interruption in their
daily life. Many choose to
escape the city during this week
and head for the beach or a
quieter town.
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