Semana Santa

The atmosphere completely changes here in Sevilla during Semana Santa or Holy Week which includes the week before and up until Easter Sunday. There are a lot more people in the street and using parks and every spare place to park. Everyone is wearing their Sunday best. Shops and businesses are closed but bars and restaurants are open and crammed with people. The smells of incense and jasmine and orange blossoms are in the air. This will be a week of not being able to get across town by car or walking without being an hour or more later than expected. Daily there will be many processions leaving from different Catholic churches all around town that will take hours to wind through the streets with hundreds of members making the walk and thousands of spectators watching them pass. Each parade has hundreds of participants dressed up in black or red or purple or white hoods and capes carrying candles, huge crosses on their backs and sometimes making the route barefoot. After watching many rows of the pointy hat, hooded people then the first float or "paso" goes by with a scene from the last week of Jesus' life on earth depicted with centuries old wood carvings, feathers and gold and silver and flowers for decoration. The band before and after the float is playing what sounds like a funeral dirge while the float is carried on the shoulders of about 50 men. Then more hooded people pass and then another float passes with a centuries old statue of a Virgen Mary dressed like a queen and standing under an elaborate canopy with rows of lit candles, silver, gold and flowers for decoration. Then more hooded walkers and finally as the parade ends the traffic jam of spectators begins to move and slowly dissipate. For some spanish people there is a real sense of religious obligation to take part, for others it is just something they've always done. Others couldn't care less but go along for the ride anyway. For me it is a time to try to relax, expect that you won't have a normal life this week or expect to get anywhere on time or find anything open. I think for everyone it is a time to enjoy the spectacle and spend time doing what the spanish do best- hanging out with family and friends, enjoying good food, good drink and generally having a good time .

Comments

[bryan]

thanks for the tag team report. glad you all were able to "do what the spanish do best" and hang with your mother in law and others.