The Holy week – Semana Santa – is one of the most important religious events in Spain.
Just before Easter, from Palm Sunday, Cities, towns, and villages across all of Spain come to life during Semana Santa. It’s a one-of-a-kind display of tradition, music, culture, theatre and religion
Each city has its own unique Holy Week celebrations. Day and night streets become alive with colourful flowers, spectacular religious sculptures and the rhythm of the drums.
As already mentioned, not every city celebrates this week in the same way!
Let’s have a look:
♦ In Cuenca some concerts are played; you can listen to Religious Music taking place in historic buildings such as the cathedral.
♦ In Salamanca, the impressive monuments become part of the celebration in the historic centre
♦ In Cartagena, the culmination of the processions is especially moving, with thousands of people joining their voices in song to recite the “Salve Maria” to the Virgin Mary.
♦ The celebration the most famous and impressive is in Seville. There are up to 7 daily processions organized by over 50 “hermandades” – fraternities.
The parades usually have 2 or 3 “pasos” – commemorative altars on which are arranged wooden statues depicting religious scenes, carried on the shoulder by a group of “costaleros” – person who carries the figures on the shoulders – and escorted by dozens of Nazarene – person who follows Jesus to Nazareth.
The atmosphere can seem quite somber but once you experience this incredible scene, you will be longing to return to Spain for Semana Santa.
