Semana Santa!

Holy week is a really big deal in all of Spain, but especially in Andalucía, the region Granada is in. I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss the whole week, so I flew back from France on Thursday morning so I could see the processions on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, which are supposedly the coolest in Granada.

A Semana Santa procession is a very unique thing, unlike any other parade I’ve ever seen. When it was described to me, I didn’t really understand what in the world it could be, so although I’ll try to explain them now after having personal experience with them, I’m not sure how clear it will be! There are many churches in Granada, and many “Brotherhoods,” and each brotherhood puts on a procession which leaves from their associated church, makes its way through town to the Cathedral, then goes back to its church. Each procession takes quite a long time to complete the circle—sometimes as much as 8 or 9 hours. The procession is oriented around the “imágenes,” or Idols: one of Jesus and one of Mary. Several only have Jesus or only Mary, or in the case of María de las Angustías, they’re together on the same float thing. Anyways, these imágenes are very old, or copies of very old ones, and they are usually made out of wood, metal, and fabric, with fresh flowers added for additional decoration. They’re very elaborate, veritable works of art, and each is different. The imágenes are preceded by Nazarenes, who wear long robes in different colors (depending on the brotherhood they’re from) with a tall pointy hat that covers their face. It was a little shocking to see their outfits at first because they are very reminiscent of what the KKK wears, but I’m sure that’s only a connection an American would make; clearly, these Spanish Nazarenes came first, and the KKK may have simply copied them in an attempt to give their hate crimes religious connotations. Anyways, after I got past the initial shock, the outfits are actually very cool. So, the Nazarenes come first, followed by the floats/imágenes, which are carried by 30 – 40 men underneath who move in such a way as to make it seem like Mary and Jesus are walking—it’s pretty darn cool! They are followed by a band, which helps the guys carrying Mary and Jesus keep time and also plays awesome music.

The first procession I went to see was unlike any of the others because it was El Silencio—the Silence. It was super eerie but also very moving, because when the image of Jesus comes past, all the lights in the area are turned off and everyone is silent (minus camera flashes and clicking, of course). The Nazarenes (in black) carry long candles, and instead of a band, there is only one drummer who keeps the beat. Following Jesus are the Penitents, who carry crosses, go barefoot, and/or wear shackles around their ankles, which make a horrible scratchy sound on the pavement in the silence. It was definitely a unique experience.

All the others were considerably more upbeat, with colorful Nazarenes and lively bands, but all of the ones I saw were at night, so it was difficult to take pictures.

I’m just recovering from being (very) sick yesterday, so you’ll have to forgive me the shorter entry, but maybe go look up “semana santa Granada” on google images and you’ll get a better idea of what I’m talking about.

Love to all,
Kelsey