Claudine and I planned to be able to see two days of processions of Semana Santa before we left for our trip to Vienna and Prague. On Palm Sunday, the city was in full swing. For weeks, the city was preparing for the influx of tourists, setting up risers in the streets for people to pay to watch the processions and repairing roads that the pasos (or floats) were going to be going down. Semana Santa is a HUGE deal in Spain and every city had their own traditions. For example, Granada has a student procession, a gitano (gypsy) procession from the Albacin and Sacramonte area and an Alhambra procession that is supposedly incredible to see because the path to the Alhambra is very steep.
The procession is something that I've never experienced before. There is a ton of people waiting in the streets for the people and pasos to pass by so they can touch the pasos or yell guapa! (beautiful) at the Virgin Mary statues. Each procession (there is about 5 each day) leaves from a church and is guided by women in black mantillas wearing rosary beads. Then little kids walk, some dressed as Nazarenes, and other in the penitentes costume. If you look at the pictures, it is the costume that looks like the Ku Klux Klan. Traditionally, this head piece was worn during Semana Santa to ask for penitence for sins, but the KKK stole it and twisted it into a horrific image. Honestly, even knowing the true meaning behind it, it was still hard to watch because of the tragic history that that head piece has in the US. After the nazarenos (another name for the penitentes), there were people holding the cruz de guia (the cross that guides the procession), and banners from the religious order that the church belongs to (each statue is kept in a church and leaves from that same one). Then, there are people carrying long candles that are continuously dripping wax (the women in black mantillas also carry the white candles) and children try to create a wax ball by collecting the dripping wax. There are also altar boys and girls who have the thuribles which hold the incense and they guide the way before the statue arrives. Finally, it is time for the actual paso to pass by. Each one weighs A LOT and in the South of Spain, they don't use wheels to move them, but instead, people actually are underneath, carrying the paso on their shoulders. It's quite impressive!
When we were standing in the street, waiting for them to pass, it is truly sensation. There are distinct smells, sounds and sights to be seen. The first thing you notice is the smell of wax. There are tons of candles, and not just long ones either, but intricate wax flowers that adorn the floats. They are all lit, so it is beautiful to see when the sun sets because it gives it a really solemn and mystical feeling. The women in the mantillas are all carrying candles as well, and there is a bit of a game that all the kids play where they try to build the biggest wax balls so they stand on the edge and when the procession stops, the kids run out and collect the dripping wax from the candles. There are also flowers on all the pasos that give off a strong aroma--I saw mostly lilies and roses, which we learned about in one of my classes as the traditional Semana Santa flowers. After each paso, there was a band following them and the music is meant to sound like a military band to mimic the Roman military. So after the beautiful paso, there were trumpets and drums.
The whole thing was wonderful to watch and it was really cool to hear the people yeling guapa! (beautiful!) to the Virgin Mary floats and trying to reach out to touch them as they passed. I'm glad I was able to see a few of the processions even though the rain ruined the second day of the week! Only one float actually left the church because the rain can ruin the statues and the whole experience. But overall all, I'm very glad I was able to see one of Spain's most famous traditions.
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