Easter in Andalusia for the Holy Week of Easter, here are some indications for taking a trip to Spain during this particular time of the year, the holidays and the differences in celebration between the cities.
Silver meets red carnations and gives life to real poems. Thus a paso is born, thus the wonder is born during the easter in Andalusia. Yes, because those who have never been there will hardly understand, but who has been there, who has heard the streets smell of incense, who has heard people cry and cry, who has seen the preciousness of the face of the numerous Virgenes, who has touched the profound and theatrical Andalusian religiosity during the Semana santa, will continue to keep the countless emotions experienced on the street in his heart.
If you are still wondering, or have just started doing it, where to go for easter my proposal is always one: in Andalusia. The south of Spain, its sun, its warmth and its music have been preparing their special party for a year, and you are all invited.
Guests of honor, at the Easter banquet you will discover wonders, but hurry up and secure a ticket and a roof to sleep. Yes, because the Semana santa in Seville, in Granada, in Malaga it attracts tourists from all over, curious to see with their eyes cómo llora Andalucia (how Andalusia cries, referring to the text Cómo llora Sevilla… by Ramón Cué, SJ).
Here is a guide to Semana santa in major Andalusian cities
Seville
And 'the capital of Andalusia and is proud of its Holy Week. Entertainment, devotion and precision are the terms that best describe it. Forget to visit the city and let yourself be carried away by the people who on this occasion pour into the narrow streets of the historic center to applaud the sacred images with tears of joy and celebration. The week begins with Palm Sunday (Domingo de Ramos) and with the first processions that end on Resurrection Sunday.
During the week, at set times and days, each brotherhood leaves its church carrying in procession the images of the Passion of Christ, the Cross and the Virgin surrounded by a riot of carnations. The paso (chariot on which the sacred image is placed) is carried on the back by the costaleros, penitents completely hidden under the chariot by long draperies, and preceded in procession by the band and colored caps of the nazarenes (colors vary depending on the brotherhood).
Do not miss: the exit from the church of Salvador del paso de la Borriquita on the afternoon of Palm Sunday and the procession of the Virgen de la Macarena the night between Thursday and Good Friday.
Malaga
It is the holy week of entertainment and joy. Here the pasos are called tronos and respond to a single command: sumptuousness. Yes, because in Malaga the Semana santa is experienced as a real open-air show, the tronos reach dimensions equal to 3 meters in width and 5 meters in length and are real chapels. And the party explodes through the streets of the historic center, in dances of flowers and candles that last until morning.
The modality is always the same as already mentioned for Seville, but with some differences typical of the city. For example, the throne on which the sacred images are placed is not carried on the back by the costaleros, but on the shoulders by the hombres de trono clearly visible to the crowd and not hidden by drapes and draperies. Given the enormous size of some tronos it may happen to see up to 250 men carrying the same sacred chariot on their backs. Another characteristic typically Malagueña is the presence of the military corps that accompany the procession together with the band, the nazarenos, the representatives of the brotherhoods and the numerous penitents.
The official long route 807 meters it includes the Alameda Principal, calle Larios and a stretch of calle Granada, but there are other points where you can enjoy the wonder of the processions, for example calle Carretería where most of the brotherhoods pass.
Do not miss: one of the key moments of the Malaga Easter is el encierro, or the "closing" of the throne in his church or in the house of the brotherhood. After the long procession the throne of Christ awaits the throne of the Virgin at the door and on the notes of the national anthem, between applause and emotion, the thrones swing into their homes waiting for the next Easter. Among the best encierros are those of the brotherhoods El Prendimiento, Gitanos, Rocío, Paloma or Esperanza.
Granada
La pearl of Andalusia offers a surreal spectacle for Easter. The streets of the center near the cathedral, the Sacromonte, the magnificent Albaicín district and the Alhambra are the setting for wonderful processions where art is the protagonist. A sacred silence resounds in the streets of the city while the images of Christ and the Virgin slowly advance between prayers and promises of penance. A moment of high religiosity is represented by the celebration of Hora nona in the Campo del Principe under the statue of Cristo de los Favores at three in the afternoon on Good Friday.
Do not miss: the procession of Christ and the Virgin de los Gitanos Holy Wednesday that descends from the Sacromonte between gypsy songs and fires. The release of the paso del Silencio the night of Holy Thursday when all the public lights go out and the city remains illuminated by the flame of the candles and finally on Holy Saturday the procession ofAlhambra with its wonderful silver paso that reproduces the patio of the Lions of the Palacios Nazaríes.
