Semana Santa Pt.1

Holy Mother of...! Wait, it's not the KKK?

Omg, when I first saw the capirotes (the pointy white hoods) my stomach dropped, I kid you not. And I was standing there with my mouth open, and my friend Bessa, before I could get anything out, goes, "No, ok, it has NOTHING to do with the KKK--I know that's what you're thinking!"


I was like, "Oh, thank God, because I was losing it right then! I was looking for an escape route!"


But no, right now we are in Semana Santa, the holy week before Easter.  All week, to celebrate the life, ministry, and death of Christ, the local hermandades (brotherhoods) of Málaga hold processions through the streets. They have shut down and blockaded the main central street of Málaga's center, la Alameda Principal, and many other main streets to allow for the processions.  People from all over Andalucía come each year to view the tronos (thrones) that they carry.  It's crazy here. Many people have off of work and there are tons of people in the streets.  The processions of Semana Santa began this past Sunday, and each day there are five or six that last throughout the afternoon and night. The week prior there were mini-processions that my tutor called traslados, which are very similar to the grand processions but with less to do.  One of my newest acquaintances, Germán, was so kind to explain everything to me, and I will now attempt to remember what he told me, haha.


These processions are held as a form of penitence, and the people who participate are showing their sacrifice to Christ. Each brotherhood/church (I wasn't really clear on if it was specifically one or the other) that participates has the same elements.  There are banners, incense, bands, and thrones. Also, there are people in different types of traditional Catholic garb, like in the picture above and others I will show below.  The capirotes that they are wearing in the first pic began during the time of the Inquisition.  They were used to distinguish those who were marked for sin.  They wear them in the processions as a symbolic measure and over time the robes were added.  You will note from the pics that each brotherhood has different colored hoods and robes that they wear. Each color symbolizes something--and I have no idea what, nobody had the answer to that (I suppose I could Google it eventually, hehe). In the old days, there also used to be men with open backed shirts that would flog themselves during the procession, but this practice was later prohibited by the Church. Also, it is normal to see people blindfolded--so that they can concentrate spiritually--and/or barefoot.






So, initially in the procession you see these people. Sometimes they will have a cross like this one, or sometimes they will have the banners of the brotherhood. 














These robes are what look like a velvety material, navy and light blue. Here, you can see the banners and the scepters they carry. This is the second group you might see. Some of the banners depict Mary or Jesus, maybe saints, also. These staffs have candles burning in them. These are above as well.

These robes are all purple. You can also see what I'm guessing are trumpets... these follow the banners.

These are robes and hoods are green and white. Usually, after the initial sets of people, there are processioners with long candles. The candles vary in color, depending on what color the robes are.















Here are people in all black.  After the candle bearers, you will see more people with staffs, likely the ones with candles one the top, like above, because they precede the first throne.

And finally, royal blue and white robes. I forgot to add this one above, but usually there are two groups of children, one before each throne.












The first throne will be of Jesus. It will either be of his ministry, his capture, him on the cross, or of his resurrection. As the thrones pass, people watching from balconies above will throw rose petals down onto them. You can also hear people chanting in the crowds.

 The thrones are of gold and silver--is it gold plated, colored, or the actual metal through and through, who knows--but they are pretty impressive. The detail is incredible. A lot of time went into making these and they are well cared for. They are stored inside the church for the rest of the year. Interestingly enough, the thrones are part of the reason for the huge doors of the churches. This pic is tiny, but there is a guy that's blindfolded to the right of this lady's camera.

This is the depiction of his capture. The man in green holds Jesus by a
rope and the roman soldier has a whip.

Here, Jesus bears his cross, it's a small pic, but there is an angel lifting
the other end of the cross. This one made me smile.

Pontius Pilate is on the throne sentencing Jesus.

Jesus on the Cross, to the left is Mary adorned in a crown.

I think it's really cool how all the flowers are real and the candles are lit.

So, I'm a little rusty on my biblical facts, but maybe I just couldn't
see this one very well. But I think it's another of Jesus persecution.

Jesus and the other two condemned men, with Mary with a crown.

This last one I took from the balcony of a friend's flat.  Several of us waited there until it went by. From my own balcony, I can look down the street and see many of the processions going by. My small street runs into a principle road, and several of the processions are directed down this one, called Carretería.


The thrones are pretty huge and it takes at least a hundred men to carry them. Don't believe me?

This one stopped right in front of me, so from the last body you can see there are five or six more men just on this side.  There are four beams that support the throne. So, that's about forty guys on this side, forty on the opposite side, and however many more in the middle in the front and back of the throne. On one I counted forty-two on one side.


The second throne is one of Mary, and they all look nearly the same, so I won't bother posting a hundred pix of that. But some are pretty impressive, with tons of flowers and candles. Also, most of the really nice ones I only have night photos of and my camera sucks at night without a tripod. And that's when most of the Mary thrones look the best because they are beset with loads of candles. But the one below is pretty nice. She is surrounded by white roses and candles, and on some of them she carries rosary beads and a cross. Also, on some of the thrones her robe is ten feet long or so. This is one of the smaller thrones so her robe is not as long.

In the next two pix you get a sense of how many people are carrying the throne. One is of the front and the other of the back of the throne.

I'll close this post with a fun fact: I'm not sure if it's every year, but this year Antonio Banderas returned to Málaga to participate in the procession with his brotherhood here. I'm sure he wore a hood of some kind to cover his face. =)


The first day, Sunday, I took a video of the first one I saw. We were lucky enough to be at a café it was passing. It's a night video so........

Part 1: http://youtu.be/6fkJyq4Zae4

Part 2: http://youtu.be/JyH3nx1tW9M

Part 3: http://youtu.be/QVkgRvHWXt4

Semana Santa Pt.2 after tomorrow and Friday because tomorrow is the most important day of the festival. =)