semana santa
Easter is very important in Spain, especially in southern Spain. Rather than being celebrated on a single day, it’s celebrated during the full week preceding Easter Sunday, Semana Santa. During this week schools go on vacation and most Spaniards have time-off work. Although the celebrations do focus on the religious aspects of Easter and the long history of the Catholic Church in Spain, most attendees are not particularly devout and instead come for the beauty and tradition. Málaga, where we live, has one of the largest Semana Santa celebrations in the country. We were lucky enough to enjoy the incredible festivities this year. Here’s a bit about what we learned.
Semana Santa celebrations are marked by processions between churches every night. Each procession has at least one paso (float), called trono in Málaga, with statutes that depict different parts of the Passion of Christ – the story of the last part of Christ’s life. One has a live tree on it. In another, the figure of Jesus waives his hand. The elaborate statues are placed on large platforms adorned with intricate metalwork, wood carvings, flower arrangements, tapestries, and candelabras. But most impressive, the tronos are not moved by trucks or motors. Instead, hundreds of men carry them on their shoulders through the streets. Each trono in Málaga needs well over 100 people to carry it.
We went downtown to watch the processions a couple of times during Semana Santa. One night, I was lucky enough to tag along with some local friends and see the festivities from their perspective. We started around 8pm and spent the night weaving through the narrow old streets watching processions, eating tapas, and chatting. I marveled at the size and beauty of the tronos. I was mesmerized by the soft glow of the candles and the lingering smell of incense. The most impressive was the María Santísima de la Esperanza Coronada (Holy Mary of Crowned Hope). It was the largest trono of the week – stretching more than 18ft and weighing nearly 9,000lbs. It had dozens of beautiful white candles. Incredibly, it needed 264 people to carry it. It was breathtaking. When we headed home at 4am, we were full and content, and the last procession was still making its way through the city.
Here’s a nice video if you want a feel for the processions.
