Semana Santa - Malaga
The Holy Week (Semana Santa) processions are the largest
religious festival in the catholic world and take place from
Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday with the processions occurring on
five days out of the seven. The festival is very big in Spain
and especially in Andalusia where Semana Santa is a huge event
involving whole cities, towns and villages. Seville and Malaga
are the two most famous places to see the spectacle and, in the
spring of 2001, I was lucky enough to spend Holy week in Malaga
and observe the centuries old tradition first hand.
The processions, the first of which takes place on Palm Sunday,
take place on five evenings of the week making their way slowly
on their pilgrimage around the city. The processions are
organised by the religious brotherhoods ("confradias" in
Spanish) who each carry a massive "tronos" (an enormous float)
depicting various religious scenes - from Christ on the cross to
the Virgin Mary. The "tronos" are lavishly adorned with plush
fabric and candles, having undergone months of preparation
before the event. Each "tronos" is accompanied by a band playing
the typical mournful dirges of Semana Santa. Occasionally the
floats will make a stop to sing the "saeta" - a maudlin flamenco
hymn which further adds to the solemnity of the occasion.
What is immediately striking to a spectator is the huge amount
of physical effort needed by the "hombres de trono" (float
bearers) to carry their huge burden. The aim of this, as I saw
it, is to provide empathy for the sufferings which Christ had to
bear in their name - the faith and commitment of the
"confradias" is inspiring whatever you're religious leaning.
Behind the float is usually an army of friends and family, there
to provide support, water and food when the float comes to a
halt and the bearers have a chance to catch their breath for
five minutes.
Another thing that is immediately striking about the festivities
is the great variety of people who line the streets. Different
generations stand shoulder to shoulder bearing the "tronos" and
kids and grandparents alike jostle for position at the roadside.
You can sense the continuity and how the festival is massively
important to the local community. Another refreshing site is the
amount of youngsters involved, whether it's in the bands,
following the processions with their families or simply looking
on excitedly from the curb. The buzz from their excitement is
infectious as they run around collecting wax from the hundreds
of candles and making them into huge balls, trying to go bigger
and better than the kid next to them.
It is a strange experience in many ways, far removed from the
Carnival atmosphere of most Spanish fiestas - this isn't the
festival to come to if you want to party all night. Whilst in
Malaga my days consisted of a bit of beach going (it's not quite
up to temperature at Easter for the locals, but us sun-starved
Brits need no second invitation to don the Speedo's), exploring
Malaga's languid white-washed streets and myriad of tapas bars
and taking in the processions by night (interspersed with a few
bar stop-offs and a late meal somewhere along the line). The
food, the people, a beautiful city; it's all there to enjoy and
there's no better time than during Semana Santa.
Finally the most striking part for me is that Malaga is one of
Spain's largest cities, with over one million inhabitants, yet
for Semana Santa it seems the city shrinks. The small town
atmosphere and the sense of community are tangible and imbue the
city with an electric buzz for the week long festival.