I was very happy to finally have school off, for a week! Friday we got out of school early, and I sprinted home. We had fish, since it was the Friday of Sorrows! After I met some friends of mine by the Guadalquivir, and showed them Triana, and then I had to go back to the apartment. We were going to go to a paso, since it was the holy day for the Virgen Dolores. I don't know what happened, but I fell asleep.
Saturday I was adventurous and went on a really long run through Sevilla. Now that I think about it, running alone in a city is something that I would not have been able to do a year ago, nor telling myself in school that things are going to be fine, and assuring myself (and actually believing) that I am a fine person! That afternoon (or 7 in the evening) Margarita and I went shopping at the Nervion Plaza (that is something else that has changed, I don't mind shopping as much as I once did. I think shopping in my scenario, though, is like a health addict eating the occasional pack of potato chips.) After we met Conchi and went to the paso de la Milagrosa. I'm really happy that we went, because then I was introduced to the process of holy week parades. First of all, there are two pasos, the Virgen and El Cristo. Each Hermanidad (the church that is allowed to have a paso, but they have to go through a specific process beforehand) has a different Cristo and Virgen. They are considered two different parts, because the Nazarenos* (KKK look a likes!) Each church has different colored and styles for the Nazareno tunics. Each Virgin and Christ float have men underneath them, called Castaleros. They usually where these clothes over there heads, which kind of look like Saharan nomadic headdresses, but I think they are mostly there for preventing any burns or rashes from carrying the float, since all the weight is on their arms and necks! Also, depending on the paso, there are Roman soldiers, (Romanos, I think) with huge feathers in their helmets. And then there are the bands! The band for El Cristo is much more somber, and is made up of only brass instruments, while the Virgen's band is upbeat and is essentially a complete marching band. When I heard the bands this past week I was like, ¨Since when was I listening to the Up soundtrack!" Yes, the music of Semana Santa does have a somewhat Pixar feel to it. But one notable thing about Semana Santa is that there is a lot of standing up and waiting. Since there are hundreds of Nazarenos between each paso, the parade lasts up to an hour, and there isn't really anywhere to sit, even if you do bring a seat.
Sunday was Domingo de Ramos, or Palm Sunday. Now this is the day when everyone gets dressed up. No, it wasn't your golf shirt and khaki pants sort of deal. Oh no! The whole week people were dressed in freshly ironed suits and the latest dresses from Zara. So, being an exchange student with limited clothes, I made my best effort to look like a fashionable Spaniard (and I think it worked, since I was asked directions several times this week!)
Sunday, Margarita, Conchi, Margarita's niece Rocio, Margarita's brother's family, and I went to Parque Maria Luisa to see La Paz (the Peace,) which was so beautiful, words can't even describe it! So, here's a picture!
After, we went to el Cristo de Burgos to San Roque. Somewhat funny story about that. So during these ¨parades," there is a lot of waiting and standing between the Cristo and the Virgin. Thus, the space is filled up with Nazarenos. So, I was just standing there, zoning out, when I heard my name. I thought someone was shouting for someone else, but no, there was a Nazareno staring right at me. Turned out it was a girl in my class, and in front of her was another boy in my class. They gave me candy (which is supposed to be given out to the small children) which made me feel really happy. After we went to some more pasos, all of which is somewhat of a blur, due to the fact that my feet were aching from standing up all day, and that I was plain old tired!
Monday was the day when the Iglesia de la Resurrecion (which is famous for it's Cristo, El Beso de Juda) had their paso, which is the church that Margarita's family belongs to, so her nephew, Pablo, and brother, David, were both Nazarenos. (Margarita's four year old niece, Julia, was supposed to be in the parade also, but she had a little temper tantrum, so that was that.)
I over did it on Tuesday! In the ¨morning¨ (noon) I met my friend Gabriella in the city center, and then when I got back, at three, the Virgin and the Cristo left the nearby church, San Benito.
Wednesday, we saw La Sed, which is the church right by my school, and San Bernardo. I think that that Virgin was the most beautiful of all, mostly because she had blue eyes, but at the beginning of Semana Santa I couldn't tell the difference between all of the virgins, but as the week went on, the virgins looked older and more serious. Some of them looked as if they had been crying, with red around their eyes.*
That afternoon (6) I met Gema, the math teacher that I have lunch with every Wednesday, her husband, Javi, their children, Gema and Marina, as well as my English teacher, Tere. We ended up meeting up with another teacher, Manoli, and her family (her son is actually in one of the classes that I help out with. Another blog prompt.) We saw La Lanzada, El Cristos de Burgos, and El Carmen. I really liked El Carmen, because we were standing in front of a church and when the Virgen came by, the whole procession stopped, and everyone in the crowd sang. Kind of cool! But the most memorable part of the evening was when we saw La Sed again. It was late, but it was so beautiful seeing the Virgin lit up, and the Nazarenos walking by candlight. Just one of the things that will be pressed in my memory forever!
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| Cristo de Burgas at Las Setas |
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| Cristo de Burgos at Las Setas |
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| La Esperanza de la Macarena |
Later that evening we attended la Madrugada, which are the pasos held early (they start at one) Friday morning. We saw La Gran Poder and El Silencio in Plaza Duque, which has been one of the most crowded places that I have ever encountered here in Spain. One boy, who was standing right behind me actually fainted! I went to bed that evening at the early hour of four!
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| El Gran Poder |
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| Virgen del Silencio |
Friday we went to the Bascilica de la Macarena, to see the Macarena enter. Interesting fact about the Macarena. Not only is it the most famous virgin in Sevilla, each side of her face is different. One side is purple, as if she's drunk, and the other is white. Watch ya know!
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| One of the Roman soldiers from the Paso de la Macarena |
That evening we went out again to see more pasos, and they began to be a little bit more serious. My favorite one was La Mortuga, mostly because it was more personable, and different. Instead of having a loud band, there was a choir and a woodwind trio. Also, we were standing in a really narrow street, so when the Cristo came by, you didn't even need to make an effort to touch the side of it.
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| Nazarenos of La Mortuga |
Saturday we went to La Trinidad, which was another fairly intense paso. The main one was an image of Jesus coming off of the cross, and there were all of these people surrounding him: Mary Magdalene, the Virgin Mary, I'm assuming the men were disciples, and then the most important part of the float was the woman with the handkerchief over her face, which represented the faith. I mentioned that the pasos got darker as the week went on, Well, the most notable of the pasos I saw that evening, was Santo Entierro, which had two parts, the first being a skeleton kneeling next to the Cross, and the other was a glass casket with a statue of the dead Jesus.
And today is Easter Sunday. Honestly, nobody really makes a big deal of it here. It's almost like the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Everyone is returning from their vacations on the beach and tidying things around the house.
So there's the run down! Next week is my last full week of school (whoo-whoo!) and then two weeks until Feria!
*The reason why the Nazarenos have coned hats is because during the Inquisition people wore such hats for punishment (so I was told.) So my interpretation is that the Nazarenos represent the sins of humanity.
Wow. What a fabulous week!
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