Holy Week ‘Semana Santa’ Seville 2010

he streets of Seville are lined with orange trees. It’s Springtime and the scent of orange blossom fills the air.

We are busy participating in the Holy Week observances in churches and joining the crowds to watch the processions of floats through the winding narrow streets and grand Plazas of this Andalucian city of Moorish and Roman influences.

Edmundo sits with his morning cup of tea talking of his idea of Seville “The city is a like coquettish lady who reveals herself one step at a time. First, the outside – when one walks from beautiful small plazas into gardens bursting with colour, and then its most intimate part which we can call the soul of Seville, it’s shaded patios with the sound of water all very Moorish, Christian, very Andalucian, and what one would think to be very Spanish. This is a romantic city. This is where Queen Isabella disposed of her last jewels to Finance Christopher Columbus’ dream to discover the New World. She expels the Moors and Jews; unifies Spain and creates an Empire”, he says.

Pious devotion will be turned into a spectacle of light and colour — the penitents in their black hoods; the clergy in violet, purple and red; and thousands of candles on the floats with images of Christ and the Blessed Virgin carried aloft through the narrow streets. We have reserved seats to watch the processions and to attend the observances in the Cathedral on Holy Thursday and Easter Sunday.

(Excerpt from my blog post of Easter 2010.)

‘PATHOS OF THE PASOS’

he core events in Semana Santa are the processions of the brotherhoods, known as estación de penitencia (stations of penance), from their home church or chapel to the Cathedral of Seville and back.

A number of people (sometimes barefoot) are dressed in a habit with the distinctive pointed hood and holding long wax candles (only lit by night), march in silence. These are the nazarenos. A procession can be made up from a few hundred to near 3,000 nazarenos and last anywhere from 4 to 14 hours, depending how far the home church is from the Cathedral.

At the center of each procession are the pasos, an image or set of images set atop a movable float of wood. If a brotherhood has three pasos, the first one is a sculpted scene of the Passion, or an allegorical scene, known as a misterio (mystery); the second is an image of Christ; and the third an image of the suffering Blessed Virgin Mary, known as a dolorosa.
The structure of the paso is richly carved and decorated with fabric, flowers and candles. Many of the structures carrying the image of Christ are gilded, and those carrying the image of the virgin often silver-plated.

A distinctive feature of Semana Santa in Seville is the style of marching of the pasos. A team of men, the costaleros (literally “sack men”, for their distinctive – and functional – headdress), supporting the beams upon their shoulders and necks, lift, move and lower the paso. As they are all inside the structure and hidden from the external view by a curtain, the paso seems to move by itself. On the outside an overseer (capataz), guides the team by voice, and/or through a ceremonial hammer el llamador (caller) attached to the paso.

Some processions are silent, with no musical accompaniment, some have a cappella choirs or wind quartets, but many (and especially those historically associated with poorer neighbourhoods) feature a drum and trumpet band behind the image of Christ and a brass band behind the virgin playing religious hymns or marchas from a standard repertoire Those associated with the images of Christ are often funeral in nature, whilst those associated with the Virgin are more celebratory.

(Excerpt from my blog post of Easter 2010.)

ot only are we attending Easter observances, we are seated in the front rows of the world’s largest Gothic Cathedral here in Seville observing ancient rites in ancient and beautiful surroundings where for centuries, artists and artisans have given the best of themselves for the glory of God.

Respect requires that we do not photograph during the Mass. This video shows the Procession into the Cathedral and Recessional at the completion.

At the Easter Vigil observance, we arrive in the church in darkness. The liturgy this evening leads us to the moment of the Resurrection. The lights return with bells ringing and the Archbishop leading the choir into an exultant Gloria in Excelsis Deo.

There are twenty co-celebrants on the altar with the Archbishop; in white vestments; all moving in different directions; all full of symbolism. Representatives of the Crown and Civic Dignitaries sit in special seats next to the Altar. Candles. Incense. Organ. Choir. Bells and Clackers. Grand!