Semana Santa is Easter week in Spain.

During this week in Seville there are many processions (more than 50 altogether or 7-8 a day) that commemorate the Catholic traditions surrounding the death of Jesus Christ and the sorrow experienced at that time, especially by his mother Mary. Each procession is comprised of one or 2 ‘pasos’ (floats) and between 400 and 2,600 ‘Nazarenos’ and ‘penitantes’ (the followers of the different virgins who wear pointed hats like the KKK but in fact have NOTHING to do with them). They wear these hoods to remain anonymous because they are supposed to be doing penance for their sins. The women who wear the mantillas (big hair combs with black lace) have made promises to their favourite virgin and follow behind her as an act of worship so that she will grant the wish.

Most of the floats are of different statues of Mary, referred to as the ‘Virgins’ (different representations of Mary) and of Christ depicted in different scenes from the week leading up to his death on the cross. Hundreds of thousands of people fill the city to pay homage to these ‘virgins’. It is a sombre and intense time.

It’s hard to convey the atmosphere here during the week. The lights, sounds, smells, and the emotion. To give you an idea of how emotional Semana Santa is for the locals, when a procession is cancelled due to bad weather grown men WILL cry.

Some, including locals, have said that the traditions are more pagan than Christian because of the way the statues are worshipped.

In this gallery there are photos from some of the various processions at night and of people dressed up during the days.

The first procession is known as being very family oriented and you will notice the children dressed up too.

For best effect, if you have time, it is better to click on the first photo and then view each photo (using the ‘next’ button, top right) rather than choosing from the thumbnails. Not only will you see much more detail but you’ll get a better idea of the feel of the rhythm of the week.

On a technical note: many of the photos combine ambient street lights with flash a) because there wasn't much light b) to create a sense of movement and c) because all flash and no ambient light often destroys all atmosphere. Also no attempt has been made to ‘correct’ the white balance (eg make white clothes appear white under streetlights). At night the streets here really do look that yellow to the naked eye.

Comments welcome.


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