One certain tradition, which surged during the Baroque period when public religiosity emerged as a societal concept, is the set of processions of Semana Santa in which each brotherhood shows off their own virgin. Each of the 52 brotherhoods has two "pasos," or floats, one of a Christ figure and one of their particular virgin. The members of the brotherhood are called "nazarenos." During Holy Week, the nazarenos from each and every brotherhood march from their chapel to the main cathedral holding each of their two pasos, enters the cathedral, exits the cathedral, and recess back to their home temple. Depending on where the chapels are located in the city, this procession can take between seven and fourteen hours!
Each of the brotherhoods has their own set of traditional religious wear, which they wear during the procession. They dress in robes and "capirotes," which are tall, pointed hats that cover all of the face except for the eyes, and each brotherhood has their own color combination.
People come from all over Europe to see the processions of Semana Santa in Sevilla, and each city in Spain celebrates it their own way. But in Sevilla, it is such a big festival that people say that the majority of Sevilla's gross annual income from tourism comes from just this week (and the other spring festival in two weeks). It is nearly impossible to walk around the city due to the amount of people - in fact, I tried getting somewhere that usually takes me 10-15 minutes and it took me over an hour! The windy, skinny streets that make Sevilla famous really make it difficult this time of year - and with people pushing you from all sides, all trying to get somewhere different to see one of the dozens of pasos happening at any given time, whooo....it's a whirlwind.
As I watched the pasos, I was filled with a mixed feeling, trying to keep an open mind. It is actually quite a strange sight to see, as America's own KKK has stolen the style of robes and headpieces, taking the religious symbolism to a whole new level. Growing up in America, I am hardwired to see people dressed in hoods with eyeslits and think "white supremacy" or "Death Eaters" (I know, I know!), but here, it is a perfectly normal religious symbol that has been part of Sevilla's religious tradition for centuries. Regardless, I was really interested by how people reacted to it, and it was amazing to see that the tradition is preserved to this day and holds such high importance in the city. It was also amazing when, amongst hundreds of people watching a given paso, complete silence ensued, only to break into a rumbling of talking and clapping as soon as the paso had passed. Overall a very interesting, at times creepy, but amazing experience. Take a look at some of my favorite photos:
A paso of a virgin entering the cathedral.
A Christ and Virgin Mary figure up close.
A good example of a paso, holding a Biblical scene.
Another paso on the main avenue in front of the cathedral.
A candle-lit paso at night.
A paso on the main avenue.
Quite ironic, I think.
....
One of my favorites, of a child waving in his robes as he passes.
Nazarenos holding the cross.
