Easter in Seville

Posted Monday, April 09, 2007, 4:45 PM by Lonely Planet

It's Holy Thursday afternoon and I'm standing outside the Virgen de la Candelaria church in Seville, surrounded by people in white cloaks and pointy hats holding large unlit candles in gloved hands. These are the nazarenos, who are to start their 12-or-more hour procession through the streets of Seville, accompanying the floats of Jesus and Mary for the Easter celebrations, and fulfilling their religious vows. Everyone's silent. This is the annual spiritual peak of the nazarenos, a peak that may yet collapse under a spring shower. This year's unpredictable spring weather has brought suspense onto the streets of Seville: people are phoning each other to find out what was going on in other parts of town ("Has such-and-such procession come out yet? What? They're hiding from the rain in another church?!") and bursting into tears when it was announced that some of the floats wouldn't be allowed out for the rain.

Semana Santa (Easter week) in Seville is the most exciting time to be in the city, with thousands of people in the street all day and night during the madruga, the night before Good Friday. Everyone is dressed in their best outfits - men in white suits and slicked back hair, women in traditional black dresses with black lace crowning their hair. Hundreds of nazarenos walk in silence, some barefoot, the most morbid with crosses on their shoulders.

I braved this year's cold madruga and stayed in the street until 8am. The first part of the night I watched the El Silencio procession, and had the float of the Virgin stop right next to me. I could hear the sigh of the costaleros, the unseen men who carry the floats on their shoulders, as they lifted the heavy burden in unison. Then I rushed to the Jesus de los Gitanos route, which was made even more exciting by impromptu flamenco singing and dancing.

When the Virgin float appeared, the street filled with adoring shouts: "Oh Virgin, you are so beautiful!", followed by a saeta, a spiritual flamenco song. And again, like last year, and despite my lack of religious belief, I am in love with Seville's Semana Santa.

- Vesna Maric

Labels: Europe, Festivals and events

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