Andalucía at Easter

Written by Debbie Bartlett

If you happen to be in Andalucía at Easter, don’t  miss the opportunity to see at least one of the Holy Week processions. These take place in almost every city, town and village – in larger places there will be processions nearly every evening during the week, and in villages there may just be one on Good Friday.

For the uninitiated, Semana Santa in Andalucía at Easter is a jaw-dropping experience, totally unlike anything they have seen before. In the cities and towns, huge and heavy silver floats bearing individual statues of Jesus or Mary, or group tableaux, are carried through the streets on the shoulders of dozens – sometimes hundreds –   of men.

The fragrance of incense and the beautiful flowers which decorate the ‘tronos’, as the floats are called; the ringing of the bell which tells the men when to lower the float and when to raise it onto their shoulders and set off again; the haunting beat of a drum which is the only sound amid the silence; hundreds of candles on the floats, glowing in the darkness; penitents in long robes and tall pointed hoods, following in procession, many of them barefoot; a spontaneous ‘saeta’, sung from the balcony of a house as the float passes by; the emotional atmosphere… you don’t have to have any religious faith to enjoy the Holy Week processions, but you will not fail to be moved by them.

In Málaga and Ronda, the legionnaires proudly sing their traditional hymn as they bear the image of Christ on the cross through the streets; in Marbella, the exhausted ‘costaleros’ somehow find the energy to ‘dance’ the statue of the Virgin Mary back into her chapel in the early hours of the morning; in tiny villages, all the lights are turned out and the women walk behind the single float, carrying candles to light their way.

Everywhere is different, but it is always beautiful, traditional, emotive, surprising… Semana Santa is an insight into Andalucía at Easter and the Andalucían people, and what is especially lovely is that everyone, no matter what their beliefs or nationality, is truly welcome to share the experience with those for whom this is the most important religious festival of the year.

If you are thinking of visiting Andalucía at Easter, you should consider one of Vintage Travel’s luxury villas in Andalucía.