Seville during Easter Week
Semana Santa (holy week/easter) has been one of the most important celebrations in Seville since centuries. In 2007 Semana Santa will be the week of April 1- April 8. Semana Santa is Holy Week and Sevilla’s celebration is likely the most famous in the world. Whether you are religious or not there’s something to enjoy because you won’t see anything like it anywhere else.
Starting on Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday), and ending on Domingo de Resurrección (Easter Sunday), the 57 Cofradías and Hermandades (Brotherhoods or Fraternities) pay the religious visit to the Cathedral of Seville, the third largest Cathedral in the world. The Cofradías and Hermandades process in penitence through the (many narrow) streets of the city, from their church to the Cathedral and back, taking the shortest possible route, as decreed in the rule of the ordinances by Cardenal Niño de Guevara in the 17th century. Some of the Cofradías date back as far as the 13th century and between all of them carry over 116 different floats, or pasos, through the streets of Sevilla in the company of around 60,000 brothers participating in their different appearances. Nazarenos accompany the pasos in the march and in some cases number more than 2,000 for certain processions - in this case you may have to wait an hour to see the actual float. Penitents, Costaleros (float carriers) and Acolytes also go together with the floats. Marching bands play music - la marcha procesiónal - which influences the pace and action of the pasos. Some processions, such as El Silencio, march in silence and without music. Almost every procession includes an image of Christ - different depending on what scene in the bible it depicts - as well as an image of the Virgin Mary, always in mourning for the death of Christ. The images of the Virgin are often the most anticipated for their subtle differences - from facial expressions and characteristics, to tears or other details in the paso. The paso from the Macarena is perhaps one of the most famous imagenes of the Virgin Mary.
The number of spectators may rise up to the impressing number of one million people during the most important moments of Semana Santa in Seville: the early morning of Good Friday which is when the brotherhoods of el Silencio, el Gran Poder, La Macarena, El Calvario, La Esperanza de Triana and los Gitanos set off for their processional penitence to the Cathedral.
Semana Santa for many means more than the processions in the streets. It marks the arrival of spring in Sevilla with a week long celebration that fills the streets, churches, bars and restaurants. It’s moving your way around the center of the city and through the crowd in search of the best spot to catch a procession or float.
Semana Santa Vocabulary
Floats: portable platforms carried on the shoulders of the brotherhood members, representing scenes from Christ’s Passion. Most brotherhoods carry two floats: a float with a Christ, representing the distinct stages of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and a float with a Dolorosa (Mary the Virgin in pain) under a canopy. Some brotherhoods even carry three floats, like the so-called: El Amor, La Cena, San Benito, or la Trinidad, others have just one like Santa Marta, La Quinta Angustia, la Soledad de San Buenaventura, or la Soledad de San Lorenzo.
Cofradías and Hermandades (Brotherhoods or Fraternities): they work day to day in the three fundamental pillars of christianity that they define as Education, Cult and Charity. The welfare work they realize in Seville and its Province is wide. The Station of penance or procesional exit is the main external cult of the corporations but the Cofradías and Hermandades count on numerous internal cults to their Titulares throughout the year (Ninth, Quinarios, Triduos…). There is a Superior Council of Brotherhoods (Consejo Superior de Hermandades y Cofradías), whose members are chosen every four years by the Older Brothers (Hermanos Mayores) of the different Brotherhoods. The council is in charge of the Holy Week organization, they find agreements with the official institutions and they decide about the Official Itinerary (Carrera Oficial).
Saetas: popular songs considered one of the most pure forms of Flamenco and whose lyrics are inspired by Christ’s Passion and the suffering of the Virgin Mary.
Useful Info
Patronato Provincial de Turismo de Sevilla
Plz/ del Triunfo, 1-3º Antiguo Archivo Provincial
41004 Sevilla
Tel: (+34) 954 50 10 01
Fax: (+34) 954 50 08 98
E-mail: director@turprocinciasevilla.org
Consorcio de Turismo de Sevilla
Plz/ San Francisco, 19 4º, Edificio Laredo
41004 Sevilla
Tel: (+34) 954 59 29 15
Fax: (+34) 954 59 09 19
E-mail: turismo@sevilla.org
March 23rd, 2007 at 10:40 am
I’ll be in sevilla for the easter week for the first time and I feel very excited about it!
could you please give me some information about where to go to have the best view ? some friend told me that I could rent a seat near the cathedral? have you heard about that and if you know could you tell me how to do it?
thank you very much for your advice,
Sylvie
March 23rd, 2007 at 12:13 pm
It’s very difficult to find a seat near the cathedral, everybody books their own seats way in advance, maybe several months in advance and, in some cases, the seats are inherited from one generation to another.
The best option is to walk into downtown and you will find all the religious parades over there. The best corner to see the parades is La Campana, just ask anybody you see on the streets for La Campana and they will give you directions to find this spot.
Althoug downtown will be crowded it’s worth it to see it.