Semana Santa - Easter in Alcalá de los Gazules

Easter in Spain is a big deal, and unlike Britain it's not all about chocolate eggs and Easter bunnies, but the crucifixion of Christ and the suffering of his mother.  It goes on for over a week and involves street processions - lots of them.

There are four hermandades or brotherhoods in Alcalá, each with its own costume and images, and each one organises its own procession, carrying heavy floats called pasos bearing statues of Jesus and Mary (imagenes). Some go back centuries, others went into remission in the 19th century and were revived more recently. They are closely-knit societies, often family-based, and spend the year raising funds to repair and maintain their kit. In theory anyone can join if they pay the fees and obtain the approval of the other members. Women have been allowed in since the early 1980s, but with a limited role.

So let's get the pointy hat thing out of the way - it has nothing to do with the KKK.  It dates back the 15th Century when the Spansh Inquisition required those undergoing public penance to wear a conical hood (capirote) and a long tunic, covering their face and body as a sign of humiliation. The height of the headgear supposedly took them closer to heaven. When the Brotherhoods adopted the capirote in the 17th century it enabled the men to remain anonymous while demonstrating their personal penance - hence they became known as penitentes. In some cities flagellation and other forms of self-harm are involved, but this is not overtly evident in Alcalá.

Some outsiders say they find the processions spooky, or feel uncomfortable faced with such an open display of religious zeal. I used to feel that way too. But over the years my attitude has mellowed - I can appreciate their beauty and solemnity, and the music is profoundly emotional. Above all I have learned to appreciate that people differ enormously in their faith. For some, following the procession is a commitment to renewing their allegiance to the Catholic Church, for others it's just an excuse to dress up.  Semana Santa brings together people of all ages and classes, which can't be a bad thing.  Whereas I used to worry about children being indoctrinated from an early age, having watched them grow up I can't see that it did them any harm - any more than the nativity plays our English schools used to put on when everyone wanted to be Mary and usually ended up being shepherds. Certainly there is a stark contrast here with the commercialisation of Easter in the UK, where families can spend a fortune taking their kids on an Easter Egg Hunt dominated by some bloke in a giant rabbit costume, and chocolate eggs and hot cross buns are on supermarket shelves as soon as they've put away the Christmas stuff. 

Now a look at the processions in more detail.

Viernes de Dolores - Semana Santa Chica

The Friday before Semana Santa, Viernes de Dolores, is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and her emotional pain at the loss of her son. In Alcalá children from the local Catholic school re-enact what their parents will be doing the following week, carrying miniature replicas of the statues through the streets and wearing the costumes of the nazarenos, complete with pointy hats. This is known as "Semana Santa Chica".

Domingo de Ramos - "La Borriquita"

Then comes Palm Sunday, which records the entry of Christ into Jerusalem on a donkey (borriquita).  Children of First Communion dress up appropriately and there are a lot people carrying palm leaves.  This photo is from 2015 so the children will now be adults, but it hasn't changed.

Martes Santo - Hermanded del Cristo de la Columna y María de las Lágrimas

The Tuesday after Palm Sunday sees the first of the night-time processions, that of the impressively named Venerable y Ducal Hermandad de Penitencia de Nuestro Padre Jesús Atado y Flagelado a la Columna (usually shortened to Hermandad de la Columna). It involves two pasos, one bearing Jesus tied to the Column and the other, his mother Mary.  A team of sixty men known as costaleros take turns to carry them out of the San Jorge church on the Plaza Alta and down through the narrow winding streets to the Alameda (men carry long hooked poles to raise the electricity cables out of the way), and then back to the Plaza Alta. They are accompanied by two bands and about eighty penitentes, men wearing green capirotes and capes, and a small number of women, dressed in mourning black and wearing mantillas and high heels (obligatory).

Their Facebook page gives us the strict rules for their uniform - no eye make-up and definitely no trainers:

Miércoles Santo - Cofradía del Cristo del Perdón

This procession is known as El Silencio, because it takes place in almost complete silence. The streetlights are turned off so it is lit just by candles and the full moon. It leaves the church later than the rest, at 10 pm, and can take five hours.  The only sounds are the beeps of mobile phones and three musicians - bassoon, oboe and saxophone - occasionally playing solemn music. The hundred or so penitentes wear black, and there is only one paso.

Jueves Santo - Cofradía de Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno y María Santísima de los Dolores

Unlike the other processions this one leaves from La Victoria, the church on the Alameda, accompanied by Alcalá's own brass band and the penitentes in purple.  There are two splendidly elabrorate pasos. Jesus comes out of the church first - someone has to go up a ladder and attach the top part of the cross, which won't fit through the door.  Then comes María, resplendent with flowers. The procession heads up to the Plaza Alta via the Calle Real then returns to the Alameda.

Viernes Santo - Hermandad del Santo Entierro de Cristo y Nuestra Señora de la Soledad

The final procession takes place on what we call Good Friday.  It features the body of Christ in a glass-sided coffin made of mahogany, one of the oldest of all the pasos seen this week with the statue dating back to 1630.  Unlike the rest of the pasos, the bearers are on the outside rather than underneath.  The eighty or so penitentes wear black tunics and white capirotes, and María is also dressed in black.

Today is Saturday, and everything has more or less returned to normal apart from the curious squeaking noise made by wax-covered car tyres on the cobbles. Tomorrow there will be a mass to celebrate the Resurrection, but no processions.  And Monday is just a regular day, people will be back at work and the kids back at school - unlike in the UK it is not a public holiday.