I've saved mentioning the processions until now, mostly
because Sevilla is the place where the processions became really obvious. But
first a little explanation...
The processions had several different parts. First, you have
the Nazarenos. Those are the classic processors, the ones in the robes and
pointy hats. Each group represents a different confraternity from
a different church. Some are purple, white, blue, black, you name it, including
two or more colors. Each are divided into different sections within the
confraternity, called branches. There could be as many 9 branches in the
Nazarenes. Following that, there are sometimes woman in mourning, dressed in
black skirts and jackets, wearing the classic Spanish mantilla with the really
high comb underneath and incredibly high heels. I can't imagine how they
marched like that. You might, within the Nazarenes, have penitents, who wear
robes but hats that are unpointed. They carry crosses, and are usually barefoot
or in socks (they're not actually doing an assigned penance, but by choice). They're the reason you never ever throw glass on the ground during
holy week. The rest of the year, well, Spain spends a lot of money on street
cleaning. But never during holy week. After these initial groups, you get to
what everyone is waiting for, the palio, or what I think it is in English,
pall. It is a pall, a massive pall, carried by at least twelve men underneath.
There are generally two in each procession. The first contains a representation
of Christ; Christ in the garden, on the cross, at the last supper, etc. The
statues are massive, and look extremely heavy. The men carrying it are directed
by another man outside, who uses a knocker to signal when to lift the pall. He
then tells them how to turn corners and when to set it down. It's a really long
process, and when they stand up and turn a corner, everyone claps. They don't
carry it for very long, only about ten yards, and then put it down. That's why
some of these processions can take as many as 12 hours. They are followed by a
musical group, usually a marching band, then it begins again. The second pall
is of Mary, and in the south it was a large Mary under a canopy with about a
hundred candles in front of her which are re-lit anytime they stop. The face and
colors of Mary differ in color, decoration, and expression, though even I wondered if I was seeing the same thing twice.
Kids are both participants and spectators. I thought it was
quite funny, watching the spectator kids. They can ask the Nazarenes for a
gift (candy or a religious image) and the Nazarenes can either ignore them, or
give them something. Some also take a ball of foil and ask for wax drippings,
and the Nazarenes will drip the excess wax from their massive lightsaber sized candles onto the ball. I saw kids who had
quite a bit by Friday. The groups vary in seriousness, some that don't say a
word as they go, and others that have a smoke when they stop (including the
musicians, which was horrifying).
As for myself, I saw many parades, some by choice and others
by necessity. It was like the triwizard maze. The walls kept closing in, and
the way I came, I could no longer go back through. It took me an hour to get
back to my hostel the first night. I learned a lesson after that-- the map they
hand out is important to keep an eye on. I sat and watched the entirety of
several parades, the first being 75 minutes long. I turned down another alley
and got stuck in a crowd, and decided to stay and watch. I picked a
suspiciously empty stretch of road, under an overhanging roof and next to a
tiny wall that was sticking out. The alley was small, but I didn't realize how
small it was until the palls came by. I literally stood on my tip toes, afraid
those guys were going to move a little too far to their left. I had about six
inches of room, and was able to stick my hand out and touch the edge of the
pall, and see the small relic on the side. If I had new glasses, I probably
would have been able to read the name. It was thrilling, in a scary kind of
way.
Two other things you must do if you are in Sevilla. The
first, of course, is the Cathedral. If I understood correctly, a large portion
of the cathedral used to be a mosque, but was subsequently destroyed in an
earthquake (all except the tower, the saving of which was credited to Saints
Justa and Rufina, patrons of the city). So the cathedral is relatively new,
built in a renaissance style. It's also the supposed burial place of
Christopher Columbus, although the Dominic Republic believes his body to still
be there, that when the Spanish lost that territory and went to bring Columbus's
body back, they took the wrong one. Information conflicts on whether or not
they've done the DNA test, and they'll probably never really agree. In any
case, if his body isn't there, there's a marvelous tomb. It's also apparently
the biggest cathedral in the world, and they have the Guinness World Record
sheet to prove it. It is again, a lovely cathedral, and they have a nice tower
you can climb up for no extra cost. Also, if you don't like or can't climb
stairs, this one's mostly ramp.
Secondly, you should visit the Plaza of Spain. Used as a
film location in the new Star Wars films, it's probably the most beautiful
plaza I've seen yet. It's huge and round, with a small boating river on the
outskirts and a fountain in the middle. Horse drawn carriages circle every few
minutes, taking you on a ride through the park next to the plaza. It's really
charming, and you can go up to the second floor of the plaza for some amazing
views. You can also find the names and a map of every province in Spain painted
on the bottom floor. Just watch out for
the fan and sunglasses sellers on the stairs. Remember, don't take anything
you're handed, and if someone tries to give you a branch, shake your head and
keep walking. This is an excellent place to go if you need a break from
processions.
Next to the plaza is a park I dubbed the park of non-native
things, including many things brought from the 'new world', and at least one
tree that I'm pretty sure I remember from Costa Rica. It's also full of
parrots, but I doubt they intended that, and instead they were probably pets
that people decided they no longer wanted. Since this park has some many tropic
trees, the parrots were doing very well there.
There are many other things you can see, but I do recommend that if you're going to see
specific things, go another time. If you want to see the processions, holy week
is the time for you. But the alcazár, the plaza de toros, the torre de oro, and
other famous locations are packed this time of year. If you'd like to see the
palls but don't want to wait in line, you can always stop off at the churches
during the morning. They're free to enter that time of year, and you can see
the pall up close.
I suppose these posts have been a bit more general than
specific. But it was such a crazy week, and so much happened, it's hard to put
it in a post. If you'd like to know more details, I'll be back in the states in
just about two months.
Hopefully, I'll be able to travel somewhere in my remaining six weeks in my program, but if not, my family and I are going to Paris and then to visit Monet's Garden, along with Burgos and Barcelona (and of course, Aranda). Then, on my way back to the States, I have a nice day layover in Berlin. So I'm sure I'll have hundreds more pictures to take, though I'm going to have to buy another thumb drive. Sixteen gigs just wasn't enough.