Wednesday, May 20, 2009

semana santa


Holy Week before Easter is celebrated with no greater pomp and passion than in Sevilla. It's called "semana santa" and is accompanied by about 50 parades of large statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary ... sometimes of 1,000 people (for ONE parade) marching through the streets of Sevilla
...who are all members of a society called an "hermandad." They do sort of a penance pilgrimage to the Cathedral from their home church, and back again. Sometimes the participants march for up to 6 or even 12 hours straight. The "Nazarenos" wear a hood, so that you cannot see who is in the parade, to maintain the anonymity in their dedication & repentance.

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