Holy Week/Semana Santa
Enclosed are 3 videos that you must watch on You Tube. You have to watch to get just an idea of what holy week is like here. Every year it amazes me.....the people and their dedication to this holiday. It´s been tricky this year w Nora and we haven´t seen many pasos, but the ones that I have seen are amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkad7Hv51-0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MqqzYIj4v8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp0uTqPtiX0&feature=related
Holy Week in Seville (Semana Santa de Sevilla) is one of the most important traditional events of the city. It is celebrated in the week leading up to Easter (Holy Week among Christians), and is one of the better known religious events within Spain. The week features the procession of pasos, floats of lifelike wooden sculptures of individual scenes of the events of the Passion, or images of the Virgin Mary showing restrained grief for the torture and killing of her son. Some of the sculptures are of great antiquity and are considered artistic masterpieces.
During Holy Week, the city is crowded with residents and visitors, drawn by the spectacle and atmosphere. The impact is particularly strong for the Catholic community.
The processions are organised by hermandades and cofradías, religious brotherhoods. During the processions, members precede the pasos (of which there are up to three in each procession) dressed in penitential robes, and, with few exceptions, hoods. They may also be accompanied by brass bands.
The processions work along a designated route from their home churches and chapels to the Cathedral, usually via a central viewing area and back. The processions from the suburban barrios may take 14 hours to return to their home churches.
As of 2009, a total of 60 processions are scheduled for the week, from Palm Sunday through to Easter Sunday morning. The climax of the week is the night of Holy Thursday, when the most popular processions set out to arrive at the Cathedral on the dawn of Good Friday, known as the madrugá.
The core events in Semana Santa are the processions of the brotherhoods, known as estación de penitencia (stations of penance), from their home church or chapel to the Cathedral of Seville and back. The last section before arriving to the Cathedral is common to all brotherhoods and is called the Carrera Oficial.
The standard structure of a procession is:
A great cross (the so-called Cruz de Guía - Guiding Cross) is carried at the beginning of each procession. opens the way.
A number of people (sometimes barefoot) dressed in a habit and with the distinctive pointed hood (capirote), and holding long wax candles (only lit by night), marching in silence. These are the nazarenos. Colours, forms and details of the habit are distinctive for each brotherhood - and sometimes for different locations within the procession. Usually the nazarenos march in pairs, and are grouped behind insignia. Moving between the lines are diputados de tramo, guardians who keep the formations organised.
A group of altar boys, acolytes, dressed in vestments (many of them wearing dalmatics), with chandeliers and incense, and other servants.
The Paso.
When applicable, the musical group follows (bands) or precedes the paso(chapel music)
A number of penitentes, carrying wooden crosses, making public penance. They wear the habit and the hood of the brotherhood, but the hood is not pointed.
This structure repeats itself depending of the number of pasos (up to three). Usually the last paso is not followed by penitentes, and the procession should be closed -presided- by the titular chaplain in full processional vestments known as el preste
Although this is the standard structure, depending on the traditions of each brotherhood, details (and even the plan) may vary.
A procession can be made up from a few hundred to near 3,000 nazarenos and last anywhere from 4 to 14 hours, depending how far the home church is from the Cathedral. The largest processions can take over an hour and a half to cross one particular spot
At the center of each procession are the pasos, an image or set of images set atop a movable float of wood. If a brotherhood has three pasos, the first one is a sculpted scene of the Passion, or an allegorical scene, known as a misterio (mystery); the second is an image of Christ; and the third an image of the suffering Blessed Virgin Mary, known as a dolorosa.
The structure of the paso is richly carved and decorated with fabric, flowers and candles. Many of the structures carrying the image of Christ are gilded, and those carrying the image of the virgin often silver-plated. As of 2007, all but one of the dolorosas are covered by an ornate canopy or baldachin (palio) attached to the structure.
The sculptures themselves are carved and painted, and often lifesize or larger. The oldest surviving were carved in the 16th century, though new images continue to be added. Those highly regarded artistically include the Jesus del Gran Poder and Cristo de la Buena Muerte by Juan de Mesa, Francisco Antonio Ruíz Gijón's Cristo de la Expiración (known as El Cachorro) and the two virgins named Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza from Macarena and Triana. All of the principal images of the Semana Santa are on display for veneration in their home churches all year round.
Overseer giving orders to the costaleros.A distinctive feature of Semana Santa in Seville is the style of marching of the pasos. A team of men, the costaleros (literally "sack men", for their distinctive - and functional - headdress), supporting the beams upon their shoulders and necks, lift, move and lower the paso. As they are all inside the structure and hidden from the external view by a curtain, the paso seems to move by itself. On the outside an overseer (capataz), guides the team by voice, and/or through a ceremonial hammer el llamador (caller) attached to the paso.
Depending on weight (most weigh over a metric tonne), a paso requires between 24 and 54 costaleros to move. Each brotherhood has a distinctive way to raise and move a paso, and even each paso within the procession.
Some processions are silent, with no musical accompaniment, some have a cappella choirs or wind quartets, but many (and especially those historically associated with poorer neighbourhoods) feature a drum and trumpet band behind the image of Christ and a brass band behind the virgin playing religious hymns or marchas from a standard repertoire [5] Those associated with the images of Christ are often funeral in nature, whilst those associated with the Virgin are more celebratory.
- As each procession leaves its home church, (an event known as the salida), at its return (the entrada), and along the march route, improvised flamenco-style songs may be offered by individuals in the crowd or from a balcony. These songs are generically called saetas (arrows).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkad7Hv51-0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MqqzYIj4v8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp0uTqPtiX0&feature=related
Holy Week in Seville (Semana Santa de Sevilla) is one of the most important traditional events of the city. It is celebrated in the week leading up to Easter (Holy Week among Christians), and is one of the better known religious events within Spain. The week features the procession of pasos, floats of lifelike wooden sculptures of individual scenes of the events of the Passion, or images of the Virgin Mary showing restrained grief for the torture and killing of her son. Some of the sculptures are of great antiquity and are considered artistic masterpieces.
During Holy Week, the city is crowded with residents and visitors, drawn by the spectacle and atmosphere. The impact is particularly strong for the Catholic community.
The processions are organised by hermandades and cofradías, religious brotherhoods. During the processions, members precede the pasos (of which there are up to three in each procession) dressed in penitential robes, and, with few exceptions, hoods. They may also be accompanied by brass bands.
The processions work along a designated route from their home churches and chapels to the Cathedral, usually via a central viewing area and back. The processions from the suburban barrios may take 14 hours to return to their home churches.
As of 2009, a total of 60 processions are scheduled for the week, from Palm Sunday through to Easter Sunday morning. The climax of the week is the night of Holy Thursday, when the most popular processions set out to arrive at the Cathedral on the dawn of Good Friday, known as the madrugá.
The core events in Semana Santa are the processions of the brotherhoods, known as estación de penitencia (stations of penance), from their home church or chapel to the Cathedral of Seville and back. The last section before arriving to the Cathedral is common to all brotherhoods and is called the Carrera Oficial.
The standard structure of a procession is:
A great cross (the so-called Cruz de Guía - Guiding Cross) is carried at the beginning of each procession. opens the way.
A number of people (sometimes barefoot) dressed in a habit and with the distinctive pointed hood (capirote), and holding long wax candles (only lit by night), marching in silence. These are the nazarenos. Colours, forms and details of the habit are distinctive for each brotherhood - and sometimes for different locations within the procession. Usually the nazarenos march in pairs, and are grouped behind insignia. Moving between the lines are diputados de tramo, guardians who keep the formations organised.
A group of altar boys, acolytes, dressed in vestments (many of them wearing dalmatics), with chandeliers and incense, and other servants.
The Paso.
When applicable, the musical group follows (bands) or precedes the paso(chapel music)
A number of penitentes, carrying wooden crosses, making public penance. They wear the habit and the hood of the brotherhood, but the hood is not pointed.
This structure repeats itself depending of the number of pasos (up to three). Usually the last paso is not followed by penitentes, and the procession should be closed -presided- by the titular chaplain in full processional vestments known as el preste
Although this is the standard structure, depending on the traditions of each brotherhood, details (and even the plan) may vary.
A procession can be made up from a few hundred to near 3,000 nazarenos and last anywhere from 4 to 14 hours, depending how far the home church is from the Cathedral. The largest processions can take over an hour and a half to cross one particular spot
At the center of each procession are the pasos, an image or set of images set atop a movable float of wood. If a brotherhood has three pasos, the first one is a sculpted scene of the Passion, or an allegorical scene, known as a misterio (mystery); the second is an image of Christ; and the third an image of the suffering Blessed Virgin Mary, known as a dolorosa.
The structure of the paso is richly carved and decorated with fabric, flowers and candles. Many of the structures carrying the image of Christ are gilded, and those carrying the image of the virgin often silver-plated. As of 2007, all but one of the dolorosas are covered by an ornate canopy or baldachin (palio) attached to the structure.
The sculptures themselves are carved and painted, and often lifesize or larger. The oldest surviving were carved in the 16th century, though new images continue to be added. Those highly regarded artistically include the Jesus del Gran Poder and Cristo de la Buena Muerte by Juan de Mesa, Francisco Antonio Ruíz Gijón's Cristo de la Expiración (known as El Cachorro) and the two virgins named Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza from Macarena and Triana. All of the principal images of the Semana Santa are on display for veneration in their home churches all year round.
Overseer giving orders to the costaleros.A distinctive feature of Semana Santa in Seville is the style of marching of the pasos. A team of men, the costaleros (literally "sack men", for their distinctive - and functional - headdress), supporting the beams upon their shoulders and necks, lift, move and lower the paso. As they are all inside the structure and hidden from the external view by a curtain, the paso seems to move by itself. On the outside an overseer (capataz), guides the team by voice, and/or through a ceremonial hammer el llamador (caller) attached to the paso.
Depending on weight (most weigh over a metric tonne), a paso requires between 24 and 54 costaleros to move. Each brotherhood has a distinctive way to raise and move a paso, and even each paso within the procession.
Some processions are silent, with no musical accompaniment, some have a cappella choirs or wind quartets, but many (and especially those historically associated with poorer neighbourhoods) feature a drum and trumpet band behind the image of Christ and a brass band behind the virgin playing religious hymns or marchas from a standard repertoire [5] Those associated with the images of Christ are often funeral in nature, whilst those associated with the Virgin are more celebratory.
- As each procession leaves its home church, (an event known as the salida), at its return (the entrada), and along the march route, improvised flamenco-style songs may be offered by individuals in the crowd or from a balcony. These songs are generically called saetas (arrows).
posted by Sara at 1:51 PM
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