La Semana Santa (Holy Week)

This week, it's back to the grind for University of Seville students. Fortunately, I only have to make it through till Friday and then I am back on another week-long vacation!! I'm two days in, and it kind of feels like this week of school isn't even real. We are between two of Seville's (and really, Spain as a whole for that matter) two biggest festivals of the whole year. I'm really not sure as to why they schedule their Feria (Fair) only a week after the Semana Santa, but I guess I can't complain, especially if it gets me out of school for two weeks. So far I have already had a class cancelled, and in one of my others, we are watching a movie all week. I think the professor's kind of treat this week as a chance for students to catch up on all the work they have due at the end of the year. The grading here is basically all done at the end of the semester, whereas in the USA, we have exams consistently throughout the school year. I've learned that in order to effectively do homework, you basically have to work on everything you have due at the end of the year little by little every day. I'm proud to say I am already 8 and a half pages through my 20 page paper due on May 31. It's really not all that hard if you write a paragraph a day, and most the time I end up writing more because I don't want to lose my train of thought. And then when I do... I save the document and wait to open it up again the next day. Guess I am finally getting a handle on how the Spaniards do homework here. Let's hope I don't get too distracted in the coming weeks that I get thrown off my work schedule.

Upon returning home from Portugal last Thursday, we were greeted by heavy rain and cloudy skies. I was pretty disappointed because I knew that meant that the Semana Santa processions were not going to go out into the streets of Sevilla for everyone to observe. Frustrated, I took a cab home even though I am normally against spending money on cabs. Thankfully though, I was greeted by a big meal from Lourdes, who said she had really missed me and Justin while we were vacationing. I gave her a book I bought in Portugal of images of Lisbon because she couldn't find her own before I left for my trip. I think she really appreciated it. During lunch, she had the TV set to a local channel, which was showing processions of year's past and giving constant weather updates on what the night and following day were going to be like. Lourdes told us that even though the processions were not going to go, we could still go out in the streets and see some of the hermandades (brotherhoods) and their respective churches.

On Thursday, I still wasn't really sure exactly what Semana Santa was like in Seville, so Justin and I pretty much wandered through the city observing the people and following the big crowds. We ended up at a church located on Reyes Católicos (where our first hotel was when we arrived in January, Hotel Becquer) and saw three "pasos".

Here is a summary of what I could gather from my Semana Santa experience (even though it was probably the worst one weather wise in decades):
1. There are approximately 70 to 80 "brotherhoods" in Seville, each with their respective church, charity, and "pasos".
2. The pasos are big, rectangular structures that are decorated at the base with gold, flowers, and ribbons.
3. Each brotherhood has 2 to 3 pasos, one of which is usually the Virgin Mary with a face of distress and another of Jesus Christ, either situated in one of the stations of the cross, or shown in the very last moments of life on earth.
4. The brotherhood can consist of women, men and children, the largest of which is 13,000 members.
5. As a part of the brotherhood, you are required to wear a robe and coned shape hat at all times while in public during Semana Santa to hide your personal identity and show respect to God.
6. Although they are exactly alike, the robes and cone shaped hats that the brothers of the hermandades wear have absolutely nothing to do with that of the Ku Klux Klan.
7. A select few of the brothers (30-40) carry their pasos through the streets of Seville during Semana Santa, most with destination for the Cathedral and later to return to their respective church.
8. The processions can last as long as 14 hours in the streets, the biggest challenge being the sharp turns and the rotation of men carrying the pasos.
9. The women wear "mantillas" on Holy Thursday, which look like long black veils and are worn to humble themselves in the presence of God and the death of Jesus.
10. The most important part of Semana Santa is the "madrugada" which is literally translated to "middle of the night". The most famous processions are suppose to go through the streets and are accompanied by complete silence from observers.
11. The most famous pasos are "La Esperanza de Triana", which is located about 3 minutes from my house and "La Macarena" which is located about 30 minutes from my house. (I saw both)
12. There is only one procession on Easter Sunday, and it is the least commonly observed by the Spaniards.
13. The worst possible thing that could happen during Semana Santa is bad weather.

Unfortunately, we suffered one of the worst rain storms in the history of Semana Santas this year. For the first time since 1933, all 6 of the "Madrugada" processions did not leave their temple to walk the streets. In fact, I did not get to see a single procession Thursday-Saturday because of my trip to Portugal the first half of the week and the brutal rain the second half. Although I was pretty disappointed, I still made the most of the week of what I could, and think I still got to see the meaningful and cultural part of Semana Santa.

It's crazy to think that Semana Santa is such a widespread and well respected tradition of Spain, especially when there is supposedly no association between church and state. I have to believe if something like this were to be proposed in America, protests would probably surpass that of the religious processions. Then again, 90% of the Spanish population is baptized Catholic, so there is really no one to argue against it.

As a Catholic myself, I really enjoyed seeing the pasos. They truly were amazing to look at, and the fact they are life size made it all the more powerful. In each church I entered, I was given a ribboned pin which I will save to bring home. It was interesting to me that the Spaniards emphasize Holy Thursday and Good Friday more than Easter Sunday, but I think it's because it is more of a reminder of Jesus dying for sins rather than his resurrection to heaven. On Sunday, a group of 8 of us went to a mass in Plaza Salvador. The masses here are really interesting to listen to because I get a chance to improve my Spanish listening skills, and it is funny to compare the prayers from English to Spanish. Especially things like the Apostle's Creed and the Our Father.

Feria is a much different kind of celebration from what I have heard. It is basically a week long party. Yesterday, I went to look at the casetas which are set up at the end of my street and owned by various families throughout Seville and it already looks like it is going to be a fiesta. I'm really hoping I get the chance to go inside the casetas even though they are extremely private and a big deal to get an invite to. Then again, I've been told by some of my Spanish friends that I could pull of being a Spaniard. Maybe I could work that to my advantage in getting into some of these casetas...

Also, yesterday me and three other friends decided to cross the "row a boat through Plaza España" off our last two months checklist. It was fun because the fountain in the middle of Plaza España is finally turned on, and the weather was pretty nice yesterday. The rowing part was funny because it's kind of harder than it looks. Every time we would crash into someone we would just say "hola" and laugh because I think the awkwardness is supposed to be the whole point of it. Regardless, it was something we had to do before we left Spain. Next on our list is "Pedalquivir"... taking a rowboat into the river and going downstream with it.