1. smoke week
is elaborately celebrated each year in Spain. This is the week preceding Easter Sunday or
Pascua. Despite the serious symbolism of the week, the city is extremely vibrant and busy
throughout. Regular department stores and little shops are often closed for the week's events,
but the restaurants and bars of Sevilla remain full of people. Everyone comes out for the
festivities of Semana Santa. Each afternoon during the week, 17th century floats bearing images
of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, emerge from the old Sevillan churches and process through
the streets for hours and hours until finally snaking their way back to the church from which they
came. Costaleros bear the weight of these enormous floats, while penitentes, both large and
small, lead and follow the float bearing traditional capirotes and candles. The eerie and sorrowful
flamenco hymns, written in minor keys, are played by the Semana Santa bands to set the
despairing tone of the processions. The hymns of the band, the wailing saeta singers, and the
cries of the pregoneros who bring the story of Jesus's crucifixion, can be heard from miles away.
Sharing in the deeply rooted Christian traditions on this very special week is definitely worth your
while.

3. In some of the processions, marchers wear
clothes reminiscent of the klu klux klan. Infact
their clothes are meant to depict the
Nazareños, people from Nazareth. The
religious fraternities and brotherhoods are
responsible for carrying the statues and
organising the penitents and musicians. The
Nazareños follow the people who carry the
floats bearing sculptures and models of
biblical scenes.
The people who carry the weight of the floats
are called "costaleros" and are expected the
carry these "thrones" with solemnity and
grace. They use a small cushion, "costal" to
protect themselves from getting sores from
the wood rubbing against their skin during
the long processions.
The most famous Easter celebrations are held
in various Andalusian towns,
Valladolid,Toledo, Segovia,Burgos, Zamora
and Cuenca.

4. The preparation for Semana Santa is much more in-depth than meets the eye. Thousands of
visitors come from all over the world to see the Holy Week processions of Spain, and
especially in places like Seville and surrounding areas of Andalucía. There are official mapped
out routes for each procession of the week, and someone is in charge of organizing police and
other security to work throughout this holiday to maintain the peace. Also important, are the
cleaning crews each night that come through after each procession and clear litter from the
streets. Seating is another aspect. Some municipal authorities provide special theatre type
seating for certain processions whose routes follow main streets. This seating must be booked
well in advance and can be quite costly. Members of the Cofradias also coordinate groups of
men to carry the crosses and lanterns of the procession and most importantly, to carry the
huge floats upon their backs. I saw first-hand while studying abroad, the preparation and
solemnity of Semana Santa. Weeks and even months before Easter, it is not uncommon to run
into a group of 30 men walking closely together in sync, bearing heavy replica floats upon their
backs, practicing intently for the real week to arrive.

6. During the processions, a man or woman will often burst out in a saeta, and the entire
procession comes to a halt until the song is finished. The singers are sometimes part of the
procession but other times they stand on the balcony of a second story and sing over the
massive crowd below. The Cofradias must plan the procession so that the timing of the saeta
and the stopping of the floats are perfectly coordinated.
The music of Semana Santa is
usually in minor keys and is
obviously extremely
sorrowful. The brassy
instruments like trumpets and
saxophones help most in
creating this sound. It
reminded me of when the
military trumpeters play
"Taps" at the funeral of a
veteran. Watching the
processions and listening to
the music brought tears to my
eyes. The Holy Spirit was
present in Sevilla during that
week. The passion the
Sevillians had for their faith
and the mourning, as well as