Spain puts Easter on Parade

¡Bienvenido a Semana Santa!  

Welcome to Semana Santa.

This week, the week before Easter, is a time of somber and elaborate festivities in Spain.  While initially the festivities around Semana Santa (literally Holy Week) began in the 1521 in Spain, it spread throughout Latin America as Spain conquered Central and South America over the course of the next few centuries.  This amazing holiday in Spain involves parades, and depending on the city you visit, days of parades.  

These are not your average parades.  They can last anywhere from 4-14 hours and include processions of people in the roles of drummers, mourners, and floats (pasos) that can weigh up to 220 pounds!  The devoted men carrying the floats have the choice to walk barefoot, in memory of the suffering of Jesus.  Additionally, it requires up to 40 men to carry each float, moving in perfect harmony to help support the weight and ensure it doesn't fall.  However, women always carry the float of the Virgin Mary.  These floats are all very special, as some of them are decades or centuries old.

And yes, the infamous pointed hats are seen in every parade.  But NO, they are NOT KKK hats.  In fact, these costumes were around centuries before the idea of the KKK was born.

 These "nazarenos" (people of Nazareth) believe that being completely covered except for slits for their eyes de-emphasize the human and bring the focus back to the parade, the float being carried, the music, and the purpose of the parade itself.  

Overall, it's a very moving parade.  The music is wonderful and the costumes elaborate.  Definitely a "must see" at some time during your life if possible.