Holy Week in Spain - Part 1 {Days 1 & 2: Sevilla}

one of the absolute best perks of Nick's job at the Pontifical North American College is that every other year, the faculty and seminarians are free to travel over Holy Week and Easter. many of the men go to traditional pilgrimage sites, and some of course stay in Rome to observe the services and celebrate Easter here in the Holy City. as a church musician who will likely be up to his eyeballs in work every other Holy Week of his life, Nick knew he had to seize this opportunity to participate in Spain's famous Semana Santa (Holy Week) rituals, and the girls and i were happy to come along!

disembarking from the plane in Sevilla shortly after 8 PM --
look how light it is! 

Sevilla (anglicized as Seville) is an unbelievably beautiful port city on Spain's southern coast with a fascinating history as it traded hands from the ancient Romans to the Muslim caliphat in the 8th century to the Christian kingdom of Castile in the 13th century. it was from Sevilla that Magellan set out on his successful mission to circumnavigate the globe, and through Sevilla that plundered treasures from the New World arrived. the city has captivated artists, poets, and composers. one of its longstanding traditions involves the celebration of Holy Week, when more than 60 lay fraternities known as cofradías march in long penitential processions winding around the city. each cofradía is affiliated with a particular church and has a particular set of elaborate wooden floats (pasos), depicting Mary or Jesus, that are borne around the city. these processions are fairly ubiquitous around Spain and Latin America, but in Sevilla, the floats (which can weigh up to a ton!) are carried on the backs of the heads of the penitents themselves, rather than being wheeled or supported on the shoulders. Sevilla is also famous for its musicians; each cofradía has at least one, sometimes two or three, brass bands that precede the penitents. 

stock photo of the costaleros underneath the float. they wear special turbans to protect their heads and necks.
the leader uses a series of signals (either vocal prompts or a series of
taps with a special hammer on the float) to tell them when to walk, stop, and turn. 

when we arrived at the Sevilla airport on Monday evening of Holy Week, i had researched a bus which would take us all the way into the center of the town, from where we could walk to check into our Airbnb. however, the bus stopped about halfway through the journey and the driver told us we all had to disembark because the roads were shut down for the processions! thankfully, my Italian data plan works in Spain, so i was able to message our Airbnb host to say we'd be checking in later than planned since we would need to walk the rest of the way. and then a steady stream of messages followed, because we kept getting stuck behind barricades! it seemed that different processions were marching down every single major street that we needed to cross, and it was difficult to maneuver through the crowds, especially with the stroller and our suitcase. our Airbnb host was very gracious and thankfully understood the situation (because she lives here!), so as we still gradually made our way in the right direction, we stopped to enjoy the atmosphere. 

first, a super fancy dinner of hot dogs (the girls wanted theirs just plain;
Nick and i wanted all the fixings!), using the suitcase as a table

we caught a glimpse of this float moving out from one of the churches. 

the massive Cathedral of Sevilla with crowds gathered to watch the procession.
the people in white robes with the cone hats are penitents, wearing the traditional garb
worn for hundreds of years as a way to ensure that they are not drawing attention
to their own act of piety. to our American eyes, the immediate association
with the Ku Klux Klan is not at all accurate; the KKK stole the idea for these outfits
to protect their identities for obviously nefarious reasons. 

10 PM, outside the cathedral

as the first float approached, the crowd immediately hushed. 

these floats are decorated with dozens of real wax candles and floral arrangements.
the float sways back and forth with each fluid step of the costaleros. 

the only way to truly understand what it was like is to see a video. here's a compilation of the processions we saw that night: 

we finally made it to the Airbnb shortly before midnight, and it was absolutely amazing -- a large two-story apartment with a balcony overlooking one of the main streets. of course, we were all full of energy and excitement so it took a while for the girls to fall asleep.

the next morning, we were back out on the balcony to watch the sun play over the pastel-colored buildings of the city. while the girls played in the Airbnb, i headed out to pick up some breakfast and a few other groceries. 

Greta found this flamenco-style apron in the kitchen! 

notice the intricately braided palm frond above the doorway of the church!

we then headed out to visit the Cathedral. on our way, we stopped into a small church to view some of the pasos that would be carried in processions later on that day. 

it is truly sensory overload - the gilt, the fabric, the flowers, the intricately patterned candelabras...

"i want one of those!" 

finally, we made it to the cathedral, which is the largest Gothic church in the world. it was built on the site of an 12th-century mosque, and the original bell tower (the Giralda) remains. at the time it was completed in the 16th century, it became the largest cathedral in the world (larger than the Hagia Sophia). even though St. Peter's Basilica in Rome is larger, Seville's Cathedral is still utterly jaw-dropping. to put it in perspective, it takes up over two acres.

entrance into the cathedral. the choir occupies the middle space,
so from this vantage point it's hard to get a sense of the scale of the entire church!

Cece was in the Ergo on my back, sooo a lot of these pictures turned out blurry since
she has a penchant for kicking her legs out just as i snap the photo. that aside, you
can still appreciate the scale of this incredible candelabra, made between 1559-1564. 

detail of the side chapel

the Altar de Plata is designed to look like a monstrance (the sunburst-shaped vessel used to display
the Blessed Sacrament for adoration). this sculpture is made from over 5,000 pounds of silver taken from
the New World by conquistadores. soooo.... cool and not cool. 

interior of the choir, with richly carved wooden stalls

the vault of the cathedral, which has collapsed three times already (!) 

one of the cathedral's most famous treasures is its massive altarpiece, called a retablo or a reredos. the altarpiece was carved out of walnut and chestnut over a period of 80 years (1481-1564). the sculptures depict the life of Christ. the figure of Jesus on the crucifix at the top is six feet tall!

approaching the main altar and retablo

looking through the grate at the carvings

the detail is mesmerizing!

the statue of Mary and Baby Jesus is 750 years old

a side chapel contains this sepulcher with the remains of Archbishop D. Gonzalo de Mena,
who died in 1401. 

Vision of St. Anthony, by Murillo (1656). ironically, St. Anthony had to help recover his own
lost painting when it was stolen in 1874. 

the baptistery 

an 800-year-old pennant flown from the top of the mosque-turned-cathedral in 1248 by King Ferdinand III,
who united the kingdoms of Castile and Leon to expel the Moors from Sevilla.

the gravestone for Ferdinand Columbus, Christopher's second son.

Guardian Angel, by Murillo

  

the chapel of the Virgen de la Antigua, a 14th-century painting housed in the original
mihrab of the mosque -- the horseshoe-shaped alcove that points toward Mecca. 

flags from all the countries of the New World where sailors voyaged
under the protection of the Virgin

another must-see sight inside the cathedral is the purported tomb of Christopher Columbus. in fact, DNA testing has matched the remains inside the tomb to the remains of Columbus' son, so chances are good that it really is him inside! (he was buried in northwestern Spain in 1506, and then his body was moved all over the place - to the Dominican Republic and to Cuba and finally to the cathedral.)

we ducked into the sacristy to admire the beautiful masonry. the focal point of the room is a monstrance that weighs almost 1000 pounds and is paraded through the streets on Corpus Christi. 

finally, it was time to climb the Giralda! the bell tower stands 330 feet tall. to reach the top, you ascend 35 graded ramps that were built to accommodate a religious man riding a donkey up to ring the bells for the Muslim call to prayer five times daily.

we were rewarded with this view over the city!

from the Giralda, you get a better sense of just how huge the cathedral is!

goofy girl

on the way back down - not too much room to maneuver!

 back outside the cathedral, we stopped for a few pictures before planning our next move.

this wooden crocodile hanging over the exit is a replica of a real stuffed
crocodile that was given to the Christian king Alfonso the Wise in 1260 by
the sultan of Egypt. 

the figure on top of the Giralda is a weather vane in the shape of an angel

in the nearby Church of the Salvador, we were able to see several of the pasos, as well as the intricately decorated side chapels. 

the Virgen de Las Aguas

following this, it was high time for some lunch. we grabbed sandwiches from a street vendor and couldn't resist a cone of filled with chunks of crispy ham. seriously, people always rave about the food in Italy but we were all about the Spanish cuisine! 

Cecilia living her best life

ah, that Mediterranean sky...

we heard the sound of drumming nearby and headed over to the street to watch another procession march past. this time, there were lots of kids participating (although without wearing the masked headdresses). the kids handed out candy and prayer cards to spectators. it only took a few minutes before Greta and Cece caught on and started holding out their cupped hands. pretty soon we had amassed quite the collection of swag! once again, we were completely blown away by the caliber (and quantity!) of the musicians. it is truly an incredible cultural experience.

first sighting of the procession!

i slathered these girls in sunscreen!

each card depicts one of the pasos 

a young penitent getting a little help from his dad. many of the older kids
wore the traditional hood, but with the front piece flipped up to help them see
and avoid getting too hot on this scorching day.

this cofradia carried a banner reading "SPQR", the traditional slogan of Rome
(Senatus Populusque Romanus, meaning "The Senate and the people of Rome")

Cecilia scores again!

i think she was a little bummed to get a holy card instead of candy

the men in white are the costaleros. you can see the special towel headdress they wear
to support the weight of the pasos

spotted: the costaleros' feet underneath the paso!

finally, we headed back to the apartment so the girls could relax and play for a bit. on our way back, we stopped by a souvenir store that had children's flamenco dresses on sale... and we just couldn't resist. as i write this almost a year later, i can stand by this purchase as they wear them frequently for dress up or just around the house! 

Nick stayed with the girls while i went out to explore on my own for a bit. i walked over to the Triana neighborhood across the river, following Rick Steves' self-guided walk. Triana is a colorful working class neighborhood, and as i walked around, i felt like i was dogging the footsteps of the characters in James Michener's Miracle in Seville. 

the skyscraper is controversial because no building in Seville is supposed to surpass the height of
the Giralda, but the developers weaseled their way around that since it's not within
the historic city center

the Capilla del Carmen

this area is famous for its ceramic shops

i loved the detail on these balconies

the Chapel of the Mariners, home to one of Seville's two most famous Virgin Mary pasos: Nuestra
Senora de la Esperanza de Triana (Our Lady of Hope of Triana). locals declare stalwart allegiance
to either Our Lady of Triana or to her arch-rival, the Virgen de la Macarena across town. 

according to traditional custom, you can climb a set of steps behind her and gently touch
your holy cards to her robes. of course i had to do it!

the celebratory flower arrangements are incredibly beautiful themselves!

the bar Santa Ana is a fixture in Michener's novel. the decor reflects equal devotion to bullfighting
and to Our Lady of Triana. 

headed back across the river, i spotted the Torre del Oro, a military watchtower
built in the 13th century 

i had told Nick i would be back around six o'clock. it was just a few minutes til six and if i walked quickly, i could make it back by about ten after. i started down the shortest route according to Google Maps and then ran smack dab into another procession. 

i watched for a few minutes, and then tried to find away through the crowds. it seemed every route i tried was blocked off for some reason or another. finally, i followed a stream of people through a department store, which seemed to be the unofficial way to circumvent the closed roads! 

another costalero sighting!

i finally made it back to the apartment and relaxed on the balcony with the local brew. watch the video below to see the costaleros hoist a float up, and then to see our prime time viewing position from our apartment balcony. 

not bad!

8 PM... no wonder the Spaniards don't usually eat dinner until 9 or 10!

we met up with a group of seminarians for dinner at a small traditional restaurant. apparently i failed to get any pictures of our meal, which is sad because it was delicious! the girls insisted on wearing their flamenco dresses and, of course, had to accessorize with their new fans.

after we got home and got the girls to bed, Nick went out to see more processions. during the three days leading up to Easter, the processions go literally all night long, but even now on Holy Tuesday, several of them were marching late into the night. 

11:35 PM

i fell asleep around midnight, only to be awakened around 1 AM by drums and a haunting brass melody. i raced out to the balcony to watch the procession snake through the streets, and eventually fell back asleep to the sound of the distant drumbeat. having spent just over 24 hours in Sevilla, we were already completely enamored with this city.