Semana Santa

If the celebration of ‘Semana Santa’ or Holy Week in Spain is in itself an accumulation of sensations, this year’s Holy Week is going to be unique after two years without being able to be celebrated. A reference of religious and cultural expression, Easter Week in Spain has the qualification of National Tourist Interest (international in some cases) and was declared a Representative Manifestation of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2017.

The Holy Week begins on the first Sunday of the full moon during the spring equinox, which always takes place between the months of March and April. This year it starts on Sunday 10th of April or Palm Sunday and ends on Easter Sunday, which is 17th of April.

During the ‘Semana Mayor’ (Greater Week) different ‘pasos’ represent the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ and the streets are filled with the smell of incense, the colour of the ‘pasos’ with their embroidery and gold work and the costumes of the penitents, the sounds of the drums and trumpets of the bands of the brotherhoods and the ‘saetas’ of the fervent followers followed by silence and fervent devotion.
As we believe that living a Holy Week is a worthwhile experience, we take a look at the ones closest to us:

Ayamonte

Just a few steps away from AMA you can experience one of the most beautiful Holy Weeks in Andalusia.

The procession of ‘Padre Jesús de la Villa’ and ‘María Santísima del Socorro‘ on Thursday’s ‘madrugá’, which goes through the white and steep Barrio de la Villa, from dusk until dawn, in silence to the rhythm of the ‘horquetas’ and breathtaking ‘saetas’ with its bearers dressed in tunics and crown of thorns.

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Huelva

Holy Week in Huelva dates back to the 16th century. It was then that the first brotherhoods were created, such as the ‘Vera Cruz’, the ‘Santo Entierro’ and the ‘Nazareno’.
One of the most important days of the Holy Week in Huelva is the Saturday of the Passion, when the Christ of the True Cross is carried in procession with the Legion through the streets of the city from the Parish Church of the Immaculate Conception from 19:00 hs.
The following brotherhoods are particularly noteworthy: La Misericordia, El Perdón and, especially, El Nazareno (The Nazarene). Of the Marian images, the Virgins of the Victoria and Vírgenes de la Esperanza (Virgin of Victory and Virgin of Hope) are particularly noteworthy.

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Sevilla

It is said that Seville is the city that lives Holy Week most intensely in Spain. Its Holy Week is the most multitudinous and the best known outside Andalusia as it is classified as a Festival of International Tourist Interest.
In 2022 the Sevillians are preparing, with more enthusiasm than ever, for a Holy Week after two years without processions in the streets. We have to go back to 1933 to find the last historical precedent of the absence of more than 60 brotherhoods in the neighbourhoods of the Andalusian capital.

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From the ‘Viernes de Dolores’ or Good Friday (8 April) to Easter Sunday (17 April), thousands of people will accompany the images, the floats and the processions to the Holy Church Cathedral or through their neighbourhoods. Below is a sample of the many processions that will take place in the Andalusian capital:

  • On the night of ‘Jueves Santo’ or Maundy Thursday, the procession of Jesús del Gran Poder, a brotherhood that was born in 1431. Because of its magnitude and significance for the people of Seville, it is known as ‘The Lord of Seville’.
  • On ‘Viernes Santo’ or Good Friday afternoon, the procession of ‘El Cachorro’, the brotherhood of Triana, whose most outstanding moment is its passage over the Triana Bridge at dusk.
  • The departure of the Virgin ‘La Macarena’ from her basilica marks the beginning of the famous ‘Madrugá’ in which six brotherhoods process through the Andalusian capital on Good Friday. The Brotherhood of Nuestro Padre Jesús de la Sentencia and María Santísima de la Esperanza Macarena with their nazarenes in white tunics and green masks are particularly moving as they pass through the streets of Seville. The virgin of the chapel of the Marineros, Esperanza de Triana or Trianera, also makes her procession in the early hours of Friday morning.

We hope you experience and enjoy the upcoming Holy Week near AMA Residences Andalucía and that you tell us what does it make you feel.