The Slower Road

Today, of course, is Easter Sunday. Here in Sevilla, the day is marked by a single glorious procession. I (and thousands of other people, apparently) followed its slow, winding progress through town, and I managed to see it several times.

In addition to the scratch-and-sniff card I mentioned yesterday, I wish I could provide a good soundtrack of the music that accompanied the pasos and the marchers — it manages to sound ancient, eerie, majestic, and joyful, all at the same time.

But, once again, a few photos will have to do.

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The weather cooperated enough today (in fits and starts) for a hermandad to make its way through town with two pasos.

I’m not sure my words could do justice to one of these processions, so I’ll just leave you with photos and a video. I wish I could send you all a scratch-and-sniff card as well, so that you could smell the incense.

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Later in the evening (after yet another downpour), I happened to be near the cathedral and noticed that people were clearly congrating and waiting. It turns out that the same procession I had seen some four hours earlier had taken refuge in the cathedral during the worst of the rain and was now waiting for the weather to improve so it could leave there and process back to its home church.

We waited and waited — probably an hour or more — and finally the setting sun started to shine on the tops of the buildings. Among thousands of people, I had unwittingly managed to secure a perfect front-row spot to stand when the procession, with all candles blazing, headed out the cathedral doors and on its way. I had no proper camera with me, but I managed to capture these images of the two pasos with my phone.

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Happy Easter, everyone.

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Despite the fact that the scene above looks dry, to be outside today here in Sevilla, one definitely needed a raincoat, or an umbrella, or a good awning to stand under occasionally, or an accommodating store to duck into. We had brief periods of sunshine, punctuated by light rain, gray skies, rumbles of thunder, and several (brief) downpours. All of it was enough for all of today’s paso processions to be cancelled. I was fortunate to be at a friend’s house for most of the afternoon, and the local TV channels replayed their broadcasts of last year’s Good Friday processions. So I could still hear the music and the singing and see the incredible workmanship and beauty of the pasos and watch  them “dance” as they were carried through the streets.

[I am trying to post more photos here, and WordPress apparently doesn’t feel like cooperating at the moment. I’ll try again early tomorrow.]

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Tell me, dear blog readers: When was the last time you heard me talking about the rain in Spain? Why, the last time I was in Spain, of course. For a place that doesn’t (usually) get much rain, it sure does seem to rain a lot when I’m here in Sevilla.

It rained off and on yesterday afternoon, poured during the night, and has been pouring with rain off and on again this morning. And, yes, Sevilla’s Semana Santa processions are often cancelled if it rains, just like the carriage exhibitions in the bullring. Many of the pasos (“floats” with the Virgin Mary in fabulous robes and scenes from Holy Week) are centuries old.

I have yet, therefore, to see an actual Semana Santa procession. But I was privileged to go inside one of Sevilla’s oldest and most beautiful churches to see two of the pasos up close.

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And, I apologize, but I think I missed another day of posting to the blog. It was hard to keep track of the day/time from Wednesday morning (when I left Kentucky) until very late Thursday night (Thurs. evening at home), what with the travel time, the time-zone changes, and being (mostly) awake for nearly thirty-six hours. But I should be back on track now.

Later today, I’ll try to post some Semana Santa photos. Stay tuned!