[Gocamino] Saint James in Seville

[Blaroli@aol.com]

Hello you all,
I've gotten a lot of messages with questions about Seville and Holy Week.  I 
think it is appropriate to answer here since Saint James does appear.  I'll 
try to give a brief and simple description of the doings, with the caveat that 
talking Holy Week in Seville to those who haven't been there is as difficult as 
talking about the emotional impact of walking the Caiman to those who haven't 
gone through it.  Well, anyway:

Seville was chosen by the Romans as their main site in the Iberian Peninsula 
with such prominence that two Roman Emperors hailed from it.  The province 
took to Christianity in the fourth century with great zeal. Over the centuries 
the Sevillians developed a very special closeness to, and affection for,  the 
Virgin Mary.  Pope John Paul II, who died a year ago today, once said that 
Seville is the most Marian (devoted to Mary) of all cities.  The Pope himself was 
an intense  Marian; you may remember that his simple pine coffin was adorned 
only with a small etched cross and, under the cross, the letter "M," for Mary.
Because Mary, like an ideal mother, inspires homage, and flowers, and songs, 
and acclamations,  Seville has lots and lots of churches, lots of fairs 
celebratory of Mary  and lots of carved images of Mary.
Some years ago  my  high (?)  Episcopalian  sister-in-law, Kathleen  went 
with me to Seville for Holy Week was pretty put out by the "Idolatry"  that 
brought tears to the eyes of the onlookers, (until someone from England pointed out 
to her  that in looking at and showing the pictures of her children she got 
also misty-eyed); and then she said that she couldn't understand why people 
were making such fuss over Mary since, after all, "it was Jesus who had been 
crucified". Again, someone pointed out to her that the twenty years or so that 
Mary survived Jesus were a form of intense suffering for her.... the  dagger 
through her heart. that had been forewarned in the annunciation, and that Mary 
held together and nurtured the Apostles, particularly St. John and St. James.
Whether these "intellectual" explanations satisfied  Kathleen or not, the 
fact is that in a couple of days she was as much into the deep emotions of Holy 
Week in Seville as I was.
And so it goes.
Well, of the hundreds of churches in Seville 54 had earned the right to have 
a procession during Holy Week. Each church has an "Hermandad" (cofraternity); 
in order to join it one must be a Catholic in a reasonable state of grace and 
must prove that one, in fact, devotes time and effort as a volunteer to 
charitable endeavors.
Each church  marches in the procession with, as a rule, two "pasos" (floats 
with life-size images); one of the pasos represents a particular happening in 
the Passsion, and the second is Mary under a palio which has about 100 large 
candles up front, is covered with flowers fashioned by hand out of wax and has 
graceful milti-candle holders in the back that sway gracefully in the wind.  
Unless the Passion scene shows Christ crucified, the pasos are followed by their 
own bands which play unbearably beautiful music.  The members of the 
Hermandad go before each Paso as "Nazarenos", in a habit with a hooded cap, (a fashion 
made infamous by the KKK, and which preceded that nefarious institution by 
several centuries)  forming  lines and carrying very large (and heavy) candles 
at an angle. Behind each Paso come "Penitentes" ", that is brothers or, now, 
sisters, who also wear the same habit and hooded hat, but the tip of the hat is 
not upright, but falls to the back of the head, and they carry wooden crosses. 
Sometimes there may be a penitent that is carrying as many as seven 
crosses.... . Whether to go as a "Nazareno" or a "Penitente" is entirely up to the 
brother or sister.  The purpose of the hoods is to follow the Gospels' 
prescription that when one prays or does good work  one should do it in such anonymous 
manner that 'the right hand should not know what the left does'.
While cities all over Spain have processions, including Santiago (and I hear 
that the ones in Leon are particularly noteworthy), the ones in Seville are 
more esteemed because their Pasos, and the images,  are works of art that are 
very old, and a marvel to behold in their details. Further, except for a few 
small towns in Andalusia, the Pasos in Seville are carried by unseen men.  These 
carriers are called "costaleros", a term derived from the word "costal" which 
is a large sack made out of hemp.  In ancient times the costaleros would roll 
up the ""costales""" and put them around the back of their necks which is 
where they support the beams that hold the Pasos.  Each Paso is carried by between 
24 and 58 costaleros, depending on the size and weight of the Paso.  Each 
costalero is underneath the paso, shoulder-to shoulder with the others, and must 
measure and coordinate his steps to be about ten inches from the guy behind 
and the one in front.  The Paso is supported by beams which the costaleros 
support on the back of their necks.  The average costalero carries about 70 pounds 
in this manner for ten or so hours.  At the edge of the pasos there are 
curtains that cover the costaleros.  The only thing that can be seen is their feet, 
moving or shuffling in perfect syncopation.  They know when to stop, move, 
lift up the pasos, rest, etc., by a leader who shouts the orders from the front, 
and his helpers.  At the front of the paso there is a silver hammer, which the 
leader ("capataz") hits when it is time to lift the Paso and go. Months and 
months before Holy Week the costaleros rehearse and reharse with Pasos which 
weigh 150% of the ones that they will carry.
In ancient times the costaleros used to be hired from river teamsters and 
were paid for their labors.  Today only brothers can be costaleros, and it is a 
very much sought-after honor... They enjoy a great deal of popularity which is, 
in my view, much deserved.  Seville has very narrow streets, and to see those 
Pasos move and turn corners  with but a few centimeters leeway on either side 
is extraordinary.
The processions start out from their neighborhood church  and all of them 
must transverse the "Official Route" which begins at a park called "The Campana 
(The Bell), goes through a pedestrian shopping street made famous by Cervantes 
and other authors- called "Sierpes", passes in front of City Hall and then 
goes through an Avenue until it reaches the Cathedral. The procession, and the 
Nazarenes and Penitents (not the band), go through the immense Cathedral, come 
out through the front and then return to the home church. Naturally, their 
neighborhood is all decked out and the streets are lined with onlookers.  When a 
procession is passing by it make take at least 30 minutes to cross a street.... 
sometimes it cannot be done and one just has to wait.
Except for the first and last processions, and the ceremonial ones on Holy 
Thursday and Good Friday.... there is no Passion-order to the Pasos.  The first 
one is the "Borriquita"  (she-ass) which has Jesus, on a donkey, entering 
Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  The flloat is huge, with fourteen or so life-size 
images. It starts out with Jesus on the donkey, then those waiving palms, and it 
ends with a huge palm tree underneath which stands Santiago. This procession is 
quite lively because the Nazarenes are all children (they have no penitents), 
wearing a white habit with the Santiago Cross in front and back.
The processions begin arriving at the Cathedral at about 6 or 7 p.m., an d 
keep on coming until ll or 12. There may be 8 or 9 in one evening.
The most important ones, however, come at dawn on Good Friday morning. Most 
Sevillians and visitors stay up all night to wait for them.  The first one 
arrives at about 3:30 a.m., and the last on at about 8:00 a.m.  This is the most 
important occasion during the week, and it is simply known as "La Madruga", 
with the accent on the last a, which is Andalusian Spanish for La Madrugada, 
which means "The Dawn".
The number of people in each procession may vary from 500 to 4,000. The 
largest one is those of "El Senhor del Grand Poder", which is a 16th century 
image.... representing the very essence of human soul pain . The king and prince of  
Spain are brothers and the Prince often marches, unseen, of course, with the 
Nazarenos . The second largest is the "Macarena", which represents the 
Hermandad of our Lady of Hope Macarena, and the third largest is the Triana, which 
represents Our Lady of Hope Triana.  These two are always trying to outdo one 
another.  They are both breath taking; while I am personally most affectionately 
devoted to the Macarena (the only image of all of them carved by a woman, way 
back in the 1600s) I must admit that the Pasos of Triana are hugely 
impressive. Moreover, the Virgin of Triana is the Patroness of the Spaniard Navy. Since 
Triana is across the river, the Pasos have to come over the bridge, at ab out 
2:00 a.m., and many navy ships converge near the bridge and illuminate the 
procession with search lights from their decks.  The bridge is, of course, 
chock-full of people, and it actually sways.
While these processions go by,  they are showered with flowers and 
compliments, and  quite often, an onlooker will sing a "saeta" (arrow piercing a heart) 
which is an impromptu heart-rending song of great beauty.
When these Pasos arrive at the Cathedral, or pass by, the soul within those 
waiting for them enlarges and sings and cries at the same time.  I can only 
compare the experience, a little bit, to what pilgrims feel the first time they 
see the Botafumeiro after just finishing the Camino.
For practical approaches:  There are guides to Holy Week with a listing of 
the processions everywhere.  But since it is often impossible to get anywhere 
near them around the official route, it is a good idea to purchase the newspaper 
"El Diario" which every day includes a booklet showing the actual routes 
followed by each procession, and the times, before they get to, or after they 
leave, the Official  Route.  It is also possible to "buy" chairs on the Official 
Route, either for one day or the whole week.  They are folding wooden chairs 
which are numbered and strictly controlled by the Municipal authorities.  
Walking around the official route before 3 p.m. or so, one may see those who sell 
the chairs at various points of the route.  The best sites are, of course, 
subscribed by the same people year after year.  I only know the price for the whole 
week, which is 95 Euros (about $130 Dlls.)
Lastly, while women had been able to join the Hermandades for many years, 
they have only been allowed to march in the processions for 3 or 4 years.  One 
may distinguish them by the small hands, although the hands are gloved, and, 
principally by the feet. 
On Palm Sunday there is particularly beautiful procession that goes through 
the Park... the Palio of the Virgin is preceeded  by 42 man on white horses, 
marchin in perfect step while playing the side drums and trumpets. That is 
something else!. That is the procession of the Virgen de la Paz.....which is lovely 
as the Palio goes through the trees under the ever-so-blue sky.  At this time 
of the years the trees in Seville are heavy with oranges and lemons and there 
are flowers everywhere, which make the out-of-this-worldness of the whole 
thing even more so.

I'll be leaving on Thursday night, so if any of you has any other questions 
you may wish to ask them before then, I'll be delighted to answer them as well 
as I can.

Regards, 

Rosina