[Gocamino] The BIGGIE! Guys Holy Week in Seville. Santiago

[Sue Kenney]

Rosina

Through the sharing of your passion and experience we are all inspired and 
informed. Thank you. Your descriptions are so vivid and alive that I feel as 
though I am there.

I'm truly honoured that these celebrations have been dedicated to the 
pilgrims. It's a reminder that when the Camino ends, the journey begins 
again and again. Even when it seems as though the path is far from my world 
in Canada, I realize it's with me all the time.

Easter blessings from snow covered Toronto.

Sue
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rosina" <blaroli at aol.com>
To: <saintjames at yahoogroups.com>; <GOCAMINO at oakapple.net>
Cc: <acaciopaz at yahoo.com.br>
Sent: Sunday, March 23, 2008 12:04 AM
Subject: [Gocamino] The BIGGIE! Guys Holy Week in Seville. Santiago


>
> The 56 official processions in Santiago commence in individual 
> neighborhood parishes and make their way through their dressed-up 
> neighborhoods to the “official route” that starts twenty blocks or so from 
> the Cathedral which all processions must enter. . Each procession has an 
> image of Jesus, at one stage of the Passion or another, and of Mary. The 
> images are placed on “pasos” (floats) which are hundred of years old and 
> beautifully carved and adorned. The floats are borne by men who carry them 
> on beams resting on their necks and held by their arms. Those men are 
> called “costaleros” (sack users) because of the costales (sacks) which 
> they roll around their necks to protect them. The costaleros are 
> underneath the floats and cannot see outside them. They vary in number 
> from 28 to 56 and go, in rows, under the floats literally shoulder to 
> shoulder, in perfect unison, with only about six inches between the toe of 
> one and the heel of the one in front. They are directed by “capataces”, 
> leaders, outside the floats who encourage them and direct them through the 
> warren-like cobbled streets of Seville. Sometimes they turn the corners 
> with only a couple of inches to spare…… It is spell-binding. The 
> costaleros bear an avergage weight of 20 kgms. (44 pounds) on their necks 
> for about six or so hours before they are relieved. The air is scarce 
> under the floats and the effort immense; they can carry the floats for 
> only 10 minutes or so before stopping. When they stop for a few minutes 
> they may sit down and have some water (although many suspect that the 
> water jugs contain more than water).
>
> In centuries past “costaleros” used to be drafted from the shipyards 
> nearby and paid. Today such labor is highly honorary and distinctive and 
> passed from father to son. Applicants for the positions are about twenty 
> times as many as spaces available.
>
> They practice all year…. usually with double the weight that they will 
> eventually carry, under the (very) critical eye of their confraternity 
> powers-that-be.
>
> The most significant processions are those who take to the streets of 
> Seville from midnight to the dawn of Good Friday. This is in observation 
> of the 13 hours that elapsed between Jesus’ arrest, His trial by the 
> rabbis of the Sanhedrin at the Jerusalem Temple where he was condemned to 
> death, the ratification of the death sentence by the Roman Procurator, 
> Pontius Pilate, and His execution by crucifixion at Mount Calvary.
>
> The most significant Confraternities come out that night: Gran Poder, 
> Triana and the Macarena, among others.
>
> In the site below, when the letters denoting the days come out, press on 
> the second M which stands for “Madruga” (Andalucian for Madrugada, or 
> dawn). Go to the Icon for the second Triana and you’ll see, and hear, a 
> most masculine, and gorgeous, Holy Week participation. The float depicts 
> Jesus faltering under the Cross and being led by a Roman soldier on a 
> horse. The images were carved a few hundred years ago and the face of 
> Jesus in that float is one of the prettiest ever. (In fact, I have a 
> painting of that face on tiles in my bedroom, at one side of my bed…. On 
> the other side I have, of course, a tiled painting of the Macarena).
>
> The music that you will hear accompanying the float will blow your mind…. 
> Really. You will hear the “capataz” encouraging the costaleros by telling 
> them to lift the float “to heaven” in honor of costaleros past, some of 
> whom are already in heaven, looking down. The choreography that the 
> costaleros achieve must be seen to be believed. The applause from the tens 
> of thousands standing in the streets and hanging out of the balconies, at 
> what must be about 3:00 a.m.,is for the costaleros.
>
> If you can take some more excitement, go back and click on the first 
> “Triana”…. You will hear that the band was replaced, in part, by a choral 
> group of confraternity members singing to their Virgin/.
>
> And lastly, in that group, you can see, my very own Macarena, and hear one 
> of the hundreds of “marches” written for her.
>
> The “Grand Poder” is something else…… that demands a separate message.
>
>
>
> By the way, the Holy Week celebrations in Seville this year are dedicated 
> to Santiago, patron Saint of Spain, and to its piilgrims.
>
>
>
> Happy Easter everyone.
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Pulse a http://www.pasionensevilla.tv/index.php/Videos.html
>
> After you're on that page, you can double-click on the DLMXJMVSRG banner 
> to change days...
>
> D gets you the videos for Domingo de Ramos, L selects Lunes Santo, M is 
> Martes Santo, etc.
>
> The page shows up by default on Domingo, so there are a huge number of 
> other videos available.
>
> I'm happy you're so immersed in the grandest of the Semana Santa 
> celebrations in Spain.
>
> Thank you for sharing it with us.
>
> Abrazos,
>
> Grant
>
> Grant Spangler
> GASpangler at hotmail.com
> http://groups.msn.com/ElCaminoSantiago
> http://community.webshots.com/user/ElCaminoSantiago
>
>
>
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