Let’s start with a quiz. What is the most expensive period in Malaga?
When does the city receive the most visitors?
I’m 99% sure you haven’t guessed correctly! But for those of you who have, congratulations!
A million visitors in a week.
So it’s not summer, it’s not Christmas, it’s Holy Week. It´s the time that Antonio Banderas returns to his home town in order to participate in the processions and lift the “throne”
So the city is getting ready for this Week. Stands are set up like little grandstands for people to see the processions. The processions (procesiones) are the hallmark of Holy Week.
From Palm Sunday to Resurrection (Easter) Sunday, the streets of Malaga are bustling with malagueños and throne tourists.
But what are the thrones? If you have the procession of the epitaph in your mind, then you’re thinking of miniatures. Thrones, in essence, are huge structures that can be made of gold wood or silver nickel , with beautifully decorated icons on them depicting scenes from the Passion of Christ. They are decorated with flowers and candles. It is not just an image that wanders around.
The throne of the Virgen de la Esperanza, for example, weighs about 4.1 tonnes, with poles almost 14 metres long and more than 4 metres wide and more than 6 metres high (when standing). The thrones are carried on the shoulders of about 300 people, depending on the size and weight of the throne. The persons carrying the throne are considered to be doing penance in this way. But it is not the throne alone
In general:
The Cross appears first, which is essentially the one that opens the procession. Next is the banner/fraternity flag and that of the icon. Then there are the children.
Usually followed by lines of Nazarenes dressed according to the fraternity. Don’t be alarmed if you see them dressed in the special way of the photos. I was scared, but they just look like them.
The bell. It’s the signal for the stops and starts, it takes a lot of breaks with such a heavy load.
But the procession isn’t just made up of these parts, and there’s a protocol by which each fraternity’s procession is set up.
We’re not done, though. The throne is followed by a slightly smaller one, the throne of the Virgin Mary. Why? Because a mother never abandons her child….
There is, of course, the band that sets the stage. This is the fraternity band , like during Holy Week in Corfu where the bands from the parishes come out. The people who make up the band are called cofrades and are dressed in the appropriate uniform.
Important:
On Good Wednesday, in the Plaza de Obispo, a pardon is given to a prisoner. The Prisoner must not have comited a crime of blood. The fraternity suggests to the authorities whom they would like to be pardoned. With the agreement of the authorities, the prisoner who has been pardoned is announced on Good Wednesday in front of the whole world. This is done on the steps of the Cathedral, Manquita.
Don’t miss the above thrones:
El Cautivo, La policlínica, María Santísima de la Esperanza, Sepulcro, El Cristo de la Buena Muerte, Cristo de la Mena.
This is therefore the most festive period in the city. Thousands of people come to admire the thrones. The truth is that after such events of religious faith , I thought that the week would go by in a very calm and solemn rhythm with the shops closing early and the bars too. Well, the exact opposite is happening. People are out, restaurants are buzzing and the bars were closing at 7am, thanks to Holy Week I have to admit that the first night, I found this a little strange but then I got into the rhythm. It was my most intense week and definitely my most memorable Easter.
