Kizoa slideshow: Semana Santa - Slideshow
Semana Santa takes place the week before Easter to celebrate the last week of Jesus' life. While the week is very religious, it also has a strong cultural and fun aspect. People travel from all parts of the world to see the processions that take place in Sevilla during Semana Santa. The processions are of Baroque style, an artistic time period that overly exaggerates religious art. All of the processions are made of wood painted with gold and adorned with numerous gems. The Church's aim with Baroque style was to create an illusion of power and wealth during a time period of fear, rise of Protestantism, and economic decline in Spain.
The streets are flooded with people, food, and drinks. I loved the environment during Semana Santa, even though I am not a big fan of large crowds. Families and friends gather in the streets to watch the processions pass by, and then flock to restaurants for beer, coffee, torrijas or pestiños (special deserts during Semana Santa). I loved the social aspect of Semana Santa and the excitement in the streets.
As a foreigner, all of the processions looked pretty similar to me. Many of them were of the Virgen, or Jesus with Romans. Some of the processions told stories, while others just looked pretty. My host mom says that for Sevillanos, each procession has it's own meaning and importance.
Carried by men and women, the processions belong to various churches throughout Sevilla and surrounding towns. In fact, one town was supposed to walk various miles with the procession to Sevilla, but the walk was canceled due to the rain.
It actually rained all week. People were shown on TV crying because events were being cancelled. My host mom says that every year it rains during Semana Santa. Ironically, Sevilla has experienced barely any rain in the past few months, but it poured all week of Semana Santa.
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