Semana Santa: The sacred vacation of a devoted Spaniard

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Nazarenos in Spanish Holy Calendar week Procession. Photo past Quino Al on Unsplash

Growing up, my heritage has e'er been a bit difficult to explicate. I was born in Madrid, Spain like my mother, merely was raised in Levittown, Puerto Rico, similar my father. To my parents, our heritage was always an of import thing to go along up with, and having more than one, it is e'er hard to do and so. Since I spent nearly of my upbringing in Puerto Rico, I honor Puerto Rican traditions more than Spanish ones.

Just my mother made certain that my Spanish roots never slipped my mind, past having us celebrate holidays similar Semana Santa.

Semana Santa translates to "Holy Week," and information technology is the annual tribute of the passion of Christ, an event referring to the week of the crucifixion (execution) and resurrection (rebirth) of Jesus in the Bible. The Holy Week falls on Apr 5 through April 12 this year. Every city in Kingdom of spain during the week performs a penance procession to celebrate the last week of Lent which happens right before Easter Sunday. Penance procession is a parade by members of "nazarenos" or men that belong to a religious brotherhood called cofradias, they parade around the city with pointed hoods and long robes.

On this special occasion, each city in Espana is defined by their beautiful partake in the processions during Semana Santa. The master festivity, all the same, is the brandish of religious art showcased in floats within lavish decorations.

Nazarenos in Spanish Holy Week Procession. Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash

Many artists, musicians and writers employ the week as inspiration to recreate religious paintings or to utilise the week every bit a background in their creations. An artist whose works speak to me and my experience during Semana Santa is painter Nicholas de Lacy-Dark-brown. My personal favorite piece of work of his are paintings in which he uses the nazarenos as inspiration in an oil painting. Through these artworks, he took the opportunity to debunk the myth of nazarenos having anything to do with the Ku Klux Klan because of their pointy hoods. He fifty-fifty wrote an opinion piece to describe how and why he used Semana Santa as an inspiration for his painting.

Paintings like these are viewed all around the world and have inspired many to travel to Spain to personally experience the beauty of Semana Santa. As this is a religious holiday Spaniards accept seriously, the arts created for the celebration is 1 of the appeals that concenter visitors to Spain. Each year tourists leaders provide travelers with guides and maps and so they can successfully follow Semana Santa celebrations throughout the country.

To citizens similar my family and I who do non get to take part in the festivities in our native Spain, we celebrate Semana Santa by devoting ourselves to Lent. This is the time when we requite up something in our lives for 40 days and 40 nights, the same corporeality of time Jesus Christ gave upward nutrient and drink against Satan's temptation.

During Lent, some might use this time to reach a goal by giving upwards their chosen activity or material. Others may not specifically surrender something but even so accolade Lent by avoiding the consumption of meat on Fridays and take the time to be at peace mentally and spiritually.

The author (eye) with her mom and sis. Photograph courtesy: Maria Guerrero Garcia

I take this time to reflect on the stories my female parent told me about her experience of Semana Santa while living in Spain. Since everyone is supposed to stay at home to either pray or hang out with family during this time, my mom and her sister would come up with creative ways on how to spend the holiday. For example, they wrote down what they would like to personally accomplish throughout the holiday and so they could pray about it together. They also draw paintings and religious pictures based on what they saw during the nazarenos parade.

Growing upward, my female parent would show us videos and pictures of the festivities happening in Spain during Semana Santa. She would encourage my sister and I to pray about our goals together just like she did with her sister, equally she believed it is a skilful mode for us to bond. As kids, Lent was the time we were non allowed to do anything that would be considered to be fun, so being bored was almost a guarantee. To distract ourselves, we would recollect about the new outfits we would wear to church during the outset Sunday later Easter; the new outfits in this occasion represent a new beginning.

To me, Semana Santa isn't just a religious Spanish tradition. This is a week that reminds me of half my culture and a way for me to stay connected to the religion I was raised with. To some, New year'southward Day is the time where you should plan to restart your life in some way or accomplish a new goal. Nonetheless for me, Semana Santa is the best time to exercise so, as it makes me put my goal into action while also reflecting on my spirituality.

These types of holidays are what gives me pride in the different heritages I have. These holidays provide me with a sense of peace, pride and ultimately they allow me to stay connected with my civilization, a culture my mother told me to never forget.