Semana Santa: Anticipation with Participation

¡Buenos días a tod@s!

As the everyone in the Jumillan community were waiting anxiously for the arrival of Semana Santa (Holy Week) 2011, I really wasn´t sure what to anticipate, but I sure was curious.  This year was the 600th anniversary of the celebration of Semana Santa so I made sure that I would be staying in Jumilla for the entirety of the 'Holy Week'.  Each procession represents a different event between the death of Christ and his resurrection. Below is a typical 'imagen' that around 20-30 people would carry on their shoulders.  Totally awesome.

A calling from Jesús...
It just so happens to be that a friend of mine named Jesús has marched in the processions about every year, so he has an authentic costume passed down through his family.  He mentioned that he has the stamp to be a legitimate part of the procession and he said he wasn't going to march this year and asked if I'd like to dress up and march in the procession on Thursday evening of Semana Santa.  If you know me, you know exactly how I responded...''¡¿Joder tío, me dices en serio?  Me encantaría salir!'' (excuse the language)  Wow! This is amazing, I never imagined I would actually march in a procession, ever!  I marched as a Nazareno, or Capurucho, in the Hermandad de Cristo amarrado a la columna.  It ended up hailing and raining a lot this year and unfortunately they had to cancel several processions and resulted in about 80% of all the 'imagenes' needing restauration.  Luckily after an hour rain delay we were able to march and right as we got to the end it started to pour!

The experience was unforgettable.  I was pretty nervous at the beginning because of the unique experience, oh and the whole 600 year anniversary thing!  The part I enjoyed the most is when giving people some treats, speaking them in broken Spanish or if it was my students or their families, I threw out a 'Hello!'.  Their faces lit up and immediately asked me about it the first day back at class.  Nonetheless a great experience for everyone! If you ever get asked to 'salir en una procesión' please take my word and do it, you won't regret it!

See you soon!