Semana Santa in Sevilla
May 16th, 2014 by willmarks
If your family is Jewish and Christian, why not combine a trip to Israel with a Semana Santa trip to Sevilla? Yes, Semana Santa (Holy Week) in southern Spain is a colossal fiesta, with mayhem during the few days leading up to Easter. While Spain is close to 95% Catholic, we don’t notice it in Barcelona the way one does in more conservative Sevilla; of course Semana Santa takes the Catholic religion to a whole new level.
Less than a day of rest after returning from the Middle East we were back on our favorite Spanish low budget airline, Vueling, for the short flight from Barcelona to Sevilla. We checked in on Thursday (April 17) morning at the Petit Palace Santa Cruz, part of a small chain, with at least one unique room per hotel that sleeps 5; we first tested the brand in Madrid last fall.
The real reason for the trip, and for not spending extra time in Israel, was that our friend Natasha Dalzell Martinez and her daughter Sofia, who is in Ella’s Hamlin class, were visiting Natasha’s second home, where she has spent much of her life. There is no better way to visit a foreign city than to be hosted by a local.
Told to be dressed well, we quickly crossed town in our fine duds to meet them.
After enjoying some jamon at the apartment of Natasha’s parents, we walked over to the Semana Santa parade route and found a place to observe. Traditionally, women wear black dresses with mantillas (lace veils) on the Thursday ahead of Easter. (We don’t know these ladies.)
Ella and Maggie with friend Sofia, at the Thursday procession on the streets of Sevilla…
Now, for the explanation of what we watched, at times on both Thursday and Friday. First, the cofradías are essentially brotherhoods or churches, each with its own costume and procession, lasting at least 6 hours; Sofia is in a cofradía, and she marched on Friday. Nazarenos are those wearing the hoods (capirotes); they are penitents, and are members of the various cofradías. While it is a bit scary and seemingly wrong to us from the U.S., the costumes certainly have no evil meaning and have been a tradition for much longer than the despicable organization donning similar garb in our country; the capirote apparently symbolizes the desire to rise to or be closer to the heavens. Many of the Nazarenos carry candles; as they walk, during pauses every few minutes, they lower them toward children who try to form as large a ball of wax as possible at the end of a stick.
There is quality music, not happy notes, but the sound of sorrow, maybe as if someone has died (Jesus).
The floats (see below) are called pasos, and often each cofradía has two, one of the virgin, and the other Jesus. We were told that they can weigh up to 5 tons. They are carried on the shoulders of costaleros (hidden underneath), very large men, particularly in the neck and shoulder area. The slow walk while supporting the pasos must be quite a challenge, although there are legs under the pasos to allow for regular rests. Still, one look at the sizable and reddened neck and shoulders of a costalero and you know the job is difficult.
After a couple of hours of watching on Thursday evening, Max, Maggie and I left for dinner and found Restaurante Altamire in one of those touristy squares (Plaza de Santa María la Blanca) that we all know to avoid if searching for quality and value. As expected, the food was fair and the fare was pricey.
We stopped in to see our Barcelona friends the Swifts and Greens at their nearby hotel and then arrived back at ours after 11:00 p.m., expecting to see Evelyn and Ella, who had remained at the procession after our departure. Sevilla isn’t easy to navigate and they arrived after midnight, taking 90 minutes for what should be a 10 minute walk, wandering through the maze of pedestrian-friendly but confusing Sevilla, at one point being directed to one of the other Petit Palace Hotels.
We began Friday morning meeting Natasha and Sofia at Iglesia del Salvador, the second largest church in Sevilla, completed in 1712 on the remains of what had been the main Sevilla mosque, and prior to that a Roman building.
We were then given a tour of the city, stopping for a drink in the Jewish quarter, with its very narrow streets and pleasant cafes. There are just 20,000 Jews in Spain, out of a population of about 46 million. In Sevilla’s Juderia, the Jewish Quarter, there was a pogrom in 1391, when thousands of Jews were killed or driven from their homes. The Juderia soon became Barrio Santa Cruz (Holy Cross) as synagogues were converted to churches. Similar events took place across Spain. While Jews had been confined to specific neighborhoods before the 14th century, they had also been given protection by Spanish kings. But, after 1391, the situation worsened over the next century and in the late 15th century, Ferdinand and Isabella ordered that all remaining Jews in Spain convert or leave; the Spanish Inquisition lasted over 300 years.
We were invited to lunch at Natasha’s parents’ house, where they served gazpacho, omelette, and a blood sausage pie, as well as various meats. Then we were off to the procession, to see Sofia walk (although we didn’t recognize her).
We headed to La Bodega de la Alfalfa for tapas, really good food at a reasonable price with a fun ambience. But it was getting late; not sure if we will ever become accustomed to 10:00 p.m. Spanish dinners.
We kicked off Saturday morning with the Alcázar, using the Rick Steves book as our guide. He states that it was “originally a 10th-century palace built for the governors of the local Moorish state, this building still functions as a royal palace…the oldest in use in Europe.” He goes on to write that most of what we were seeing was a 14th-century rebuild by Moorish workmen for King Pedro I. After reading these words to MEM, I quizzed them, asking “which king renovated the palace?” Max looked up from wherever he was staring, glanced at the guidebook, and answered, “Rick Steves”?
At around that time, here is Max, enjoying the Alcázar’s smooth patio surface.
…in the palace gardens…
We liked this tapestry in the Alcázar showing Barcelona…
The cathedral in Sevilla is the 3rd largest church in Europe after St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s and the largest Gothic church anywhere according to King Rick Steves. It was a converted mosque, which was torn down in 1401, with the cathedral built over the next century, opening in the early 16th century.
Columbus is buried behind MEM, inside the cathedral.
We climbed the bell tower, part Moorish, part Christian (in the 16th century, Christians rebuilt the top of the tower), particularly interesting for its ramp, rather than stairway, to accommodate horses.
View from the top.
Perhaps our finest meal was at El Pimenton, where Max suggested we dine after gazing in from the street; while ordering our tapas, we found it ranked 38 of 1,438 on Trip Advisor and it certainly deserved a high ranking.
We strolled down to the river and napped briefly on the boardwalk, while Maggie modeled her new outfit.
Walking back to our hotel, we found the bullring, the Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla, apparently the oldest bullring in the world, completed in the second half of the 18th century. We missed a bullfight by one night, for better or worse; unlike in more liberal Catalunya, there are still bullfights held in the south of Spain. Outside the bullring is a statue of Francisco Romero Lopez, better known as Curro Romero, a famous torero from Seville.
Often we have needed Italian food, and this was one of those times. Great pizza and pasta at L’Oca Giuliva, #9 of 1,438 on Trip Advisor, followed up with churros and chocolate.
Spending extra time in Sevilla was a good move. We had considered staying just two days but the additional hours allowed us to move at a less frenzied, less American pace. On to Granada!
I AM SO FAMOUS!
i am bob the vampier!
GO CODING!
having you over was awesome!
You were amazing hosts!