Semana Santa, Museums, and Horses!

I am sorry to say that I haven’t able to get a blog post up each Sunday—it’s been more like every other Sunday. Holy Week was super busy, even though many businesses and all schools close, because it was a full-time job tracking the pasos! I joked with my Spanish teacher that no wonder schools close—Semana Santa is a full-time job! I almost pull up a spread sheet to get myself organized. Almost. Below is an example of one day of pasos. This is the skeleton outline, each road the paso travels to get to the next spot on this map is also a good place to catch a procession. A few times I ran into a paso without even meaning to (usually it was on my way to see a different paso!).

 

I’m sure that it isn’t so chaotic during  Holy Week normally, but it rained most of week. And it was cold. It took me a couple of days to figure out which was the best way to get information about whether a brotherhood had decided not to leave their temple (the best place, for what it’s worth, is Diario de Jerez) and to get a full understanding of the planned routes. I say planned because things did not go as planned due to the weather. In fact, according to Diario de Jerez, only 7 out of the 47 brotherhoods were able to reach the penance station. Some came out but had to turn back; some started to come out, then delayed, then canceled; a couple got stuck in a downpour and had to seek refuge, then finish their processions later. Because the area needs rain so badly, people didn’t complain about the rain, though there were some calls to reschedule Semana Santa for the following week. 😂 In fact, appaently it was one of the rainiest Holy Weeks in history. You can read about the weather HERE. 

Despite the chaos, I was able to see several pasos. And just when I thought I wasn’t going to get to see/hear a saeta, my luck changed on Friday, and I did. I was AMAZING!! Unfortunatly Imgur was being difficult and I couldn’t upload video today, so here’s a sample of a saeta. You will hear the flamenco in this immediately. The cantor and the others in the video are looking directly at the paso.

 

Here are some of the more endearing things I noticed during Semana Santa (Holy Week):

• This is an event for all ages. I saw infants (some dressed in the frocks of a brotherhood) and the elderly both watching the pasos and participating in the pasos.
• One day I happened to look down and noticed an apartment window below street level. Peering out the window was an elderly woman, wearing an expression of awe that you commonly see with a child, as she watched the paso and heard the music.
• People are quiet when the pasos are within eyesight of the crowd. The moment the paso is visible, people stop talking. If you do not stop talking, you will be shushed. Generally, it only takes one crowd shush for the talkers to quiet down. This was incredible to me, as the crowds are so large.
• Everyone respects the pasos and treats them with reverence as they pass by.
• When the paso is re-lifted (this happens quite a bit, and those who carry the paso change out quite a bit too), everyone claps.
• Vendors sell snacks and toys on the street from portable carts, and they follow the processions.
• People throw flower petals at the pasos from balconies and sometimes you will see flowers placed on the paso and/or a cart that follows behind the paso.
• You can find a paso by following the crowd of people moving with purpose in a particular direction. However, be careful when doing so; otherwise, you could end up seeing the same paso several times. This may or may not have happened to me.

For more photos of Santa Semana, CLICK HERE.

My husband arrived right at the end of Holy Week, as that’s when his school is on Spring Break. While he was here we visited several museums: the Lola Flores Museum, the Jerez Archeological Museum, and the Clock Museum. They were all educational and well laid out. If you are ever in Jerez, I recommend going to all of them. We were not expecting the Archeological Museum to be quite so large and expensive. Honestly, it was probably my favorite because of the vast collection in the museum. We also went to the Jerez Cathedral. WOW! The architecture was amazing inside. Sadly, we could not take photos inside most of the museums or the cathedral, so I only have images to share from the Clock Museum and the outside of the Cathedral.

This video will give you a taste of the Lola Flores Museum:

The other big outing of the last 2 weeks was to the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art. The visit included a show called “How the Andalusian Hoses Dance” and visits to 3 (three, really!) museums on the grounds. This is the most expensive tourist venue I’ve been to; that said, it was worth it. The way the horses are trained is incredible to watch. The museums were all informational and I learned a lot from my visit.

On Thursday. we went to an event honoring La Paquera de Jerez. There was a presentation about La Paquera, followed by music–cante by Sara Salado and guitar by Pepe del Moreno, who is from a famous flamenco family–he is the grandson of Manuel Morao and nephew of Moraito Chico. Needless to say, my husband, who plays guitar, was thrilled with the oppotunity to hear him play! If you’ve never heard of La Paquera, let me introduce you to her:

For more photos from museums and catherdrals, CLICK HERE.

Next Post will include more Flamenco, I promise!

Kim ❤️❤️