The Easter Week in Granada, Spain

Granada, with its palms and olive trees, decks itself out on Palm Sunday, and awakes to the first beats of the drum which inaugurate the eight days of the Passion, Death and Resurrection.

The night of Easter Wednesday in Granada is spectacular, unique and emotional. Purple, red and gold dominate the two floats which form this procession, the Cristo del Consuelo y María Santísima del Sacromonte. On the hills of Sacromonte, huge bonfires burn in the gypsy caves, where dances touched by the duende accompany the procession of Cristo de los Gitanos (Christ of the Gypsies).

 

The night of Maundy Thursday is a magical night in the Albaicín. In what is almost the same space you can find the popular flavour of the neighbourhood´s three Virgins: the Virgen de la Concha, the Estrella and the Aurora. Meanwhile, the procession of Cristo del Silencio captivates those watching with its drumbeats, in a respectful and chilling silence. After midnight the narrow streets of the Albaicin become a shrine to the figures, lending them a scent and colour all of their own.

The day: Good Friday; the time: three o´clock precisely; the place: the Campo del Príncipe. It sounds like an appointment, but it is in fact a deep-rooted tradition which has been passed down from father to son. Thousands of locals from Granada make their way to one of the most important events of Easter Week, held at the hour of the death of the Redeemer. Whole families, grandparents, parents and children, press together on the streets with no space between them, forming a thick blanket of bodies as they pray and make the stipulated three wishes.

At dusk on Good Friday itself, in the Convent of the Jerónimos there is a strange and unique event. Las Chías, who were members of the Inquisition, now appear dressed with feathers and embroidery, playing in a band with drums while they head the procession of the oldest of the confraternities, Soledad de San Jerónimo. The procession is spectacular: pointed hoods of an intense yellow, and a squadron of Roman troops beating the ground with their lances.

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