Easter

Easter was an odd day in Madrid.  We saw another small procession, but this time the street performers were starting to compete with them.  All morning, I could hear the jazz band playing "Hit the Road Jack" in the Puerta del Sol, but when the Easter procession started down the street, the jazz band wasn't backing down.  As the drums of the procession drew nearer the Puerta del Sol they beat their drums very loudly and the jazz band finally relented and let the procession take over.  It was like they had shouted them down.  But not long after they arrived in the Puerta, the procession broke up and the jazz band began playing "When the Saints Come Marching In".  Either the Madrileños were over the Easter festivities or the street performers were tired of losing out on their tips.

Easter is a major national holiday in Spain.  Business is closed from Thursday through Sunday, and in some cases, Monday.  The weather was beautiful this year and everyone was outdoors enjoying the springtime sun, walking and cycling; it was spring break vacation.  But something seemed odd during all the Semana Santa (holy week) processions and I finally put my finger on it  Easter afternoon.  While they were elaborate and uber Catholic, I never saw anyone who was emotionally caught up in them.  The religious icons that they carry are very dramatic and clearly designed to evoke religious passion, but I never saw it.  The crowd was respectful, but acted more like a crowd going to see Fourth of July fireworks, than a religious ceremony.  It was clearly a social event for them. They were talking and laughing with one another and eating bocadillos, but watched the procession with detached respect as it passed by, like one might watch the funeral procession of a stranger.  I know that mine is just an outsider's observation, but it seems that Catholicism is more cultural than religious here.

However, I understand that Andalucía is more somber and emotional.  The Semana Santa processions are more extensive there and the people are more passionate.  Many of them are also done in total silence; thousands of people in the streets and no one speaks.  It must be a powerful experience.  But still, I've heard that others there have bands and chanting, with wailing and a lot of dramatics.  Andalucía is really the place to experience Semana Santa in Spain; Madrid is kind of Semana Santa Light ...

In the Plaza Mayor, Chris and I have seen a street performer with a great schtick.  He´s a pot-bellied, out of shape middle aged guy who dresses up like Spiderman, doing superhero poses with members of the crowd.  He is so engaging that he keeps the crowd in stitches.  Here's a video of him:

Good Friday

Street vendor selling palms

Getting back into the swing of things, Chris and I walked around on Palm Sunday to see what was going for Holy Week.   Street vendors were selling palm fronds, as well as sprigs of bay leaves.  I've never heard of bay leaves used on Palm Sunday; it must be a local tradition.






The trees started to bloom on Calle Mayor and the whole feeling of the city was warm and happy.

Spray Painted Jesus was back in the Puerta del Sol with a new pascal lamb ... nice touch for the Easter season.  He revamped his outfit and gave it a new coat of silver paint.

But he had competition this week;  an all-new ascending Jesus for Easter, seemingly suspended a couple of feet off the ground.  He had a well-conceived and well-executed presentation, and was no doubt giving Spray Painted Jesus some cause for concern.

Capriotes in the Plaza Mayor

Hey man, can you give me a light?

Yesterday was Good Friday, and all of Spain has elaborate street processions during Holy Week.  Capriotes are the pointed hats for which these processions are famous, and people usually think of Seville because that's where the processions are the most intense.  But Madrid certainly has its share of Holy Week activities as well.

The body of Christ in procession

All afternoon, a jazz band was playing "Hit the Road Jack" on saxophone in the Puerta del Sol, but that abruptly stopped in the early evening not long before the big Good Friday procession started in Madrid.  All of the street performers packed up and went home to make way for sacred event.

I went across the street to the Plaza Mayor for big event.  Everyone began lining an unmarked path through the Plaza for the procession about an hour or so ahead of time, so I took my place as well.  Unfortunately, the street lights in the plaza made for poor photographs, but I have included some of what I saw.  Then later, I went out the Calle Mayor where I took some more images of the procession coming down the street.  What an amazing event!  In Seville, the processions are done in complete silence, but not in Madrid.  Here, they have accompanying bands as well as applause and general crowd noise.  And like any of these type events, photos and videos just don't capture the moment.

Here are some video clips of the event: