Semana Santa: The Procesiones

It would be a mistake to leave you with the impression that the beautiful alfombras are the pinnacle of Antigua's Semana Santa celebrations. While my pictures can't even begin to do them justice, I'll try to convey a sense of the sombre procesiones that wind through Antigua for hours, sometimes deep into the night. The procession tradition dates back to the colonial era, when it was imported from Spain, and has evolved into a world-reknowned spectacle of religious observance. Central to the processions are the andas, large (and heavy) floats depicting Passion-related scenes and figures, which are carried through the cobblestone streets by cucuruchos, lay men and women belonging to various religious fraternities. Up to a hundred people are needed to carry each float, and participating for even a block can lead to aching shoulders the next day. The cucuruchos march in formation -- two steps forward, one step back, so that the figures atop the floats seem to glide and sway their way through the mourning crowd. Figures of Christ and other notable male saints are carried by the men in their purple or black robes; black-veiled women, many in cobblestone-defying heels, bear the Virgin Mary. Marching with the floats are brass bands playing loud lugubrious funeral marches, and incense bearers wafting thick clouds of scent into crowd (we always knew when a procession was approaching by the aroma that drifted over the walls of the Santa Rosa).

The streets are packed during Semana Santa, with cucuruchos (in Lenten purple), pilgrims, and tourists quietly negotiating for space on tiny sidewalks.


On Good Friday the dress changes from purple to black, and here you can see a few tall pointy hats and masked faces. I'm not sure about the significance of that costume, but it certainly creates an effectively grim atmosphere, even apart from the KKK resemblance. The trident to the left in this picture is used to lift electrical wires out of the way for the floats; the banner announces a particular religious brotherhood.


Roman soldiers form another significant contingent in the processions:


Here you see the cucuruchos in formation:


A few shots of the floats themselves:






One of the smaller Good Friday processions had individual floats commemorating scenes of the Passion. We could never figure out exactly what was happening here:


But this is clearly Veronica, one of my favorites:

Apparently, I've learned something from all my visits to the Cloisters, as I was able to explain the apocryphal story of the "Vera Icon" to some of my companions. That was about the extent of my theological usefulness, however.

Gruesome, but requiring no explanation:


When night falls, the generators that have been pulled behind the floats throughout the day come into use, and the procession becomes a glowing, smoky, almost eerie event.








Unfortunately, I didn't have the vantage point of these two.


But, I did get my own private performance:



Next up: more of el Pablito, I promise!