Tag Archives: semana santa

semana santa class divide

21 Thursday Mar 2024

Posted by in sevilla

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ss class divide (1)

This week Sevilla gears up for its biggest event and already streets are being shut down to traffic, and THE CHAIRS have appeared. Every single day during Semana Santa thousands of the world’s most uncomfortable folding chairs are set up along the Carrera Oficial parts of the procession routes and every single night they are taken down again and stacked up… and repeat. Unless you snag one of these babies. Below is a blocked off section just for three comfy chairs (front row of course) with enough leg room to put up a table (stored behind). I’m guessing they bring their own refreshments for the duration.

Meanwhile the rest of us don’t get to see anything along the Carrera Oficial and instead look for vantage points along the “unofficial” routes. When I first moved here in 1993 there were fewer chairs and those eye-level red and black barriers you see behind the chairs didn’t exist. Those have since been put up so that the general public who can’t afford to buy chairs for the week CAN’T SEE ANYTHING along the Carrera Oficial, which to me seems quite mean.

ss class divide (2)

Just one of many changes over the years. These days it’s hard to remember when you could just pop out to see a procession. I mean, it was always super crowded but 30 years ago it was mostly locals who thronged to the various barrios to see their favourite cofradias. Lately Semana Santa has become just another heavily promoted tourist attraction and, to me, has lost a lot of its essence. Heck, I’m not even religious but my first experiences of the processions moved me in ways I can’t explain. Now (or at least the last time I ventured out) it’s like Disney does Easter in Seville. Think I’ll stay home this year.

at long last!

01 Thursday Feb 2024

Posted by in art, fiestas, sevilla

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poster

What a day. I went out in search of a Sexy Gay Jesus poster (as you do) because I heard they were available at city hall and reckoned it was about to become a collector’s item, especially if it gets banned (it won’t) so I should get one. The guy at city hall told me I’d have to go to the office of Fiestas Mayores up the road, so off I went. Well, the very nice lady there told me that they only had posters of Fiestas de Primavera, not Semana Santa, for that I’d have to go to the Hermandad office around the corner. Then it occurred to me to ask if they had old posters too because there is ONE POSTER that I’ve been looking for since I first saw it in 2017 by local artist Nuria Barrera. She showed me the ones they had on offer, nope not there. Then I said… it was the one with the closet, you remember? And she was all like OH THE CLOSET ONE, nipped behind her desk, opened a drawer and handed me two of them. I was almost in shock. After all this time I couldn’t believe my luck and felt totally silly-happy.

BUT I still had to find Jesus (so to speak). Over at the Hermandad office they told me the posters wouldn’t be available until mid-February. So okay fine. I really didn’t care at that point, all I wanted to do is get home and put my gorgeous poster somewhere so I could look at it every day. Except I needed a frame! Quick stop at El Corte Inglés and I was home with this simple wooden frame, a perfect fit, which I put together in a snap and only then noticed that – aaaargh – the left bottom corner was fucked. Whatever, I’ll deal with that later, change it, maybe.

I don’t know why this poster got to me the way it did. It is sooooooooo Sevilla though, the imagery, so many details, the colours, taking us from Semana Santa into Feria, as happens every spring. It probably won’t mean much to non-sevillanos but I just love it. And now I have one! Even with a busted frame. I’m still happy.

cartel-fiestas-primavera-2017