Seville

Seville is a city of clear contrasts, owner of a millenary past, a melting pot of different civilizations such as the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Arabs, the Christians... that have created a unique metropoli. Its marked universal spirit have been strongly renovated in the 20th c. without loosing a bit of its traditional and festive character. Although it is quite difficult to enumerate every wonder that Seville has to offer, let us unveil and experience select events and traditions of Seville...

Cuaresma (Lent)
In Seville it is always Lent... or almost always, if we bear in mind that the religious year runs from the Sunday of the Resurrection to that of  Palm Sunday. However, this is not strictly the case. Over the months between Resurrection Sunday and mid-November, the Gloria (glory) processions are organised, carried out by brother and sisterhoods that share the name of the processions. However, after November, in the heart of the Advent that precedes Christmas, el besamanos de la Amargura (kissing of the hand of a religious statue of the Virgin) is celebrated, marking the beginning of the Eve. Several other besamanos and quinarios (5-day worshipping) follow it, until the 1st of January arrives and starts off the Quinario del Gran Poder which comes to an end on the 6th of January (the day of Epiphany or the manifestation of the Gran Poder or Great Power of God.) It is precisely at this moment when Seville's residents lose their patience and start to take action towards the Holy Week. This part of the year has its own gastronomy, when dishes such as spinachs with chickpeas, cod fish with tomato sauce, or the torrijas (sweet bread bathed in honey and cinnamon)

Semana Santa (Easter)
Religious processions in Seville. Seven brotherhoods undertake their processions everyday, in one of the most famous Easter celebrations in the World. This most important event of the city takes place every Spring during a whole week through the streets of Seville, in which religious followers come from the barrios to the city centre in order to visit the sacrarium of the Cathedral. During 7 days, the brotherhoods takes out their Pasos (floats) with sacred images of Jesus, Christ, the Virgin Mary or a series of sculptures representing a specific scene of the Passion. The background of street processions resulted from the institutionalization of a Vía Crucis (Way of the Cross) introduced in 1521 by the Marqués de Tarifa upon returning from the Holy Land.

The most three famous days are: Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday and Good Friday, although the other days are strongly recommended too.Good Friday at dawn (popularly known as "La Madrugá") is considered the culminating moment of the Holy Week. Throughout the whole night until dawn the city is swarming with people and emotion. The vigil produces an odd sensation during which point one confuses yesterday with tomorrow. This feeling without doubt contributes to creating a mysterious atmosphere which appears to capture the city.

The night from Holy Thursday to Good Friday (called "La Madrugá") represents the culminating moment as far as devotion, art and emotion are concerned. It is the most bustling point of the celebrations reflected by the number of Nazarenes (Brotherhood members who make up the processional entourage and who carry candles or insignias, are dressed in tunics, capes and masked). This is the most beautiful night of the year, during which the brotherhoods, immersed in the deepest moments of the night, reveal the most emotionally intense moments. Do not miss contemplating the brotherhoods dressed in black, and fully live out an explosion of light with La Macarena float, La Esperanza de Triana float and Los Gitanos, all sparkling in the early sunlight. This tradition is a symbollic parable of night -death and dawn- resurrection.

A must-see if you wish to get the real sense of Seville.

April Feria (Fair) and Bullfighting Season
Just one or two weeks after Easter, the April Fair brings with it a wash of colours, Flamenco music, dancing, wine, andalusian food, joy and happiness. Women wear the typical ruffled dresses and men ride on beautiful horses during day and night for a whole week in which sleeping and resting is not important...  La Feria originates from a traditional cattle-raising fair, where animals were put on show to be bought and sold. In the first half of the 19th century the Town Hall created an annual celebration, the first was held in 1847 from 18th to 20th April, in what is nowadays the central area of Prado de San Sebastián. In 1973 the celebration was moved to its present location in los Remedios, although in the future, due to its continuous growth, it may be transferred to the area popularly known as El Charco de la Pava. This Fair, declared of National Tourism Interest is closely linked to Seville's bullfighting season.

Corpus Christi
A festivity established by Pope Urban IV in 1264, Corpus Christi serves as homage to the sacrament of the Eucharist. In Seville the celebrations go further than simply the carrying out of religious acts organized by Sacramental brotherhoods. After a period of decline, Corpus Christi has been given a new lease of life by the fusion of many of these penitential brotherhoods. In addition to the Corpus Christi procession from the Catedral, the following Sunday other processions such as that of the Royal Parish of Santa Ana or of the Sacramental Brotherhood of Mary Magdalene are held which, although smaller, are still of great importance.

Cruces de Mayo (May Crosses)
These celebrations had pagan beginnings and were dedicated to fertility and love, but were gradually Christianized; the tree was substituted by the cross until eventually its pagan origins were completely forgotten and widespread popular celebration of the festivity took hold. The procession where participants carry crosses has now been revitalized after a period of decline.
At the moment, almost all the brotherhoods of Seville organise their own, in conjunction with the Residents Associations in their parishes, or by themselves. These celebrations gained relevance at the beginning of the 20th century, in the almost obliterated corrales de vecinos (interior patios where neighbours could gather).

Velá (Night) of Santa Ana in Triana
This celebration, held in the last week of July, has its origin in a pilgrimage that used to take place in the Royal Parish of Santa Ana towards the end of the 18th century. Its celebratory character evolved out of religious festivity and the corresponding procession to the district's Patron Saint. Its traditional and popular nature makes it an event brimming with personality. In Betis Street, stalls are set up where people can sing flamenco, dance and sample typical regional foods from this side of the river such as grilled sardines, fried fish, Analusian tomato salad and delicious Manzanilla wine from Jerez.

Virgen de los Reyes
The annual procession honouring the Archdiocese's Patron Saint, the Virgin of the Kings, takes place the 15th of August. This festivity has great onomastic relevance and importance in the whole of the province of Seville, even stretching beyond the provincial borders. The celebration harks back to the seven centuries in which the Archdiocese of Seville encompassed lands as distant as Jerez de la Frontera. The route followed is very beautiful; it crosses the pews of the Cathedral, stops in its four corners and makes a complete turn to bless the 4 cardinal points.

Procesiones de Gloria (Glory Processions) in Seville
Glory Processions dot the calendar from Lent to just before Christmas. Many brotherhoods who praise mother Mary, accompanied by images of Saints connected to the city, parade around Seville's different parishes.

La Inmaculada
The morning of the 8th of December, another of the religious events that have stood the test of time takes place in Seville, where different university singers pay tribute to the Virgin at the Monumento a la Inmaculada located in the Plaza del Triunfo. Especially after being classified as Assumption Dogma in 1950, this festivity is carried out in all the city's temples and is replete with acts and rites carried out by the Brotherhoods. It comes highly recommended to visit the many besamanos that are performed on different statues of Saints. Some of these begin on the 7th.

Christmas and Reyes Magos (The Three Kings or Epiphany)
The religious events that dot the calendar finish with Christmas Eve, the traditional midnight Mass (in Spanish called the Misa del Gallo or "Mass of the Rooster"), and begin again with the Eve of the Three Kings, when every 5th of January, Seville's Ateneo (a government office) organises the traditional Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos (3 Wise Men Parade), initiated in 1918.