Fiona Govan
CROWDS lined the streets in cities across Andalucia to watch the Easter processions for the first time since the pandemic hit.
In true Semana Santa style, the skies were grey on Holy Monday and there was a sprinkling of drizzle but umbrellas were hoisted aloft and the weather didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the crowds.
Teams of ‘brotherhoods’ rocked from foot to foot as they slowly inched forward transporting huge floats atop their shoulders which carried statues of Jesus and Mary.
Parades include dozens of people from tiny tots to old timers who wear distinctive pointy hoods with holes cut out for the eyes.
The processions include official mourners clad in black and wearing the embroided lace veils supported by traditional Spanish combs atop their heads.
They shuffle forwards to the solemn beat of drums and religious chants.
Processions take place in most towns and cities across Spain but are particularly elaborate in Andalucia.
The biggest displays can be found in Sevilla where tens of thousands of people line the routes taken by the processions.
American visitors are often taken aback at the similarity of the outfits to those worn by the Ku Klux Klan.
The white pointed capirotes as the headdresses are called in Spanish may bear an uncanny resemblance to the official headdress of the KKK, they could hardly be further removed in meaning.
READ ALSO:
- EXPLAINER: Why are Spain’s Semana Santa hats conical and are they linked to the KKK?
- IN PICS: Antonio Banderas returns to leading role in Easter processions in his home city of Malaga
- IN PICS: Semana Santa processions get underway in Sevilla as Spain celebrates Easter
