|
Holy Week in Salamanca (Semana Santa de Salamanca) is the most important religious event of Salamanca, Spain. It is celebrated in the week leading up to Easter (Holy Week among Christians). During Holy Week, 16 fraternities feature 22 processions of pasos, floats of realistic wooden sculptures narrating scenes of the events of the Passion of Christ, or images of the Virgin Mary showing grief. Some of the sculptures are several centuries old and were created by important Spanish artists such as Luis Salvador Carmona, Alejandro Carnicero or Mariano Benlliure. Hundreds of penitents or ''cofrades'' take part on the parades, either carrying the ''pasos'' or walking the old streets of the city with crosses, flags or candles. Thousands of people, locals and visitors attend the events. The city of Salamanca was declared UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. The historic center offers a unique and attractive background for this celebration. The old streets and the impressive sites and landmarks provide the perfect atmosphere for the processions. As a reflection of its cultural, historic and spiritual importance, Holy Week in Salamanca was declared ''Fiesta of International Tourist Interest of Spain'' in 2003.〔 http://www.boe.es/aeboe/consultas/bases_datos/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2003-7514〕 ==The Processions== Processions are the main event of Semana Santa in Salamanca. Every fraternity organizes its own procession. Some of them organize more than one parade during the week, following the Castilian tradition. Generally speaking the processions walk through the city center, from their home Church to the Cathedral and Plaza Mayor or surroundings. However, there are a few exceptions that make every parade unique. All processions have the same structure: * A guiding cross opens the parade. * A number of penitents dressed with the robe or habit of the brotherhood. A few of them carry flags to announce which brootherhood is making penance. Most brothers accompany the parade with candels or sticks with crosses. Other carry heavy crosses and chains. Some of them might walk barefoot. * In some cases, a group of acolytes * The paso or pasos * Presidency that always includes the presence of the titular chaplain of the brotherhood in full processional vestments. A few members of other fraternities may accompany as well, as a courtesy and in the important parades such as the Holy Entombment of Christ the Bishop of Salamanca presides the procession. * Marching band Some processions do not use bands, walking just with the accompaniment of choirs or wind instrument trios such as the ''Cristo de la Liberación''. The ''Vera Cruz'' walks in complete silence on its procession in Monday of Holy Week. Typically, a procession can be made up from a few hundred to near 3,000 brothers (Loneliness brotherhood for example) and last anywhere from 4 to 7 hours. The largest processions can take over an hour to cross one particular spot. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Holy Week in Salamanca」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|