Thursday, April 2, 2015

Semana Santa: Deep Purple

The first portion of the procession we saw in Málaga on Tuesday (see previous post) brought the trono (throne) of Jesus Nazarene del Perdón (Jesus of Nazareth of Forgiveness).

LEADING OFF.
PURPLE PENITENTS.
UP-CLOSE AND PERSONAL PURPLE PENITENTS.
A WATER BREAK?
ISN'T HE SUPPOSED TO BE SUFFERING FOR HIS SINS?
JESUS IS COMING.
DEEP PURPLE.
COZY COSTALEROS (THE GUYS CARRYING THE FLOAT).
I LOVE THE ANGEL GIVING A HAND.

When the deep purple falls...

22 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Judy:
      The purple ones are my favourite. But a couple of them had robes in a slightly different shade of purple than that of their hoods. I think the robes had faded in the wash. Not a good look (you can see one in the background in photo #3).

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  2. Wow an amazing garhering of people in Poland we don't have it

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    1. Gosia:
      I had never seen anything at this level until moving to Spain. Sevilla has more than 60 different processions during the week!

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  3. I know you are used to it by now living in Spain for a while but those pointy hats still give me the heebie jeebies.

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    1. Cheapchick:
      They don't shock me the way they used to, but the still do make me a bit uncomfortable. Imagine standing among them in the old city at night.

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  4. Now THOSE are pointy hats!! Love the colour.
    You know what? The participants must get a 'rush' doing this....in a good way. And I guess that makes it worthwhile for them. I am remembering how I felt as child participating in smaller versions of these processions.....made me feel wonderful.

    Had us singing along to this tune. Thanks, Mitchell.

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    1. Jim:
      Clearly, many of the participants love the experience and consider it an honour. I wanted to tell some of them, however, that if they weren't going to show respect for the occasion, they shouldn't participate. Texting on cell phones. Having friends in street clothes keeping them company. In Sevilla, I saw people at times smoking cigarettes as they processed. I'm not a traditionalist at heart, but if you're going to do something, you should do it right!

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  5. Beautiful, colourful, but still gives me the heebie jeebies.

    Hadn't heard that song in yonks!

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    1. Jacqueline:
      I think I used "Purple People Eater" for the occasion in 2012!

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  6. I guess I envy the fact that you can enjoy the festivities without a lot of Catholic baggage. I have a steamer trunk full.

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    1. Frank:
      I know where you're coming from ... especially after reading "Did You Ever See A Horse Go By?" Being a non-believer it's easy for me to simply enjoy the spectacle since I didn't have a Catholic upbringing.

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    2. Mitchell,
      If I haven't thanked you for reading my memoir - 'Thanks' I really appreciate your support. The thing about Amazon, they don't track Kindle sales for the authors, only paper copies and it looks like last I checked, they sold 7 copies! I will have a party when it reaches 10.

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    3. Frank:
      No need to thank me. Thank YOU for sharing your life so openly. Seven copies, huh! Pretty soon, the NY Times best-seller list! I admire you for completing the book and getting it out. I would LOVE to do something like that.

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  7. Replies
    1. Sharon:
      I think there may still be some things you didn't see the first time...

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  8. The garb of person in white leading off would not go down well in the US.

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    1. Andrew:
      The brotherhoods have different colors. It was unusual (for me) to see the different ones in one procession (photo #1). Many of the brotherhoods sport completely white robes and hoods (which, sadly, the KKK adopted). It still makes me uncomfortable but, after 4 years here, I'm not so shocked by it. I even have Spanish friends who find it very unsettling.

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  9. Great pictures. This imagery would be great to paint.

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    1. Stephen:
      Go for it. I'd love to see what you produce. (Check out my Semana Santa posts from April 2012 for some much more period-looking photos.)

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  10. Those outfits are pretty strange, I'll give you that. But how fortunate you are to live in a culture where religious celebration is embraced, whether or not you're a believer (I'm not either). Can you imagine the scene if you decided to have a parade with these outfits in Mississippi? Carnage!

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    1. Craig:
      I focus on it as "cultural" tradition, which enables me to enjoy it. But, I could do without the hoods -- especially on the kids!

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