Casa Media Luna

Easter is not Easter without my favourites ‘Charbonnel et Walker Champagne Truffles’ or ‘Thorntons Continentals’. So without my favourite chocolates it felt just like any other weekend.  That is, until we decided to take our Australian guest with us into Colmenar on Friday evening to join in the Semana Santa celebrations.

Easter or Holy Week (Semana Santa) in Andalucía is a very special and unique event. All the streets in all the cities and villages of Andalucia are packed with thousands of people watching all the parades. The life-like wooden or plaster sculptures called ‘tronos’ are carried through the streets by penitents dressed in long colorful robes.

Colmenar is no exception and the whole village turned out to take part or watch.  Leading the procession was a band with very loud drums followed by a group of young women carrying a ‘trono’ of Jesus.  Behind them were the Alcalde (Mayor) and Juzgado de Paz (Magistrate), a group of children in purple robes and women dressed in black with lace veils and very high stiletto heels.  Next followed another band followed by a second larger ‘trono’ of the Virgin surrounded by candles which are lit as darkness falls and carried by a group of young men.  Following at the end a large group of villagers trailed the procession.

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The procession slowly winds its way up and down the steep narrow streets and all the locals stand in their doorways and balconies to watch.  I noticed that the more ‘sturdy’ people were positioned at the back of the ‘tronos’ to help take the weight as they carry the ‘trono’ up the very steep 2:1 hills!

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The procession stops every few metres to give the ‘trono’ bearers a rest. How the women in black lace veils and 4″ high heels manage to walk up and down the steep hills for so many hours is beyond me.  I had to swap all my heels for flat boots when I moved here.

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At the front of each ‘trono’ is a bell and a man leads the ‘trono’ walking backwards and shouting instructions to the ‘trono’ bearers to steady the speed and direction and to stop it getting too much of a sway.  One ring means slow down and two rings mean stop.

At one point the large ‘trono’ was building up too much momentum on the steep downhill and the man at the front was shouting  at the boys and rang the bell but they couldn’t slow down or stop and it smashed into his face.  He completed the procession with a bloody face and probably had a black eye the next day.

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Two more men carry long hooks on poles in front of each ‘trono’ to hold up the electrical cables that drape precariously low across the street to stop the ‘trono’ getting ‘electrified!’  The procession ended in the centre of Colmenar where everyone went in the bars for a well-earned drink.