"El Finde" Parte 1

On Friday, there was the first holy figure procession in Seville. The Christ and Virgin figures are taken out of the churches and are processed around with throughout the streets of the city. All the Sevillians pack the streets to see it. The procession lasts for a few hours as the figure makes its way around. The streets are absolutely PACKED, no moving forward or backward. And, my family tells me that this is just a taste of what Holy Week is like here. As the figures pass by, all the people are dead silent and all you can hear is the timed stepping of the men carrying the figures. There was also a man singing flamenco and at one point all of the bystanders sang a Salve Regina. In this particular procession, we saw first the cross, then ‘el Cristo de gran poder’ (Christ of Great Power), and then the Virgin Mary. I’ve included pictures below… I went with my host-parents, so there is a picture of me and them!