Just when you think that everything has gone globalized, and Spanish discussions are all about failing banks and new abortion laws just like everywhere else, along comes Semana Santa and confidence in the “Spain is different” slogan is restored.
Where else but in Spain would you find an image of Christ which, on the verge of being carried through the city in a procession, has the power to set free a prisoner being held in the local jail? But that’s what happens in Malaga every year, following a tradition dating back to the 18th century when some prisoners escaped from jail in order to carry the image through town, and miraculously freed Malaga of an epidemic of plague. The image of “Jesús El Rico” blesses the fortunate prison inmate, who then follows the procession on the Wednesday of Holy Week and is free to go.
In Marbella, the same thing happens but on Maundy Thursday, when the “Amor” (Love) brotherhood sets free a prisoner. Three candidates were pre-selected this year, and were said to be offering up prayers to the three images carried in the brotherhood’s procession in the hope of being the lucky convict to earn this special pardon.
The processions start this Sunday with the first episode of the Passion, Christ entering Jerusalem on a donkey, which is a favourite with children. Each procession after that has its followers and has different traditions attached to it, but perhaps the most solemn, and therefore most impressive, take place on Good Friday.
An old Holy Week tradition |
|
|---|---|
| Una mujer condenada por drogas | A woman convicted for a drugs offence |
| Un hombre que cometió una estafa | A man who committed fraud |
| Un preso que reza a todos los santos | A prisoner who prays to all the saints |
| Reos que han pedido el indulto | Convicts who have applied for a pardon |
| Uno de ellos será liberado en Semana Santa | One of them will be freed in Holy Week |
| Elegir a un candidato | To select a candidate |
| Sería un milagro poder salir de la cárcel | Getting out of prison would be a miracle |
| He pagado el delito de sobra | I have more than paid for my crime |
| Cuando llegó la sentencia ya estaba rehabilitado | When the sentence was handed down I was already rehabilitated |
| No volveré a pecar. He sufrido mucho | I’ll never sin again. I have suffered a lot |
| Quiero dejarlo todo atrás | I want to leave it all behind me |
| Iré a todas las procesiones | I’ll go to all the processions |
| Se lo agradezco a la cofradía | I’m grateful to the Brotherhood |
| Ya está todo preparado | Everything’s ready now |
| Esperemos que no llueva | Let’s hope it doesn’t rain |
Liz Parry's Spanish Phrase Book is available from http://santanabooks.com/node/52
