Semana Santa

 Hello Again, 

As the Easter season comes to a close, I would like to share with all of you my experience celebrating holy week, or as they say in Spain, Semana Santa. Semana Santa is the week leading up to Easter. I was able to celebrate this year in Córdoba, Granada, and Sevilla – all of which are Spanish cities inside the region of Andalusia. 

Before I continue, I would like to share pictures with you of my trip to Madrid. I was able to visit fellow Jaspers Morgan and Esperanza, all of whose blogs are linked. In Madrid, I was able to explore the famous art museum the Prado. Here I saw many famous paintings including Peter Paul Rubens’ The Three Graces and Francisco Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son. They can be seen below. 

Below you can find a picture of me, Esperanza, and  Morgan when we went to a Madrid theme park. 

From Madrid, I took a train to Córdoba. Córdoba, Granada, and Sevilla are unique cities as they have a rich religious history. Previously Muslim and Jewish cities were taken over by the Catholics. This resulted in Muslim mosques being used as modern-day cathedrals. Many of these ancient sites are cultural heritage sites. If you want to learn a bit more about this history, you can click here. 

It was here where I also witnessed my first Semana Santa procession. Floats were being held upon the shoulders of men, followed by a band and a parade of priests and parish members. The white hoods you may see in the video represent repentance, their hoods offer religious privacy. 

From Córdoba, I went to Granada. Here I saw my favorite procession. I was able to have a spot in the front of the procession, and got to hear the songs they sang to kick start the event. You can listen to a part of this below. 

In Granada, I visited Alhambra and saw some amazing views. 

From Granada, I took a bus to Sevilla, which was the final destination of my journey. Here I visited the gardens of the Alcazar, a beautiful garden. Although I have not seen it, this location was where parts of season five of the show Game of Thrones were filmed. If you click here you can see the garden used in the show and what I got to visit during my trip. 

This Easter break was filled with history and culture. I am grateful that I got to learn and be a part of it. 

I am now back studying in Barcelona. 

Talk to you soon, 

Simona