Lorca: Semana Santa , Palm Sunday 28th March

We’ve arrived at our favourite site, Los Madriles, near Cartagena in the province of Murcia, just at the start of Semana Santa (Holy Week).
The religious celebrations go from 26th March to Easter Sunday 4th April, so Holy week really lasts for 10 days! It’s a huge festival in Spain, and Lorca, 30 miles from Los Madriles, is reputedly one of the most memorable. We went there with several car-loads of friends to check out the Palm Sunday procession.

Before the big parade assembles, the main sections hold mini parades in different areas of the town where spectators march along with the participants, giving everyone a great sense of being part of the experience. We fell in with the Roman legions at first, and then with the common Hebrews, which is what the photo shows against the backdrop of a suitably ancient building. It doesn’t look quite the same going past a mobile phone shop.

The costumes were magnificent and the Roman centurion on horseback was only one of many hundreds taking part.

Not forgetting the main object of the procession, this float depicts Jesus surrounded by palm inspired decorations. It was carried by 100 porters, both men and women, identically and beautifully dressed. A great spectacle, but what happened to the donkey?

Back to the assembly area, earlier. We’ve got an Egyptian here, looking puzzled. The way to King Tut’s palace, mate? First left, past the triangular thing, the pyramid, then right at Ali-Baba’s bazaar.
The parade contained a large contingent of Egyptians and also other magnificently attired parties, some with Klu-Klux-Klan style hoods, whose relevance to Palm Sunday was unfathomable. Yes, the spectacle was certainly going some way down the Disney road, but the lasting impression was one of immensely enthusiastic local involvement, particularly of the youngsters, within a sincere religious framework.