Holy Week in Zamora


Holy Week in Zamora, Spain, is the annual commemoration of the Passion of Jesus Christ that takes place during the last week of Lent, the week immediately before Easter. Holy Week is the Christian week from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday. It can take place in March or April. In Zamora, Holy Week is celebrated by 16 Catholic religious brotherhoods and fraternities that perform penance processions on the streets of the city.
Holy Week in Zamora was declared in 1986 Fiesta of International Tourist Interest of Spain. This festival is what Zamora is best known for.

Characteristics

Holy Week in Zamora is well known for its soberness, remarkable different from other celebrations, and for being attended for thousands of people, locals and visitors.
The contrast between the daytime and nocturnal processions is marked: silence and meditation are characteristic of those that parade by night and in the early hours, while music and light define the daytime processions.

Penitents

Thousands of fraternity members take part in the procession in true acts of faith. Traditionally only male members were admitted in most brotherhoods, but in the 21st century, women are entering these associations little by little, not without social debate.
Some of the members of the different brotherhoods walked dressed in their characteristic robes through the streets in penitential robes. Its members wear these penitential robes with conical hats, or "caperuzos", used to conceal the face of the wearer. These brothers carry processional candles and may walk the city streets barefoot.

The pasos

The pasos are authentic art works by Spanish artists such as Mariano Benlliure and the local Ramón Álvarez, depicting the most important events in the Passion and Death of Jesus. The pasos are physically carried in the shoulders of the cargadores.
The pasos are set up and maintained by the hermandades and cofradías the religious brotherhoods that preceds the paso in the parades.

Music

The silence is only interrupted by the sound of drums and trumpets. The pasos are escorted by marching bands playing funeral music. The funeral march composed by Thalberg is widely performed and considered to be the unofficial hymn of the town of Zamora. Some of the parades have a more medieval set up, including polyphonic male choirs and drums. A popular music feature in Zamora is the Merlú, a couple of brothers that play trumpet and drums in the Early hours of Good Friday.

History

Holy Week has centuries of tradition. The first cofradía to be founded is that of La Santa Vera Cruz or True Cross, dating of the 14th century. The earliest documented references to the celebration of the Passion in Zamora can be traced as far back as 1279. However, most of the pasos and brotherhoods were created in the 20th century, following the traditional models.

Brotherhoods