Spain is renowned for its Holy Week celebrations. Throughout the week leading up to Easter, processions of hooded penitants parade through the streets, most famously in Andalucía, accompanied by brass bands and pasos, ornate floats with elaborate wooden sculptures depicting scenes from the passion.
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The processions in Madrid have nothing on their Andalucian counterparts (in Sevilla, the processions can have 3,000 penitents and last up to 14 hours), but they're breathtaking to watch nonetheless.
On Easter Wednesday night we managed to squeeze ourselves into a perfect spot by the door of the church and waited with the crowds for the return of that night's procession, put on by the brotherhood of Nuestro Padre Jesús de la Salud, or los gitanos (the gypsies). Earlier on in the evening we had watched it stop in the Plaza Mayor, the thousands in the crowd falling completely silent, as one of the church members laid flowers at the plaque commemorating those who died in the 2004 terrorist attack.
The pasos, which are highly prized, elaborate works of art, are carried by teams of between 24 and 50 costaleros (literally, "sack men", since they tie cloth around their head and shoulders to protect themselves as they carry the float on their shoulders). With the costaleros hidden under drapes of fabric, the paso seems to move by itself.
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It's difficult not to be impressed by the silence that falls on the crowd as the paso passes, and by the huge applause given to the costaleros every time it's lifted and moved on. And there's something about a melancholy brass band that always brings a tear to my eye.
