Semana Santa 2010 – Malaga

To witness the passion of Easter, a visit to Malaga during Semana Santa is a must. Processions take place all over the city at all times of the day from Palm Sunday until Easter Sunday. All of the processions pass through the main streets of Malaga at some point. These are Alameda Principal, Larios and Granada.

We went to Malaga on Viernes Santo, Good Friday. Our first procession was from the Church of San Juan. Large crowds were already waiting in front of the church. A quiet hush descended as the doors opened and the procession slowly started to take to the streets.


The Procession leaving San Juan.

After all the procession had filed out of the church, we made our way to the theatre area of the city. We went to find another procession that ran along Calle Cruz Verde. We managed to get there just in time to see the Madonna trono being carried past.


The Costaleros carry Mary down Calle Cruz Verde.

The third procession we saw was from the Plaza de La Victoria in the North East sector of the city. This was by far the largest procession we saw. We arrived at the square before the procession had made its way down Calle Victoria. The crowds lined the road. We had a perfect vantage point stood in the middle of the busy intersection.


Close to the action.

The great thing about being outside the centre is you get really close to the procession. The kids enjoy it too. They shake as many hands as possible or try to collect wax droppings to see who can make the biggest ball.


Meeting the crowds.

You also get an appreciation of how much effort is required to move the great tronos. Rows of men, known as “Costaleros”, take the weight on their shoulders. They march in unison making the images sway. One of the many hooded men is responsible for stopping and starting the trono. He strikes the bell at the front of the trono. This sparks a chain event of other bell signals that move down the line to stop the whole procession.


Stopping the Trono.

It took just under an hour for the whole procession to march by. We then headed back the way we came and had a bite to eat at one of the cafe bars at the Plaza de La Merced. It’s about a 10 minute walk from where we were. As we sat down to order we could see the front of the procession turning the corner onto Calle Alamos. It would take them hours to finish the route. It was scheduled to take an amazing 8 hours, finishing at the early hour of 2:45am. That's the passion of christ.