Cultura De Espana

I decided to choose a festival from Andalucía as, during the summer of 2011, I spent three weeks living there with a Spanish family. After my time there, I became very interested in the culture andcelebrations of the people of Andalucía. From my knowledge of Andalucía, I noticed that Easter is a very important and sacred time for Spanish people. For me “La Semana Santa” is the most fascinatingcelebration. La Semana Santa is a religious festival that is celebrated throughout Andalucía. This week-long festival begins on Domingos de Ramos (Palm Sunday) and is celebrated till DomingoResurreccíon (Easter Sunday). This religious procession takes place in all the cities of Andalucía. Cities and village’s compete against each other for bigger and better parades. The parades begin with richlydecorated floats called “Pasos”. They are normally carried by twenty to thirty strong men who are from a religious brotherhood called “costaleros”. These floats usually have life-like statues ofreligious figures and they paraded through the streets. The most popular figures are Christ on the cross, and Mary his mother mourning. Also around the float there is a procession that is called “LosNazarenos” and they usually carry candles and banners. Normally they wear tunics and a cloth over their faces. “Los Penitentes” perform the authentic act of penitence and are normally members of thefraternity. The most amazing processions during holy week take place in Seville, Malaga and Granada. However, this festival is definitely worth seeing in any town in Andulcia. During this week catholics aretraditionally forbidden to eat meat. Every town will have different dishes depending on where you are celebrating Semana Santa. Most menus contain fish and vegetables. The Andalucían Garbanzos conBacalao (Chickpeas with Cod) stew is the most popular in Andalucían towns as well as the vegetarian dish called Garbanzos con Espinacas which is made of garlic and spinach.

A decorated float called...