The Passion of the Spaniards

The Village of San Vicente de la Sonsierra

Spain, as a country, has one of the most interesting Easter week traditions of anywhere I’ve learned about in the rest of the world. Holy week processions are very solemn traditions that date back hundreds of years. An interesting fact (for those of you unfamiliar with the Da Vinci Code), the KKK, or Ku Klux Klan, stole their well-known, white, pointed head wear from these Spanish customs (although the KKK isn’t anywhere near as holy or self-deprecating as the Spanish are).

The town of San Vicente de la Sonsierra (just west of Logrono, Spain) doesn’t utilize the pointed masks. Their participants still wear white, but they do something no other town or village in Spain does. Their traditions are completely unique and different (in researching this blog, I discovered there are other Latin American nations which share these customs). Words can’t express it, but the photos below speak for themselves.

Hasta La Proxima…

-Justin

The Procession Begins with the Altar Boys

Floats for Different Occasions – Holy Thursday and Good Friday use different ones

The Three Women who Accompanied Christ along the Via Dolorosa

The Men Take Turns Carrying the Cross

Feet are Bound in Chains

The Priest Reads the Stations of the Cross

The First Glimpse of the Men in White Masks (and the float of Mourning Mary)

He’s Carrying a Flag, but it might as well be a Cross

Then the most Interesting Aspect Begins: Self-Flagellation

The Men in White Masks Whip Themselves over and over again

They Represent Christ’s Suffering through the 39 Lashes by Pontius Pilate

As Many as 12 Men Participate

They Rotate Because their Backs get Ripped Up by the End

Also, The Men don’t Stop at 39 Lashings

They Continue until their Backs are Red and Raw, Stinging from the Pain

And then They Whip Themselves some More!

But the Whipping Isn’t the Worst Part

They Also are Cut with Broken Glass

And then Whipped some more

Before being Covered Up Again