Casa colgada=Hanging house
I was thinking the whole town would be full of them, but these ones (part of the museum) were the only ones I found.
Beginning of the procession for Viernes Santo (Good Friday)
See how close pedestrians were. In Madrid, that would never be the case.
I just picked a street, but it's actually one of the town's famous ones because I kept seeing it in postcards for the colored buildings.
His gaze was steady and dedicated for he represented his hermanidad, the first in the Viernes Santo procession in Cuenca. He is not squinting (because the sun is behind him), but simply proud—proud to be wearing the red military-like suit with gold buttons and matching brimmed cap, proud to carry their flag with white-gloved hands, and proud to be a part of the yearly tradition commemorating the death of Christ for his and our sins. Given that Cuenca is such a small town, one of the nazareno women told me that many people march more than one day, but this dose not seem apparent to the flag bearer. In our Music of Spain class we have discussed the importance of tradition and religion in today’s Spaniard’s life. Not all Spaniards are serious about maintaining the past celebrations, but others are determined to keep them alive. This man’s expression never changed.
Modern nazareno. Seeing a humanside (rather than pure anonymity) made it more fun.
Each hermanidad (brotherhood) has its own color scheme and I think carries the same paso (float) every year.
A small group of us from my Music of Spain class visited Cuenca to experience the somber music of the marching bands and Gregorian chants during the Semana Santa festivities. Because the town is so small we got an intimate experience of the processions. There were times when I was walking directly behind the nazarenos because the streets are only just wide enough for the pasos. People watched from their balconies and poked their heads out of windows to get an aerial view. The red-brown capirotes and tan robes are the typical anonymous outfit of the hermanidad Santísimo Cristo del Perdón. The image is color-coordinated, with the skin of the statues matching the building and the capirotes matching the loin cloth of one of the men raising the crucifix.
woo fanny packs.
It was more of a family event than I was expecting. Lots of little kids marched along with their parents.
I moved up for an aerial view.
The processions are particularly slow because the men have to rest often. This particular path is uphill. See how they are using their “canes” to rest the paso (float) on.
BRIGHT SUN!
d'oh. cut the top of his head off in the shadow.
Here comes the black team's paso!
Kids and adults--not the town's high school band.
When I zoomed in, I can see my face in his tuba.
I love reflections.
The ones with capes and not carrying the pasos are members of the clergy, whereas the others are lay people.
Darn sunspot!
Not sure why this one was green. I forget the significance of not having the cone in the hat to keep it pointy.
Behind the procession now.
After marching for three hours, the band deserved a break. They had just come from the bottom of the city up to the cathedral in Cuenca’s Plaza Mayor like they do every year for Semana Santa. Humans have an acute sense for special uniformity, as is apparent in their placement with the equal space between each other and the cans of Coke. In these seemingly meaningless moments of chatter we grow-up and get to know our friends. One girl might be interested in art and another wants to be a doctor, but right now they have put aside their differences and enjoy a bocadillo in the afternoon sun.
This was the only paso that I saw enter the cathedral.
All the pasos were in the main plaza in front of the cathedral for everyone to admire.
Don't you want to pay to carry this, too? It's a privilage to have hundreds of pounds on your shoulders.
Apparently in Cuenca they break for about an hour and then turn around to bring the pasos back to their respective hermanidads.
If you didn't catch it the first time, here comes the procession again!
I ended up walking behind them sometimes because there wasn't enough room to pass.
