Don’t get me wrong. I love Semana Santa. Or did anyway. Especialy the first time I saw it, even the second and third times I thought it was pretty surreal. I've seen it in big cities like Seville and Malaga. I've seen it in small towns like Almunecar, and Loja. I loved the anonymity, the incense smell, the costumes and the sheer physical exertion from everyone from the nazarenos to the costeleros. In fact, I wrote a chapter on what I believe is really special about Semana Santa in Inside the tortilla. You can check out the photographic version in this weeks free ePub and PDF give-a-way: An Agnostic in Semana Santa and get a FREE CUT OUT DOLL'S at the same time too! See below for links. But you see, after a few years things tend to change. Some people in town - that I had previously thought to be afficionados of all things religious - turned out to be Semana Santa haters and one evening, they sat me down and gave me 5 persuasive reasons for fleeing Spain during Semana Santa.
Semana Santa is finally over, slightly damper than other years, unless of course you count the tears of disappointment from the nazarenos when rain stopped play.
The streets are still coated in wax, the incense still hangs in the air and the town breaths slowly for a moment or two before next weekend when the Medieval Market hits town as well as the second craft fair by the AAPL. Each year the town converts itself for 3 days into tapa heaven. In fact it becomes, as one friend pointed out - Tapalandia.
Participating bars offer special tapas during the long weekend to entice regulars, and new clients to try out their local delights. Its Saturday today, a little wet out, but Im about to leave for the tapa trail. More soon. |