Because there was no cultural activity yesterday, Lucia offered one today. Albert met us directly after class and we (along with four other students) took a short tour of an art exhibit at the University of Fine Arts. It contained the finalists from a painting competition. The pieces were very different and we were the only people at the exhibit, so we were able to discuss the paintings after we had a chance to explore (lots of language practice) and then Lucia told us which had actually won the competition.
This afternoon was pretty relaxed - we had enough leftovers that we skipped grocery shopping and I skipped cooking. We had eaten out a few times with Shelley and Scott - so we will probably eat at home for the next few days, but at least of few of those meals will be eating up what is already prepared.
Fianlly, this evening, I went out for a walk, there are a lot of people out and about. I came across this duo playing the ever popular (?) combination of electric violin and saxophone.
There were groups of young men adding decorations to the already decorated streets for the procession on tomorrow - the procession returns the artifacts from the cathedral back to the home church in Triana - but apparently the route is a little different and new roads need to be adorned. Just a few quick notes about this procession business.
There are many brotherhoods in Sevilla (6 of them in Triana). The Esperanza that is responsible for this weekend's festivities is the oldest brotherhood in Sevilla and the one with the most devotees in Triana. The Esperanza of Triana is also known as the Virgin de los Marinos (the Virgin of Sailors) and has as its symbol an anchor.
During Holy Week there are something like 60 processions - which are round trips from their home parish through the cathedral and back to the home parish. For the participants, this is a relatively somber affair with many praying as they walk. It serves as a reminder of the Crucifixion and many audience members are acutely aware of all of the details. The shortest procession during Easter week is roughly 3 and a half hours and the longest is about 14 hours. Most brotherhoods have two Pasos (the floats), one for Christ and one for the Virgin and both are incredibly heavy and the work to carry them for hours on end with very special steps that make the floats rock in very specific ways is kind of amazing to me.
The processions this weekends processions are different (of course it is not Holy Week), instead of one long round trip, the Virgin gets to stay in the cathedral for a short time before returning home tomorrow.
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| New Decorations Going Up |
