Important Festivals of Spain

RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR FESTIVALS

To the people of Spain religion is an everyday fact of life. It is also a social phenomenon with deep roots in tradition. The people, the nobility, the kings of Spain of every period bowed their heads before the majesty of the Church. Even now, in Spain's folklore and not only there, but in the heart of every Spaniardreligious festivals are among the main events of the year.

At these festivals the Spaniards are not only concerned with providing amusement for themselves and others and with offering a show of picturesque costumes and dances: more than anything else their aim is to observe the rites of their fathers which are so deeply rooted in their consciousness.

With simple and fervent devotion, the Spaniards associate God with everything they do in life, repent of their sins and to their repenting apply all their spiritual fervor, all their enthusiasm, all their vast, profound and age old capacity or suffering and their equal capacity for frenzied Joy.

Religious festivals of this kind are very numerous and varied. But without any doubt the most important and characteristic of them is the one celebrated in Seville during Holy Week.

Holy Week in Seville

Once a year smiling and carefree Seville undergoes a change. There Holy Week is celebrated with almost sad solemnity, when spring arrives with resplendent but austere beauty. Every house is draped in black, flags fly at half mast, and all doors are left ajar. From Palm Sunday until the evening of Good Friday Seville is adorned with images of the Passion.

On Palm Sunday every balcony is a mass of palms, either curled or interwoven. Walls have been newly painted with lime; the oranges are in flower; the streets are alive with colors and flowers¬irises and pink hawthorn; all the bells are pealing. A festival is beginning that will last for eight days and eight perfumed nights of public illuminations. Every motion picture theater shows films about the Passion; the streets are a throng of people selling colored Chinese lanterns, whistles and little booklets which tell the story of Our Lord.

Children dress up as angels in wings of many colored papier mache and tunics of silver or as Jesus on Calvary in green clothes and crowns of thorns. Penitents put on violet tunics with yellow cords. The girls take their best dresses out of their wardrobes, and the older women put high Andalusian combs in their hair.

All Seville is on the move, for its inhabitants have poured out into the streets and squares and are converging on the main roads where the processions will pass by. The churches are magnificently decorated. The most precious pieces of gold plate are used for the masses, which follow each other without interruption.

THE PROCESSIONS

The processions begin on the afternoon of Palm Sunday and continue uninterruptedly throughout the week until dawn on Good Friday. The first brotherhood, heralded by a blare of trumpets, sets off through Calle Sierpes. Amid the thronging crowd pushing to get a better view (the more fortunate have found balconies, window sills, steps or chairs) the procession advances.

There is not an Andalusian who does not belong to some brotherhood and don a cape and cowl (a monk's hood) to join a procession for a few hours. Some of these brotherhoods are very old, and famous people have belonged to them. Both Charles V and Philip Ih were members of such brotherhoods and sometimes, wearing the penitent's cloak, marched at the head of processions. Every brotherhood possesses at least two pasos, or sacred wagons that carry statues of Christ in a scene from the Passion and of .the Virgin.

The whole group moves through the crowds in a great mass of color, amid flowers and standards. When the roll of drums that heralds the procession is heard approaching, the road is hastily cleared. The most important families have taken seats in the front row; the notables have mounted to their specially prepared and decorated balconies.

THE ORDER OF THE PROCESSION

The procession advances accompanied by a squadron of cavalry in full dress uniform. The band plays a solemn hymn, sad yet triumphant: flutes, cornets and drums let themselves go.

Then comes the noble line of hermanos, with long white tunics and the old medieval penitent's robes, their faces hidden by pointed, conical, black cowls. There follow four heralds with trumpets draped in black cloths; then the flag with the brotherhood's colors is solemnly borne in front of the white and blue standard of the Immaculate Virgin. A barefoot hermano carries the great black cross; he is followed by the other officials of the brotherhood; finally comes the hermano mayor with his book of rules, the symbol of his authority.

Now comes a sculpted group, the first paso. That of the Sagrado Decreto, for instance, consists of eight figures disposed on a golden platform. It represents the divine decree of the Redemption the Father, the Son, Patriarchs and Prophets, Doctors, and the Church, prostrate at the foot of the Cross awaiting the Resurrection. Groups such as this one may weigh more than 8000 pounds, and it may need sixty men hidden beneath the platform to carry them.

Between the pasos march the processions of penitents, all dressed in multicolored tunics and cowls, carrying candles and praying. The brotherhoods follow each other: carpenters, tailors, parishes, university students, doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, nobles, bullfighters, servants, tobacconists, and finally gypsies. Between each procession comes a paso, perhaps that of the Nuestra Senora del Mayor Dolor en YK_Soledad (Our Lady of the Greatest Sorrow in Her Solitude). This statue shows Her defeated and wet with tears bending over Her Son who has collapsed under the weight of the Cross. The paso stops for an instant, and the crowd drops to its knees and a great silence falls. A shower of flowers falls from the balconies. Then comes another procession, with another paso.

Meanwhile another crowd is waiting in the cathedral which contains eighty chapels, where every day more than five hundred masses are celebrated. Here the processions of penitents gather. Toward evening begins the Office of Tenebrae, when the whole population converges on the cathedral.

The orchestra begins the Miserere, and the choir joins in in alternation with the soloists. The crowd waits in awed silence; as the singing gradually proceeds everyone's whole being is directed toward the resounding transfiguration of the Passion. And when the tenor's high C brings the psalm to an end, the crowd, as if drained dry, as if lifted out of itself, moves slowly out of the cathedral.

THE NIGHT OF MAUNDY THURSDAY

It is on the night between Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, that Holy Week reaches its climax. Then takes place the procession of silence. The night is cold, the lamps 'are extinguished, and the moonlight casts strange shadows in the streets of the old city. An indistinct, silent throng passes by candlelight along the narrow, twisting alleyways, past bare convent walls. The barefoot Nazarenes, wearing the monks' girdle or hair shirt, seem a ghostly reincarnation from the obscurity of medieval monasteries.

The weird procession advances, carrying the symbols and the statues of the Passion. At two o'clock in the morning the procession of the nobility sets off bearing the statue of The Christ of Great Power. The people pray, kneel and weep.

The Christ proceeds, dimly lit by a glimmer from the swaying torches. There is no sound save the scuffle of bare feet. The crowd is prostrate, and their murmured prayers sound like the calm surge of the sea itself.

On the morning of Easter Sunday the city awakes, bounding with joy at the festive sound of the bells of the Giraida.

When its twenty five bells ring out the joyful news of the Resurrection, the citizens take off the mourning they have worn so long. Now the whole city explodes with gaiety and joy.

THE 'FERIA'

In a week's time the feria (fair) begins three days, but more especially three nights of frantic and noisy pleasure seeking: the whole of Seville gives itself up to its Easter carnival. The Seville fair takes place on the Prado of San Sebastian, with booths and popular attractions such as acrobats and lotteries. Well to do families rent casetas in the great park; these small villas, some of them luxuriously furnished, are reserved many weeks in advance. Thus the leading families leave their palaces for three days to go camping with all the other inhabitants, and to celebrate the fiesta all night through.

In any case the noise, movement, illuminations, fireworks and horse races would make it almost impossible to sleep. The sound of guitars, interspersed with the rhythm of castanets and shouts of "olj!," and accompanied by sharp handclapping, can be heard throughout the fair, particularly after midnight.

A woman dances, striking her foot imperiously on the ground; now and again she freezes into a graceful immobility, head raised, her expression grave. All around women flaunt their white fringed shawls, their Andalusian combs nearly a foot high, and their mother of pearl fans. Everywhere there is the same pleasure and warmth, the same twinkle in the eye, the same joie de vivre. This is the traditional Andalusia, its brilliant, enchanting side.

It is an Andalusia which laughs and cries, and dances to the castanets and the tambourine; the land of the flamenco, where by night the moon shines on perfumed gardens, where you may bear love songs whispered near embowered windows or soft serenades by a window sill set among the roses.

The spirit of Andalusia is to be found in the devotion of a people who light votive lamps at the streetcorner shrines, in 'the intimacy of the patios, enclosed yet at the same time revealed through their wroughtiron grilles, in the supercilious bearing of her gentlemen. This is the South with all its exaggerations, where nature herself seems superabundant, both in the triumphal beauty and perfumes of her gardens, and in the hot, almost torrid, summers.

Traditional Regional Dress

Spaniards of all regions throng to the rotnerias (pilgrimages) and the other festivals, each in his traditional costume: the Catalonian with his barrelina, a folded beret of red wool; the Basque, with his boina, the beret which is known throughout Europe. The Basque also has his zinta, a traditional woolen garment. Basque women's clothes are fairly similar to those of other regions, though married women wear a cloth or muslin headdress called a sabanilla, while single women wear a buruko, a brightly colored headscarf.

In Catalonia they still wear the gambeto, a sort of overcoat, the gorro, a long brown and red beret, the marsilla, a short jacket, a cloak of grey material, often with black stripes, called capa de muestra, and the corpino, fastening in front, tight round the waist and with close fitting Sleeves down to the wrist.

In Aragon they wear the justillo, a small low necked velvet jerkin, the faia, a red flannel sash, and the coleto, a kind of jacket. In Galicia they wear long, cloth gaiters known as polainas, and abarcas, similar to sandals.

THE MANTILLA

The most typical Spanish garment, apart from the sombrero, is the mantilla. The mantilla once used to be a kind of scarf of light material, often embroidered with gold and silver, fastened at the neck by a pin. It was large enough to cover both shoulders, cross over the chest, pass below the arms and tie at the back.

In the 18th century the ordinary mantilla as worn by the middle class women was of black taffeta with a thin plaited hem. White muslin mantillas, with or without hoods, were decorated with plaited fringes. They were very open, and were gathered by means of a narrow ribbon. When a woman had a child, the ribbon was blue for a boy, and pink for a girl.

Since the 19th century black lace mantillas have been placed and fixed with pins to a tall comb set in the wearer's bair. They cover the neck and shoulders, and can also veil the face.

Mantillas are becoming progres ivly rarer but even today Spain ends her mantillas all over the world, from the simplest to the most. elaborate, specially designed or embroidered, in white, black, or colored, with metal sequins, square and rectangular, and in materials ranging from a modest cotton to the rich silks of Valencia, Murcia and Granada.

Every ceremony is accompanied by singing and dancing. There is an endless variety of songs, some with oriental undertones, others with a strange, sentimental lilt. This music is accompanied by a great variety of instruments: the bagpipe, tambourine, and zanfonia a kind of pipe, in Galicia; the chistu, a Basque flute; the Valencian bagpipe; the guitar in Andalusia; the mandolin in Aragon; castanets, tambourines and other instruments.

All the elements that go to create "local color," the music and costumes, make the romerias of Galicia and Asturias, the ferias of Andalusia, in fact all the popular festivals of every region, sJ11rctacles of incomparable interest and fascination.

Verbenas'

The romerias are festive pilgrimages through the countryside undertaken by the faithful. The verbenas, on the other hand, take place in town or rather in certain parts of it during the summer.

A typical one is the Verbena de la Vergen de la Paloma (of the Dove), which is celebrated in Madrid on the night of August 14. Then the streets are covered with flowers and garlands, and tapestries are hung from windows and balconies. The young people amuse themselves until dawn with fireworks, dancing, and music, always with that tireless, unflagging energy typical of Spain. The inhabitants of Madrid are known, in any case, for their addiction to nighttime festivities.

"Three months of winter, nine months of hell" runs a saying about the climate of Madrid. This is an overstatement, as spring and autumn in Madrid are very beautiful, but it is true that in the early afternoon on torrid summer days the city is stupefied, deadened by the sun; no leaf stirs, no one is to be seen. Everyone is enjoying the siesta, as they do throughout the year; banks, public services, shops and offices are closed. Those who can afford it are away at the seaside.

The most typical Spanish garment, apart from the sombrero, is the mantilla, a veil made in a variety of materials ranging from simple cotton to silk lace. A girl from Granada has casually draped a black mantilla over her hair, abandoning the high Andalusian comb often used to hold the mantilla in place.

Throughout the year the real Madrid day starts at about four or five in the afternoon, when the city reawakens from its siesta. It immediately becomes noisy and vital, with vehicles of all colors rushing about, and crowds of people flowing in all directions.

Yet the inhabitants of Madrid are never in a hurry. Masters of an extremely modern metropolis, they still retain the idea that they are citizens of the old capital, city of the court and of the government. They very much enjoy passing the time talking over a cool drink. They delight in conversation and in communal life, and dislike staying at home; they prefer to stroll along the streets lined with shops, cafes, and restaurants.

NIGHT LIFE IN MADRID

Night life in Madrid is active throughout the year. True, the night clubs are nearly all illegal and survive only as long as the police allow. They close early, at about two o'clock. They are however worthy rivals of their fellows in other parts of the world, noisy, smoky and expensive. Basically though, they matter little to the real people of Madrid, who gladly leave them to the tourists.

The natives prefer to enjoy their city in the open, in the fresh air, in the silence of certain dimly lit streets leading downhill between the planetrees, bordered by the austere palaces of another age; or they may visit the poorer quarters with all their vitality, the undisputed kingdom of gypsies, children, beggars and beautiful girls unafraid of anyone. There is a whole moving crowd here, intent on playing, singing, eating onion omelettes, drinking the wine of Valdepenas, and listening to the music of a harmonica or a guitar.

The people of Madrid are nick named los gatos, the cats, because of their love of nighttime living. May 15 is the Feast of San Isidore, the festival of nighttime Madrid: everyone gathers on the Pradera de San Isidore. They attend Mass, but quite soon the festival becomes rather pagan, with eating, drinking and dancing. At first holy water brought in terra cotta vessels is drunk, but later they turn to wine, in wineskins. They eat rosquillas, the cakes of San Isidore. The sound of guitars, castanets, and pitos (glass whistles decorated with paper flowers) is the signal for the festival to expand. It lasts three days and three nights.