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The early hours of
Good Friday morning (more commonly known
as "La Madrugá") is the high point of
Easter Week. In Christian liturgy, it
commemorates the tragic hours of the
Passion of Christ, which starts off with
the Last Supper (on the night of Holy
Thursday) and finishes up with the
Crucifixion (at about 03:00 PM on Good
Friday).
In Seville, this is the day of Easter
Week when the most important artistic
and emotional elements of the
Fraternities come together. During the
night of Holy Thursday and the morning
of Good Friday and well into the day,
the city is a beehive of people and
emotion.
The vigil produces a strange sensation
in which yesterday and today fuse
together and undoubtedly helps to create
a mysterious atmosphere which seems to
envelop the city. From the time when the
first Fraternity of the "Madrugá", Ntro.
Padre Jesus Nazareno, El Silencio (The
Macarena exit at 00:00 AM from her
Basilica), until the last floats leave
(Esperanza de Triana and Macarena) at
about 13:30 PM on Good Friday, more of
twelve hours have gone by. For this
reason, we suggest two ways of
experiencing the Madrugá:
a) From its first moments by going out
into the streets al 01:00 AM and staying
out until the daylight begins.
b) Relax during the night before taking
to the streets at about 04:00 or 05:00
AM.
Know how to take "La Madrugá", since the
crowd, the night, the cold and other
factors, turn it into a night very
different to the rest. To begin, the six
fraternities that make penance could be
divide in two groups: those of black and
those of cloak.
It is the night of the contrasts: on one
hand the rhythmic and acclaimed marches,
by the multitude, on the other hand
chapel music and the firmest silence.
This night it represents the zenith of
the Holy Week, perhaps the most
important note in the sevillian fervour,
although not all what that we see that
night is of our pleasure.
We will see the most representative
images in the Passion. The Silence's
Christ that doesn't allow rest, since
seems to run, while he hugs its
tortoiseshell and silver cross, the one
only invested with regard to the other
ones.
The Big Power's Christ, walking among
people, because his costaleros achieve
that we forget the float and we
fascinate with his slow but constant
walk... Exactly, behind the Lord of
Seville, the Cruz de Guía of The
Esperanza Macarena's Fraternity, appears
changing the silence into joy, the
prayer into expectation.
It is, par excellence, the other side of
the night, the change of the candles on
high for the feathers of the armaos.
After her, the silence come back, the
Calvario Fraternity, that puts in order
the bustle and restore seriousness
immediately.
After him, another Hope's Virgin, but
this time from the Triana's Fraternity
and under a rain of petals that shock
the Tetuan street, just before the
entrance in the Official Route. The
night is closed by The Gitanos' Christ
that with his Cross on the back, travel
"La Campana" (The Bell) Square in a
single but slow chicotá, to the sounds
of the marches which are chained each
other.
The moment of thinking about how and
when it is better to see those of Dawn
arrives, to continue the night of good
Thursday, or to get up early and go out
when Good Friday shows its first hours
of life, in both cases, we can try to
see the six fraternities. Perhaps for
old people and those that go accompanied
by children, it is better to get up
early since the great majority since has
already come back home to rest.
Tips for getting through The Madrugá.-
Wear comfortable clothes, above all
where footwear is concerned. Take into
account that it can be quite cool at
dawn.
Although it may seem strange, stopping
to relax halfway through the night can
have devastating effects when tiredness
gets the better of us. If necessary, it
is better to have a coffee in a bar (all
of the centre of the town are open that
night) and keep going as long as you
can.
Just as the early morning represents the
most intense moment as far as devotion,
art and emotion are concerned, it is
also true for the hussle and bussle in
the streets and the number of nazarenos.
This involves unavoidable waiting to see
the floats, particularly in the very
early hours of the morning. Be patient
and enjoy watching the processions
(nazarenos, acólitos, banners, etc…)
some of which are the most interesting
of Easter Week.
And don't forget something very
important for this night, the patience,
since you will be able to check how you
are gobbled literally by people's uproar
that tries to move from a place to
another to contemplate as close as
possible to their fraternities, or you
will be able to despair before the
endless nazarenos retinue that passes in
front of you and it seems never to
finish.
Photos:
Francisco Santiago@
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