Holy Week in Braga
©Holy Week Braga. All rights reserved.

Photography exhibition

Holy Week

a European perspective

Cabra, Spain

PHOTO 1

 

Author: Mateo Olaya Marín

 

With just over 20,000 inhabitants, the city of Cabra has over twenty brotherhoods. In the image, we can see the Brotherhood and Confraternity of Our Lady of Sorrows walking down José de Silva Street on the night of Good Friday, with its characteristic procession of shawls preceding the parade. The extraordinary sculptural group of Our Lady of Dolours arrived in Cabra from Granada on 21 November 1697 and is attributed to the great sculptor José de Mora. The image of Christ is considered to be one of the finest sculptures of the Andalusian Baroque. The art of the best image-makers of the 17th and 18th centuries left its mark on Cabra in works of great artistic and devotional interest. These works of great dimensions, vestments, or sculptures are the work of José de Mora, Pedro de Mena, Francisco Salzillo, Pablo de Rojas and even the circle of Martínez Montañés.

 

 

 

PHOTO 2

 

Author: Mateo Olaya Marín

 

The image of Jesus Arrested has always been highly venerated, thus its popular nickname 'Señor de las Multitudes' (Lord of the Crowds). The image shown in the photograph, coming down Calle Mayor after leaving the Parish Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and the Angels, is one of the most anticipated moments of Holy Week in Egabrena. The woodcarving is attributed to the artist Nicolás Salzillo and rests on a carved and gilded baroque wooden base, ornamented with 18th century cherubim. The Brotherhood of Jesus Arrested, founded in 1664, preserves very rich elements that are in turn characteristic of Holy Week in Cabra, including the preservation of the way the image is carried in procession on the shoulders of traditional Jews.

 

 

 

PHOTO 3

 

Author: Vicente Rodríguez León

 

As reminiscent of the ancient Holy Week in Cabra, we find the group of the Apostles who accompany the path of Jesus of Nazareth on the morning of Holy Friday. The foundation of this brotherhood dates back to 1586, and its Holy Patron was carved during the 17th century. As you pass through Praça Velha, the majestic Lord's procession allows you to see one of the most emblematic sites of Holy Week in Cabra, namely the tower of the Church of the Assumption and Angels surrounded by a wood of century-old palm trees.

 

 

 

PHOTO 4

 

Author: Mateo Olaya Marín

 

The solemnity and serenity of the processions in Cabra's Holy Week processions is its special sign of identity. Brothers, acolytes, shawls, penitents and the bearers of the litters, with the Stations of the Cross, gather in each procession carrying the cross, banners, flags and insignia of the Brotherhood, made with rich and ancestral embroidery and parading with strict protocols that take place throughout the week. In the image, we can see the procession of the Brotherhood of Nuestro Padre Jesús de la Humildad y Paciencia, a 17th century work of the Martínez Montañés school, which is carried in procession every Holy Friday. It passes through one of Cabra's most imposing streets, Calle Dionisio Alcalá Galiano, near the city's Official Carrera, through which all the Easter processional steps are paraded.

 

 

 

PHOTO 5

 

Author: Mateo Olaya Marín

 

Among the sound heritage of Holy Week in Cabra, stands out the "añafil" or "abejorro" . It is a type of straight, elongated trumpet which is used to indicate that the procession is starting again and the march is restarted. The "añafil" (a musical instrument) is also played at the end of a prayer. The añafiles wear the tunic of the brotherhood where they play and usually stand in front of the Passo. There is a cultural association in Cabra that deals with the conservation and promotion of the añafil. The local 'saeta' (recital or chant), is also prominent during Easter Week in Cabra, performed from balconies or in the street to sing a prayer to the image of Christ or the Virgin during the procession. Finally, the drumming known as 'rompevelos' takes place in the early hours of Good Friday morning.

 

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