Insights on the Exuberant Andalusian Culture

Andalusia is the area at the southern tip of Spain and consists of 8 provinces: Seville, Malaga, Granada, Jaen, Cordoba, Almeria, Cadiz, and Huelva. The latest census shows that more than 10,000,000 people live in Andalusia, out of a total Spanish population of 44,000,000. It is known that there are several hundred thousand Andalusians living in Catalonia and Madrid. So about one out of every 4 residents of Spain is from Andalusia. This makes the Andalusians the largest group of people living in Spain.

Abroad when people in other countries think about Spain, they think of a beautiful woman like Carmen, dressed in flamenco costume, and dancing to music from a guitar. This image is probably more like that of an Andalusian than any other group in Spain. Because in Andalusia one finds beautiful women, guitar music, and flamenco.

What characterizes the Andalusians? The Andalusians are a fun loving people who love music, beautiful women, and who love to eat. They are friendly, especially to foreigners, whom they try to please. They will accept any stranger into their midst and try to include that person into their society. They have an open society that is not inward looking. They are also laid back, and very often time does not mean anything to them, meaning that their lives are not run by the clock. Also the Andalusians feel very Spanish and do not want to separate themselves from Spain politically. For their big population numbers, they do not pull their weight in national politics, and are sort of forgotten. Perhaps they care more about other things than politics.

The Andalusians also have an exuberant culture. The word “exuberant” means joyously unrestrained. This fits to a T what their culture is. This essay looks at some of the things that define their culture.

Music, Dance, and Cinema

When one looks at the national stage and looks at what singers are the most popular and important, one finds that it is usually an Andalusian. The greatest recent Spanish singer was Rocio Jurado, who died of cancer in 2006. She came from the little town of Chipiona, in the province of Cadiz. The most important singer today is Isabel Pantoja, who comes from Seville. Most of the other folkloric singers, those who sing flamenco, bolero, rumba, and similar music, also come from Andalusia. Among younger singers, the most popular singer now is David Bisbal, from the province of Almeria. About 60% of popular singers on the national stage are from Andalusia.

When one looks at guitar players, the most important are from Andalusia. The most famous guitar player now is Paco de Lucia, who comes from Cadiz.

In flamenco, the most famous dancers now come from Andalusia. Seville is known as the center of flamenco in Spain. The famous flamenco dancer and choreographer Cristina Hoyos, who danced in many movies and who now has her own dance troupe, is from Seville. Flamenco originated with the gypsies of Andalusia, and was influenced by music from the Moors.

One of the most remembered singer, dancer, and movie star was the late Lola Flores, who died in 1995. She was explosive as a dancer. She was born in Jerez, in the province of Cadiz.

Why are so many singers, guitar players, and dancers from Andalusia? It is their culture. Children at a very young age are taught to dance and sing and play the guitar. In Andalusia, one finds many television programs that feature singers. The young children see these programs and copy them. Radio stations play a lot of folkloric music. Parents encourage their children to sing. Whenever there is a family reunion, children are asked to sing and to dance. Their elders show pride and approval when the children perform, so this becomes something very natural for children. Also in Andalusia you hear people singing in the streets, something that does not happen in more northern provinces. So the whole culture is attuned to music and dance. It is no wonder then that Andalusia produces such a large number of talented singers and dancers.

Many of Spain’s famous actresses, who were famed for their beauty, were also from Andalucia. Still a popular entertainer is Carmen Sevilla, who was a real beauty in her youth. Another actress from Seville was Paquita Rico. Actresses from Malaga were Marisol and Imperio Argentina. A current Hollywood actor is Antonio Banderas.

People who do not work in offices or those who work alone will many times be found singing to themselves. The song is in them and has to come out. These people do not need an audience. They are happy and they need to sing. That is why so many singers come from Andalusia.

Charm

Children in Andalusia are socialized since they are born. The people love babies and they love to hug and kiss them. So the children learn at a very early age to be affectionate in return. The children are brought to ALL social functions and apparently no one hires baby sitters. Sometimes the grandparents baby sit.

But all the kissing and hugging and socializing produce people with the greatest charm in the world. A foreigner notices that immediately. People try to please others in this society. And that is why there are so many foreigners who have decided to live here.

The charm that these people have is really something. After talking a minute with any Andalusian, one feels perfectly at home with them and it is as if one has known them all of one’s life. The charm they have caresses one and makes one feel good. Probably Andalusians are the most charming people in the world.

On TV, many Andalusians have succeeded as talk show hosts or hosts of entertainment shows because of their good looks, but mainly because of the charm they have. An example of this is the young Jaime Cantizano from Jerez, the host of a very popular talk show.

The Family

The family is the most important social unit in Andalusia. The family unit is extremely close knit. This includes an extended family of aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins. On Sundays grown up children are supposed to have lunch with their parents, and that is a hard and fixed rule. Also grown up children are supposed to phone their parents everyday. For other societies, this may seem to be very cloying, but this is the natural order of things in Andalusia. This means that grown up children hesitate to take jobs outside Andalusia, such as Madrid, because they will be far from their immediate family. Many Andalusians never leave the city they were born in. No one is encouraged to live abroad.

Even if the father is very macho, the actual ruler of the house is the mother. She decides where the family will live, and where the children will be educated. The father will decide what car the family will buy. So while the mother may appear to be very feminine and frail, she is the one who decides important matters of the family.

Many grown up sons are called by their parents “El niño (the boy)”, even if the boy is a 60 year old. Children are not encouraged to be independent. Grown up children are supposed to live at home until they get married, even if they own their own apartment. An unmarried man is expected to have lunch at his parents’ home everyday because the mother wants him to eat a good meal.

The other side of the coin is that many parents expect their children to take care of them when they are old. Many of this parents are very egotistic. Many times they try to ruin the love relationships their children have so that the children, especially girls, do not get married and leave home. There are a large number of women in Andalusia who never got married because of this.

Many parents also will tell their children exactly what to do, even if the children are married and living independently. Many of these children never grow up because of this and are completely lost when their parents die.

Sociability

A newcomer to Andalucia realizes fast that the Andalusians are very sociable creatures. When they have parties they include all of their friends and all of their relatives. On Sundays when you go to restaurants, you notice that most of the tables are long tables. When the people arrive, you notice that the pater familias seats at the head of the table and all of the family, from the grandparents to the smallest children are included in the group. Most of the time children are included in every social occasion and there are few babysitters. They even bring their small children to weddings, when the food may be served at midnight. When the bill comes, the pater familias is supposed to pay the whole bill, and then you realized that there are many rich people in Spain, because they do this every week. And the family invited does not skimp on the food. They order what they want, whether it is the most expensive item on the menu or not. It is common to see groups of 30 or more at restaurants. And these are not special occasions.

Beauty

The Andalusians are a mixture of the first Iberian tribes, Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Visigoths, and the Moors. When one looks at European kings, one finds that many were physically and mentally weak, due to inbreeding. When the genes are varied, a stronger species is created. This is what happened to the Andalusians. They come from so many people and conquerors, and this has produced a strong race, a race that produces many legendary beauties. One has only to sit at a sidewalk café in any of the big Andalusian cities and one sees very beautiful women with flawless skin passing by. The flawless skin is due to their diet. All that olive oil that they eat has a lot of Vitamin E, which is good for the skin.

When one studies the results of the Miss Spain contest over the last 20 years, one finds that 9 of the winners came from Andalucia. That is 45%. There has been a Mr. Spain contest only in the last 11 years only, and in that time 4 of the winners were from Andalusia. That is 36%. This shows that there are many good looking men in Andalusia also. Recently Juan Garcia Postigo, the Mr. Spain of 2006, who comes from Malaga, won the 2007 Mr. World title.

Women in Andalusia are probably the most feminine women in Spain. This is part of their culture, since they are young. Women are supposed to be beautiful in Andalusia, so a lot of young women aspire to this model. They pay a lot of attention to their appearance, and long hair is encouraged. Women are not only supposed to be beautiful, but they also have to be sexy. Therefore a lot of women will dress to enhance their physical attributes. Showing the bare shoulders and the cleavage is natural and goes along with the warmer weather in this region. Many young women also wear very high heels to enhance their sexy walk.

It has been found that the Andalusians are the people in Spain who spend more on perfumes, and this includes men. People in Andalusia are very conscious of their smell and visitors to the area become aware of this when they meet Andalusians. People really enjoy putting on perfume and smelling good.

When one comes to Andalusia, one notices that every block has a cosmetics store. The shopping centers may have 3 or 4 cosmetic stores. The average adult spends 700 euros on personal grooming. This includes hair cuts, visits to hair parlors, and the buying of cosmetics and perfumes. This is high, compared to their annual income.

If one goes to the streets, one does see that people are well groomed. There are few hippies and men have their hair cut short. Most women have long hair. The older men may have moustaches and beards, but most of the younger men are clean shaven.

Many Andalusians have the most beautiful eyes. Many of them have are blue eyed or green eyed. They have the darkest and longest eyelashes possible, making their eyes very expressive, sometimes hypnotizing. Many men also have these very expressive eyes.

Weddings

Weddings in Andalusia are major events for families. People get really dressed up for weddings. You will see women with the most extravagant dresses imaginable, dresses which cost hundreds of euros. It is like a Hollywood production, with a cast of hundreds. They invite everyone they know, including the children. So a typical wedding here has 300 to 500 people. The parents usually pay and may have to pay the wedding in installments.

Church weddings take a lot of time to plan. First of all, the church has to be reserved, and the waiting list for a trendy church may be one year or more.

All of the women have to go in new outfits, which may cost several hundred euros. They also have to have new accessories, like shoes, bags, and hair ornaments that match the dress. And the dresses are very, very extravagant, like what a Hollywood actress would wear at a movie premier. One who comes from another country cannot imagine what a show this is. They use all sorts of things here to enhance beauty, such as feathers and rhinestones.

The women prepare for these spectaculars several months in advance. First the woman has to decide if she will go to a dressmaker or coutourier for her dress. This will cost more than if one goes to a store and pick a dress already made. Then one has to select the material for the dress, and this may take months. Then there are the endless fittings with the dressmaker. In the meantime one is shopping for the right accessories. One has to make the right impression at the wedding, or people may think that one is going broke or in poor financial shape.

The day of the wedding, the women have their beauty appointments lined up. They have to have their hair done. Then there are manicures and pedicures. Then they have the professional makeup done by the makeup artists.

Luckily the men just need to have their suit pressed and they have to have a clean car.

The church ceremony will usually be on a Saturday afternoon, and may start at 6 or 7 pm. Only women who are already pregnant get married in the morning, so that no one will see them. The wedding service will last about an hour and a half. After that the bride and groom disappear with their official photographer to have their official pictures taken, usually at some beautiful garden. People invited to the wedding will then go to their own bar to have some tapas, because the reception usually will not start until 9:30 or 10 pm.

At the reception, drinks and canapés are first served. Waiters bring an endless assortment of these to people who are standing in the patio of the restaurant where the reception takes place. Seating at the tables starts at midnight and usually abundant food and wine are served. There are speeches and toasts to the bride and groom, and the dinner does not end before 3 am. After that the wedded couple cut the cake and this is served. The dancing may not commence until 3:30 am! The dancing may go on until 6 or 7 am. Small children are fast asleep by this time! This is a typical wedding for a middle class family.

First Communions

When children reach the age of 7 or 8, they have their first communions, usually in the month of May. These are small scale weddings now and quite expensive for the parents. The girls have to have long white gowns and the boys are dressed in suits or naval outfits. The children also need their accessories.

The parents have photographs taken of their children at professional photographers. Then the photographs are printed on little cards and these are to be given to family and guests at the first communion as official remembrances of this important date.

Then there is the first communion at the church, usually at 11 am. The mass is usually long because the priest is usually long winded, and there is a lot of singing by the children. After that everyone goes to the restaurant where the celebration will take place. The parents have to reserve the restaurant months in advance. Usually a very good meal will be given to the guests and the festivities last all afternoon until the night.

Baptisms

Baptisms are another milestone in Andalusian families. This is another occasion to dress up and eat well. When a child is about 3 months old, the parents will have the child baptized by a priest in a church. This is usually done on a Saturday morning at 11 am. The child is usually dressed in a long gown that may have been inherited from the family. The godfather and godmother are chosen by the child’s parents very carefully, because in Catholic tradition, if the parents die, then the godparents are supposed to take care of the child. Also the godparents are supposed to give the godchild good gifts for Christmas and the child’s saint’s day. In Spain they usually do not celebrate birthdays, but they celebrate the person’s saint’s day. People usually have names from Christian saints, and the day the saint is honored in the church is when one celebrates.

After the baptism, everyone goes to the restaurant chosen by the parents and a big and expensive lunch is served. The talk will go on endlessly until nighttime. Talk is just as enjoyable as food for the Andalusians.

The Tertulia

Tertulia means a get together for a chat. When Andalusians get together for a luncheon party, this is accompanied by a lot of talking. People start arriving at the site of the lunch around 2 pm. Then everyone kisses everyone else and this takes a very long time, because people will be talking. Then comes the lunch with food being served at 3 pm. The lunch will take about 3 hours. People may not leave until midnight because they will be busy talking and telling jokes. This is called the tertulia, the endless conversation. There will also be a lot of singing, usually led by the women. They break out in song whenever they feel like.

The wine and drinks are endless. After lunch there will be a merienda consisting of many different desserts and coffee and liqueurs. All the time the talk is constant. Andalusians have a lot of energy in talking and they do not seem to get tired talking.

When one goes to the street, one will usually find a friend. First one has to ask how the family of the friend is healthwise. The friend will enumerate all the physical and mental ails of their family. This will take a minimum of 20 minutes for the interchange of all of the medical information. So what happens if one meets several friends? No one in Andalusia is in a hurry to say goodbye to their friends! Time is meaningless. If one looks at his watch to look at the time, the friend may feel insulted.

What happens if one misses an appointment? The Andalusians say, “No pasa nada (meaning nothing happens, or it is not really important, nothing to get upset over).

Food

Food is a religion in Andalusia. Children learn since they are small what are the best foods to eat. Mothers demand the freshest vegetables and fruits. They are also demanding about fresh fish and they know everything about meats, poultry, and other foods. A simple laborer in Andalusia is more of a gourmet than a rich man from New York. Much of the salary of an Andalusian is spent on getting the best food possible.

When a housewife goes to market and orders vegetables, she will announce to everyone in line what she will be cooking that day. Every other housewife there will comment on that, whether she knows the other person or not. A tertulia starts taking place. That is why lines are very long in the markets, because the market is another place for socializing.

In Andalusia it is perfectly correct to talk to someone one does not know, unlike in other cultures. Andalusians are so friendly that this is something natural for them.

When one is traveling in Andalusia and wants to look for a good restaurant, one should ask a middle aged person who is working in a store what is the best restaurant around. That person will recommend a good restaurant and he will not be wrong about the place being good.

When people go to work in the morning, they are already thinking about what they will have for lunch. Food is really an obsession in Andalusia.

Speaking about the Mediterranean diet, the only people in Andalusia following this are the older people. With affluence, younger people have added meat to their daily diet. The older people may have eaten meat only once a week. And very young people now love fast food, just like other people in the developed world.

A Typical Luncheon Party in Andalusia

When one gets invited to a luncheon party, it may be a sit down lunch for 20 (10 couples). The hosts usually join 2 long tables to make one long table. The women sit at one half of the table and the men sit at the other half. This is an Andalusian custom that is frequently used here.

When one arrives, the appetizers are already on the table. There may be at least 20 plates of appetizers. These included about 3 different types of salad, pate, and lobsters in their shells (Andalusians like to hand peel them at the table). There may be about 6 different types of cheeses and olives.

There usually is a cured ham, which is called pata negra. This is the most expensive type of ham to be found in Spain, and pata negra means black legs or hooves. The pigs are grown in oak forests in Huelva and they forage for acorns. After the pigs are harvested, they are air cured in caves in the mountains, and most of the fat drips off. What remains is a very lean ham, which is low in cholesterol and is very good for your health. The ham has a slight nutty taste, probably from the acorns the pigs ate. This ham is very expensive to buy.

There are also smoked salmon in several guises. One plate may have salmon on crackers and another plate may have salmon with pears. There will be about a dozen bottles of white and red wine, the most expensive one can find in the markets.

After the appetizers comes shrimp cocktail, served in special double cups. Then comes a delicious stuffed eggplant, stuffed with minced meat. After that come eels cooked in garlic and sliced mushrooms. Then comes a steak and two more main dishes, usually a fish and another meat dish.

There are about a half dozen different desserts. Of course there is flan (custard), ice cream, and a variety of small pastries. Another innovative dessert is a pear floating on a bed of lemon pudding.

Then come the liqueurs, all of this accompanied with very animated conversation. There may be no special occasion for the lunch. The hosts just want to get together with their close friends. The food is served in abundance and all the dishes are gourmet dishes, and everything is finished! When one lives in Andalusia and makes friends, one will not starve! Eating is something everyone enjoys here, and they enjoy the food in large quantities. For all they eat, they are not very heavy. Perhaps it is all the walking that is forced on one when one lives in the city. And when Andalusians eat, they look for the best and the most expensive things they can afford.

Emotionality

Expressing one’s emotions publicly is very common in Andalusia. During Holy Week processions, when the float containing the statue of the Virgin Mary passes by, people shout “Guapa” (beautiful) to her. When the float containing the statue of Christ passes by, people cry. This is considered normal here.

When there is a death in Andalusia, it is the custom for the family to accompany the body of the deceased at a chapel or a room for the wake overnight. They do not sleep at all. Friends and relatives will visit and everyone will cry. This goes on until the funeral mass the next day at the chapel. After that there may be a burial, with all the attendant ceremony, with everyone crying. Emotions are not to be hidden in Andalusia.

Noise

Spain is the noisiest country in Europe, and Andalusia is one of the noisiest places in Spain. People like to shout when they are talking to another person, and they are not aware of this. The more educated class talk in softer tones. So one can tell what the educational level of a person is just by listening to that person talk. As a result of the noise, many people start getting hearing problems when they reach middle age. Few people with hearing problems go to a hearing specialist to get hearing aids, because it is just not the custom in Andalusia.

Few workers who use noisy drilling equipment have ear protection on. People love fireworks and firecrackers. They love loud music, especially in their cars.

Foreigners who decide to live in Andalusia should choose very carefully where they will live because of the noise levels in different streets. Beware of bars, because they will be very active in the early morning hours with music blaring from them. Many foreigners lose a lot of sleep because of noise from the street.

Cleanliness

There is a saying that cleanliness is next to godliness. Andalusians believe in this and it is very important for women to have clean houses and apartments. In many women, this gets to be an obsessive compulsive disorder. They spend most of their free time cleaning their house. People from other countries do not have this obsession, which is very common in Andalusia.

In small towns, it is the custom for a woman to clean the sidewalk and street in front of her house everyday with water. That is why small towns are very clean in Andalusia. They also whitewash their houses twice a year in the white towns.

Gender Roles

There are very well defined gender roles in Andalusia. The man is supposed to be very macho and the woman is supposed to be very feminine. There is much criticism from society on the person who disobeys this rule. Housework is supposed to be done by women, so men are relieved of this drudge work. Cooking is supposed to be done by women, so one finds many men who do not know how to cook anything or prepare any food. In this respect, the men have been spoiled by their mothers and are not ready for independent life.

Society is changing and many women are working now. Many women have never been trained by their mothers how to cook. What happens when men marry women who do not know how to cook? The men keep going to the houses of their mothers to have their meals!

 

Hospitality

In Andalusia, the friend of your friend is your friend. If one gives a lunch for friends, one of your friends may bring a friend with him. This friend is welcomed, even if he was not invited by the host. This is a sign of how hospitality works out in Andalusia. The Andalusians are generous by nature and also gregarious by nature. The more people there are, the merrier the party will be.

The Economy

The economy in Andalusia has been growing faster than the national economy as a whole. The people in Andalusia work hard and are getting more prosperous all the time. In the past there was a caricature that the Andalusians were lazy and just wanted to sleep the siesta. This was and is very far from the truth. However there are a large number of people who are still poor and uneducated, but strides are being made to reduce this number.

One of the big motors of the economy in Andalusia has been tourism, which has been growing every year. Andalusia is lucky that it has many beautiful beaches and many good hotels, and the roads are getting better. There is plenty of security and tourists feel safe here. Also the Moors left a lot of architectural gems, such as the Giralda Tower in Seville, the Alhambra Palace in Granada, and the Mosque in Cordoba. Also the Andalusians are friendly and have a lot of charm. They have their white towns which also have their charm. And the food in Andalusia is very varied and wonderful. No wonder so many tourists come.

Since the weather is probably the best in Europe, many foreigners are buying second homes in the Costa del Sol and other areas, including inland areas. The construction industry is huge and gives employment to many people. This helps the economy. It is not known at this time how many foreigners spend part of the year in Andalucia, but it is a huge number. It is estimated now that the total population in the Costa del Sol is 2 million, much more than the official census. This figure was arrived at by analyzing how much garbage has been generated by residents.

In many towns in the Costa del Sol, the foreigners now outnumber the Spanish who live there. Many have young children and the schools have had to institute bilingual education. With the advent of low cost airline traffic to Malaga, many English have decided to live in Malaga. The father may work in London during the week and visit his family on Friday afternoon, returning to London on Monday morning. The cost of living in Malaga is lower than that of England, and this is an attraction.

In the interior of Andalusia, agriculture is very important. There are thousands of groves of olives, and the olive oil industry is very important. Other crops are also raised. There is more and more light industry all the time.

The Spanish Language

In Castilla and Madrid, the letter “c” is pronounced with the “th” sound. In Andalusia the letter “c” is pronounced as an “s”. This is the main difference in the use of the Spanish language in Andalusia. Since Castilla is the source of the Castillian language, their pronunciation is considered the correct one. It is estimated that there are now around 400 million people who speak Spanish in the world, and the majority of them are in Mexico, Central America, and South America. Most of the Spanish conquistadores came from Extremadura and Andalusia, because those were the poorest regions at that time, and the men of those regions were motivated to make their fortunes in the Americas. So they brought to the Americas their Spanish language and ways of pronunciation. As a result of this, the majority of Spanish speakers in the world speak like the Andalusians. The Andalusians feel no inferiority with the way they speak Spanish. In fact they think that their Spanish sounds better (more melodic) than the Spanish spoken in Madrid and Castilla.

The Afternoon Paseo (Walk)

Every afternoon between 5 pm and 9 pm, the people dress up and take a leisurely walk downtown. One goes to see and be seen, so one dresses up carefully, especially the women. One’s social status can be seen by the way one dresses. One will always run into one’s friends downtown. One also sits at sidewalk cafes to take a little snack or aperitif. One can enjoy the sight of other people walking. One also takes a look at the stores downtown and browses. This custom is very old in Andalusia and continues to the present day.

Holy Week Processions

The start of Holy Week in Spain is Palm Sunday and almost everyone is on vacation. Seville and Malaga are famous for their processions during Holy Week. All of the hotels get full (reservations are required way in advance) and there are hundreds of thousands who go to visit Seville and Malaga.

There are social clubs called cofradias, which have hundreds of adults and children as members. They have big buildings beside their parish churches, with a big door opening to the street. These doors are about 30 feet high, and for good reason. Inside the buildings they have the thrones that are used for Holy Week. The main reason for the cofradias is to be able to take part in the processions of Holy Week, and the members spend all year preparing for Holy Week. A large amount of money is spent on these preparations, because the members of the cofradias want to have the best presentation and procession during Holy Week. There is some competition between the cofradias. Each cofradia has about 5,000 adult members.

A throne consists of a platform about 12 feet by 8 feet, sitting on 6 stainless steel beams (about 40 feet long), whose ends have been decorated with silver or gold (like the prow of a ship). The base of the platform is also elaborately decorated with silver or gold, to the height of 2 feet. On top of the platform is a life size statue of Christ and a scene from the Passion is shown, such as the crucifixion. Behind the statues they may have a small olive tree. The platform is decorated with candelabras to hold the hundreds of candles that will be used, since most of the processions will take place at night. Then they have hundreds of white or red flowers arranged around the platform. The platforms weigh more than 5 tons each.

Many of the statues were created by famous artists in the 17th century. The statues are very life like and the ones showing the agony of Christ are very impressive. They cause many viewers to start crying because they seem so real. Most of them have been sculpted out of wood and then a polychrome finish has been applied. Before movies were made, these statues were used to instruct the faithful in the Catholic faith.

The cofradias usually exhibit two thrones. Besides the one showing Christ, they have another one of the Virgin Mary. This one is usually more beautiful than the one showing Christ. The Virgin Mary is dressed in gold or silver, and she usually has a very long cape of about 20 feet in length. The cape is embroidered with beautiful designs in gold thread. They also adorn the throne with the candelabras and flowers. The best artists of Andalucia are employed to make the thrones as beautiful as possible. On top of the statue of the Virgin Mary, there is a canopy with a golden design. Hanging from the canopy are thick gold tassels that swing when the throne moves.

The best goldsmiths and silversmiths have been chosen to decorate the thrones. They are really works of art, recalling all the history of European art, from the Renaissance to the rococo. One can see carvings of faces in gold, and all sorts of beautiful designs. Each throne may be worth several million euros, because of all the gold and silver used.

At the front of the throne’s beams is a big bell, about a foot high. This is rang with a hammer by the director of the throne to signal the men what to do. To lift the throne, he rings the bell once. There is another signal to lay the throne on the floor, and so forth. There are between 160 and 280 men to lift and carry each throne, at very close quarters, so the signals by the bell are very important.

To be chosen as one of the men who will carry the throne is an honor. However one has to be able to carry 40 kilos on one’s shoulders for hours. Women are not excluded from this, but there are few women who can carry this weight for hours.

The first procession starts on Palm Sunday morning. There are hundreds of thousands of spectators, dressed in their Sunday best, from children to the oldest members of the family.

First of all come men who hold the banners of the cofradia. They are dressed in white tunics, similar to what priests use, that button down the front and they wear white gloves. On their heads they use pointed hoods (about 3 feet high) made of purple cloth put over a cardboard base. There are two holes for the eyes only. One cannot see their faces at all except for the eyes and this is the costume of penitents.

Then come children between 3 and 7 years old. They have the white tunics also, but instead of the covered hood for their heads they use a head covering, similar to what the pharaohs of Egypt used, with the face uncovered. If the children are very young, their parents accompany them on the side of the procession. Later there are older children and teens, but these older children are also using the covered head hoods. All the children use white gloves.

Following the children are adults dressed in the white tunics with the purple head hoods, also wearing white gloves. Every cofradia uses a different color combination for the tunics. Many of the adults and older children carry silver staffs about 5 feet high with elaborate designs, or they carry four foot high yellow candles. The leaders of the processions also wear yellow capes, so that everyone knows who they are. The adults and children not carrying the silver staffs or candles carry palms.

Then comes the marching band. There are at least 12 drummers, whose beat lead the parade. The marching band has about 100 members, most of them teenagers. They are dressed in another costume, with a golden helmet with white plumes.

Following the band comes the throne containing the life sized figure of Jesus on a donkey, with a palm tree behind. This throne is carried by 180 men at very close quarters. The men are dressed as penitents but wear no hoods. They take a step with every beat of the drums. Every 30 feet the director of the throne hits the bell with the hammer to signal the men to stop and put the throne down to rest. The processions go very slowly because of this and may take hours. Many of the men who carry the throne are blindfolded with black handkerchiefs. Apparently these men wear this because they have a special request to God (such as to cure an ailing parent). Following the throne are a group of people, many also blindfolded, who also have a special request.

Then come several hundred more penitents. The parents give water and snacks to their children who are participating in the procession. On every part of the processional route, there are street vendors with their stands who sell bottles of water and all sorts of snacks, and they have a roaring business.

Then comes the second marching band, or orchestra. They accompany the throne of the Virgin Mary, carried by another 180 men. These men are dressed as penitents, but wear no hoods. The audience will clap their hands and shout “Viva” when the throne passes. The throne is usually very beautiful.

Then come a group of women elegantly dressed in black, wearing the peineta, or high comb, with a long black veil. The women wear transparent black gloves and black high heel shoes. These women are called the majas.

Every night they have 7 different cofradias participating. Each cofradia leaves from their base and starts wending itself towards downtown. At the principal avenue, called the Alameda, they join each other to form one long procession. Each cofradia has to have exact timing so that they reach the Alameda at the appointed time. The places and times each cofradia is supposed to reach is printed in the newspapers, so spectators can see them.

At night the thrones have their candles lit and are more impressive. The number of spectators is also greater, several hundred thousand of them. Parents bring even their youngest children with them, in their carriages.

Among some of the beautiful costumes are those of some young men, which are like costumes from the Renaissance. The men wear black velvet coats and pants to the knees, together with long white stockings to the knees. The black coats have gold detailing with gold thread. The men wear black capes, also detailed in gold. On their chests they wear gold medallions, about 6 inches in diameter.

The staffs that many of the penitents hold in their hands are also works of art in silver. At the top they carry the symbols of Christ (IHS). The designs are beautiful and created by artists and craftsmen. Many also carry banners. At the middle of the banner may be an oil painting of the virgin. Some of these paintings were several hundred years old and painted by old masters.

The processions go on every night till the wee hours. The climax is during Good Friday, when there may be more than a million people viewing the procession.

All in all the processions are like a giant pageant, a giant Hollywood production with a cast of thousands.

Every day from Palm Sunday on, the processions go on. The peak of activity is on Good Friday. At night the stores turn off their lights and the street lights are also turned off in the procession routes. The only lights are from the candles on the thrones and the candles carried by the penitents. This makes the processions much more dramatic. The streets are crowded with hundreds of thousands of spectators, and the emotion of the moment makes many cry. This is really an awesome experience.

Holy Saturday is relatively quiet and there are no processions scheduled on that day. Easter Sunday has one long procession that starts from the Cathedral and includes all the cofradias and is more happy. This lasts for hours.

In conclusion, the Holy Week processions show the faith of the Andalusians and participating in them or viewing them unite all the Andalusians in spirit.

The Fairs

Every town and city in Andalusia has a fair. One of the biggest fairs is the one of Seville. It begins two weeks after Holy Week and lasts 6 days. It starts with a parade of people on horseback and people in open carriages. The men wear a short jacket, black or gray pants, and boots. The women wear very colorful gypsy dresses with the many tiers and flounces, similar to flamenco dresses, but with a looser fit. The most prominent citizens and famous people in Spain take part in this parade, that ends in the bullring.

At night people go to the fairgrounds, where one finds hundreds of casetas, which are large tents. Many of these are private, but many more are public. Here the people dance the Sevillanas, eat tapas, and drink sherry. Music is constant and the festivities last to 6 am.

Bigger than the Seville fair is the fair of Malaga, the biggest in Europe, and this lasts 10 days. The fair starts in the second week of August. The opening night there are fireworks over the city park. The next day there is a parade of people on horseback and in open carriages to the Church of La Victoria, the patron saint of Malaga. Mass if followed by dancing and more celebrations in the city center. That night the festivities are transferred to the fairgrounds, where there are 240 casetas for eating and dancing. All of the casetas are public and do not charge an entrance fee. The fairgrounds are lit with thousands of lights and there are fountains that are also illuminated. There is an auditorium where popular national singers perform. As in Seville, people dance the Sevillanas, eat tapas, and drink sherry. The fairgrounds also have rides for the younger people.

Going to the fair is one way that the Andalusians enjoy themselves. Fairs have been going on in Europe since the middle ages. When one goes to the fair, one can see how exuberant the people are, with all the singing and dancing. More than a million go to the fair in Malaga.

As a footnote, the gypsy dress (traje de gitana) may cost a lot of money, about 1000 euros or more. The well to do may have a different gypsy dress for each day of the fair because they do not want to be seen in the same dress twice.

The Rocio Pilgrimage (Romeria del Rocio)

In the province of Huelva, there is a shrine to the Virgin del Rocio (Virgin of the Dew). This is located on the edge of the Doñana park. Every late May or early June (depending on the liturgical calendar), there is the biggest pilgrimage in Andalusia to this place to pay homage to the Virgin, and more than a million people take part. This is called the Romeria del Rocio. The little statue is reported to have miraculous powers. The statue is also called “La Paloma Blanca” (the White Dove).

There is a contingent from each of the 8 provinces that all meet at the shrine, each contingent organized by a brotherhood. The pilgrimage is done on horseback, on carriages, on tractors, and on foot. People go in costume on this pilgrimage, with the women in gypsy costume and flowers in their hair. Truly this is the most colorful pilgrimage in Spain. During the trip, the people have fun and dance the Sevillanas, eat a lot, drink a lot, sing a lot, bathe in streams, and sleep in campsites. At night they play guitar music and flamenco music and dance to this. They use flares, candles, and torches to light their way. The trip takes 3 or more days, depending how far away from the village of El Rocio one starts from.

The million people converge on the village and stand outside the church. The little statue of the Virgin is brought out and carried around, because everyone wants to touch her. The Virgin goes around the village for 12 hours until she is brought back to the church. The pilgrimage ends then and people go back home. This pilgrimage has been taking place for a long time and the most famous people in Spain are hooked on taking part every year. This pilgrimage is the prime example of the exuberance of the Andalusian culture!