Holy Week in Orihuela



 Holy Week in Orihuela, declared of International Tourist Interest

Holy Week in Orihuela is one of the most important religious-cultural events in Spain. It was declared of International Tourist Interest in 2010, and has a series of peculiarities that make it unique in the world. An example of this are the traditions that have endured for centuries today.

One of the most impressive processions is the one that takes place on Holy Thursday from eleven o'clock at night: that of the Holy Christ of Silence. In it you can see two long lines of confreres, dressed in Capuchin habits, their heads covered, walking through the crowd in absolute silence. The only light that illuminates the route is that of the lanterns they carry, as the city remains dark after the street lights are turned off in those streets through which the procession passes. This is the Penitential Brotherhood of Silence, which has its origin in 1940, inside one of the three Gothic churches of the city, the Church of Santiago. This church houses the only passage that is shown at that time: The Christ of Consolation, the work of José Puchol (1795). It is as this image passes through this image that the visitor can hear, in an atmosphere of deep respect, one of the characteristic notes of Holy Week in Oriola: the so-called Song of the Passion, an intangible work that dates back to the sixteenth century and whose song of "hoarse angels" has been transmitted by oral tradition to this day.


Within the religious traditions, another procession stands out: that of the Holy Burial of Christ, on Holy Saturday. Proposed as a World Heritage Site, it is probably the most unique procession of Holy Week in Orihuela. It traces its origins back to the beginning of the seventeenth century, when, in order to recognize the merits, honor, loyalty and love for the city, the city government decided to appoint the Covered Knight. This annual honorary position entails, to those who hold it, the privilege of carrying a black banner with the motto of the city, and being dressed in a tailcoat and top hat, which can be worn at all times, throughout the route, as well as inside the Cathedral, inside which the funeral procession is introduced. It is an official mourning procession in which the entire municipal government participates.

As a tribute to this figure, a bronze statue can be seen in the square next to the temple representing a man in motion dressed in a tailcoat and top hat and holding a flag.


But another aspect should be added to this procession. It's not just the figure of the Covered Knight that stands out here. An impressive processional float goes through the streets generating enormous expectation. This is the oldest procession of the Holy Week in Oriola: "El Triunfo de la Cruz" (1696). Also known as "The She-Devil", it consists of a cross placed on a globe, flanked by a skeleton on one side and a devil with breasts on the other. This representation, unique in the world, of profound alchemical significance, is a theme repeated every year in the country's news.

Semana santa
Another tradition is the one that represents the so-called Roman Century. Every day, a group of Roman soldiers can be seen closing the procession in luminous and spectacular costumes. Once it is over, it is customary for the spectators to go en masse to the Plaza del Marqués de Rafal, where the Centuria has the habit of performing, to the rhythm of bugles and drums, the so-called "caracol", a parade in a circle that consists of closing it, more and more, in other smaller concentric circles. An appointment of the Holy Week in Oriola, which has already become something essential.



    It is, in short, Holy Week in Orihuela, a unique experience. The visual experience of the bright colors of the vests of the Nazarenes, the spectacular thrones or the sunsets from the seminary; the scent of incense, the experience of the sound of the "twin" trumpets during the day or the Song of the Passion at night. But also the experience of contemplating the extraordinary works of the great sculptor Francisco de Salzillo, among many others. Their realism can only provoke in those who contemplate them that feeling of pity that surrounds everyone, locals and strangers. How it envelops anyone who contemplates it the face of Our Father Jesus of Nazareth, Patron Saint of the city, which makes us discover, at the same time, within ourselves, that Truth that the message of Jesus Christ entails.