Before embarking on my trip to Amsterdam, I was lucky enough to have Palm Sunday in Spain. Córdoba is one of the best cities in which to see Semana Santa, or Holy Week. The week between Palm Sunday and Easter is filled with parades. The processions leave the churches morning noon and night, filled with people dressed in long gowns and tall caps with candles and the religious statues lifted on large floats and carried on the backs of men, and just recently women, for miles. These processions last long into the night, when you can hear the sounds of the bands echoing through the streets at one or two in the morning.
The first procession we saw was in the morning on Palm Sunday. Though the outfits remind any visiting American of the KKK, the initial queasiness I felt soon disappeared as children ran up to the figures, asking them to drip wax from their candles onto little wax balls.
Throughout the whole procession there was a sense of community, whether it was from the families standing on the sidelines together or the figures holding hands and marching behind the statues of Jesus and Mary.
The churches were also open, proudly displaying the statues that would be paraded through the streets later in the week. With the combination of incense, streaming sunlight, and the beauty of the figures, you could practically taste the excitement of Semana Santa in the air.
Those following the statues as they left the churches are incredibly devoted to their roles. This is an event that brings tears and smiles to the faces of the people of Córdoba every year.
My favorite part of the processions, however, were the late night processions that wound their way around the beautiful Mezquita. The floodlights on the golden building combined with the candles and the palpable energy in the air made the evenings in Córdoba truly magical
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