Easter week in Andalusia.

Easter Week in Andalusia is the annual Christian commemoration of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth and one of the most genuine expressions of Andalusian Christian feeling. It is a socio-cultural, tourist and economic phenomenon of great importance in the community, deeply rooted among its inhabitants, who participate massively in it, giving rise to the most diverse approaches, from the strictest orthodoxy to a merely cultural vision.

The processions that take place in hundreds of towns and cities, organised by the confraternities, take to the streets with images or sculptural groups, sometimes of great historical and artistic value, representing scenes from the Passion, Death and Resurrection. These are accompanied by a large procession of penitents or Nazarenes, wearing the habit of the brotherhood, carrying candles or crosses, as well as lanterns, banners, women in mantillas and musical accompaniment.

The Holy Week of Malaga (1980), Granada (2009) and Seville (1980) are listed as being of international tourist interest, and of national tourist interest are the Holy Week of Jerez de la Frontera (1993), Cabra (1989), Río Gordo (1997), Baena (2001) Almería (2017) and Cádiz (2022). In another rank are those declared only of Tourist Interest by the Secretary of State of the Spanish Government, which includes the Holy Week of Arcos de la Frontera (1980), Puente Genil (1980), Baeza (1980), Ubeda (1980), Jaen (1981) and Huercal Overa (1983). At the next level comes the turn of those declared of national tourist interest by the Junta de Andalucía, which are Cordoba, Huelva, Carmona, Ecija, Ayamonte, Antequera, Castro del Río, Marchena, Utrera, Lucena and dozens of other Andalusian municipalities. Furthermore, in 2006 the Andalusian government declared Easter Week in Andalusia to be a festival of Tourist Interest in Andalusia due to its unique and cultural characteristics and its importance for tourism.

Source: www.wikipedia.com