The Rosary of Aurora

On September 22 the Rosary of Aurora (La Rosario de la Aurora) was held in Tomares, in the metropolitan area of Seville. The statue of Our Lady of Sorrows (La Virgen de los Dolores) was carried in procession through the town to the Parish Church of Our Lady of Bethlehem (La Iglesia Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Belén) for the pleasure and enjoyment of the members of the congregation, the penitents of the Sacramental Brotherhood of Tomares (La Hermandad Sacramental de Tomares) and the guests. 

Our Lady of Sorrows of the Parish Church of Tomares. Photo by José Manzano

The Hail Mary Prayer (Dios te salve, María) was breathtakingly sung by all present:

Hail Mary,

Full of Grace,

The Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women,

and blessed is the fruit

of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary,

Mother of God,

pray for us sinners now,

and at the hour of death.

Amen. 

And it was very solemn and beautiful, as all the processions tend to be in Tomares, in fact. Watch the video by José Javier Comas Rodríguez here and see for yourself!

A look back in time. History of Andalusia

I think you'd need a timeline that gave you the necessary context for understanding the nature of both the Andalusian and Sevillian and for fully appreciating the circumstances surrounding many of those issues I have touched on so far (be that diet, poetic thought and expression, nationalist feelings, etc.). The content of the table below is a representation of data extracted from the table by @ndalusia-web. For more, read: http://www.spainthenandnow.com/ or http://www.andalucia-andalusia.com/.

Since the times of the first metalworking (third millenium BC) the land between two oceans and two continents is a preferred target of many diverse people. The oldest known monarchy of "Tartessos" originates in the 11th century in southern Spain influenced by the Phoenician and the Greek. Agriculture and cattle breeding as well as mining industry and gold processing are the dominating activities of their trading civilisation. They are followed by the Turdetani, an Iberian tribe, later the Carthaginias found their own settlements.	2500 BC - First metalworking
	11-6th century BC - Kingdom of "Tartessos"
	900 BC - Phoenician settle the Iberian peninsula and found Cádiz
	8th century BC - Foundation of Hispalis (i.e. Roman name of Seville)
	600 BC - Greek settlements along the Andalusian coast
	500 BC - Carthaginian (Punic) settlements
During the 3rd Century BC the Romans beat the Carthaginian in the two Punic Wars, found and dominate for the next 700 years the "Baetica" province. Andalusia supplies the Roman Empire with food, oil, wine and metal. The philosopher Seneca and the first two emperors born outside of Rome come from Italica (near Seville): Trajan and Hadrian. Since the 3rd Century Rome looks more and more to the eastern world (Constantinople).	264 BC - Begins the I Punic War
	218 BC - Begins the II Punic War
	216 BC - Hispalis is destructed by the Romans
	205 BC - Scipio founds Italica
	19 BC - Foundation of the "Baetica" province
	98-117 - Trajan; Roman emperor, the first to be born outside Italy
	117-138 - Hadrian, Trajan's nephew and successor as Roman emperor
	3rd century - Growing influence of the Christian religion
With the decline of Rome the Vandals, a northern Germanic people, conquer the land and give it its name: "Vandalusia". Their reign is of short duration, they are followed by the Visigoth, who settle leaded by their king Alaric II on the Iberian peninsula and experience under the Christian bishops Leander and Isidore their prospering period.	409-429 - Reign of the Vandals
	476 - Foundation of the Visigoth Kingdom
	484-507 - King Alaric II
	589 - The Visigoth convert to the Catholic belief
	6-7th century - The bishops Leander and Isidor are the main protagonists of the Visigoth reign
The Moorish conquest of Spain from 711 to 732. Image taken form here
At the beginning of the 8th century the Arab cross the Strait of Gibraltar and spread fast on the Iberian peninsula. The independent Emirate Al-Andalus and later the Caliphate of Córdoba (challenging Bagdad) mark the blooming time of the Umayyad dynasty and thus the Arab culture in Andalusia. Córdoba becomes the center and melting pot of different cultures and religions. Trade, science, handicraft and arts experience a long succeessful period. Starting from 1031 the Caliphate disintegrates into small Islamic reigns. Almoravids and Almohads (Berber) alternate their rulership until the 13th Century. After the fall of Córdoba (1236) and Seville (1248) the Nasrid kings maintain their kingdom in Granada for two and a half more centuries. The last Moor king Boabdil hands over the city of Granada to the Catholic Monarchs Isabel and Fernando in January 1492 and moves to the Alpujarra mountains.	711-716 - Arab military troops under Tarik-ibn-Ziyad conquer the region
	756 - Abd al-Rahman I founds the Emirate of Córdoba
	929 - Abd-ar-Rahman III proclaims himself Caliph of Córdoba
	1031 - Decline of the Caliphate
	Since 1086 - Reign of the Almoravids
	Mid 12th century - Reign of the Almohads
	1212 - Christian troops defeat the Almohads close to Las Navas de Tolosa
	13th century - The Castilian rulers conquer large parts of Andalusia
	1232-1492 - Nasrid Kingdom in Granada
	January 1492 - Capitulation of King Boabdil
Spain in 910. Image taken form here
With the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus begins the golden age of Andalusia. Seville becomes the main place for all trading activities with the West Indies and the cultural center of Spain. Since 1503 ships loaded with gold and silver from the New World dock since 1503 in the port of Seville. Unknown plants and food achieve to Europe and change agricultural and nutrition habits of the Europeans. Later Cádiz takes over the trade monopoly from Seville. Under the strong influence of the Renaissance and the Baroque are constructed cathedrals, churches, palaces, public buildings and many new squares. Political rivalries, economic mismanagement, the loss of the hegemony on the oceans and the efects of four epidemic pest deseases mark the beginning of the political and economic decline of Seville and whole Spain in the first half of the 17th century.	October 1492 - Columbus reaches the West Indies
	1503 - Seville has the trade monopoly for the New World
	1516 - Charles V inherits the Spanish crown
	16th century - Suppression of two Arab revolts
	1556 - Philip II, successor of Charles V
	1588 - The "invincible" Spanish Armada is destroyed by England
	1609 - Deportation of the last Moors
	1621 - Philip IV accesses the throne
	1641 - Revolts in big Andalusian cities
	1649 - Seville loses half of its population due to pest desease
	1680 - Cádiz obtains the trade monopoly from Seville
Spain does not get out of the crises. The 18th century begins with the War of the Spanish Succession, in whose process Gibraltar becomes British. Philip V, the first Bourbon on the Spanish throne, lives a few years in Seville. The ideas of the French Enlightenment have a notable influence in the middle of the century. Cádiz loses the monopoly of the trade with the New World in 1788. The 19th century Andalusia is involved in the Napoleonic Wars, which impacts the entire continent. At the same time the Spanish colonial empire declines and the conflicts about the succession of the Spanish throne are violent as well. In the mid of the century Spain experience a time of social tensions and upcoming liberal revolutionary ideas. The First Republic is restored after two years by the monarchy. At the end of the 19th century Andalusia suffers again some revolts. The war against the USA marks the end of the colonial empire. The Spanish crown loses Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines.	1701-1715 - War of the Spanish Succession
	1704 - Gibraltar becomes British
	1788 - Cádiz loses the monopoly for the trade with the New World
	1808-1814 - Wars against Napoleon
	1812 - First Spanish Constitution (Cádiz)
	1834-1839 - Wars for the Spanish throne
	1873 - First Spanish Republic
	1875 - Restauration of the monarchy under Alfonso XII
	1892 - Revolts in Jerez de la Frontera
	1898 - Lost of the last Spanish colonies
Hand-drawn flag “I am an Andalusian”. Image taken form here
In the first half of the 20th century Spain is afflicted by social and political conflicts. After the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera follows the Second Republic. Spain does not participate in the two World Wars, but since 1936 the Civil War destroys large parts of the country. In his consequence the victorious General Franco governs the country up to his death in the year 1975. The coronation of King Juan Carlos I and mainly the restauration of the democracy open new possibilities for the different regions. Andalusia receives the status of an autonomous region. The economic and social progress of the sixties and seventies is strengthened in southern Spain by the boom of the tourism. The membership of Spain in the European Community/Union also creates new perspectives for the Andalusian agricultural production.	1900-1931 - Period of social and economic tensions
	1923-1930 - Dictatorship under General Primo de Rivera
	1929 - World's fair Ibero-American Exposition is held in Seville
	1931-1936 - 2nd Republic
	1936-1939 - Civil War
	1939-1975 - Dictatorship of General Franco
	1975 - Juan Carlos I, King of Spain
	1977 - Free elections in Spain
	1982 - Andalusia receives the status of an autonomous region; Regional Parliament elections
	1986 - Spain becomes member of the European Community (Today's European Union)
	1992 - EXPO in Seville

Andalusian rap. Seville's case

Sevillian rap artists (raperos) are the true spokespeople of the pueblo (people, society in general) speaking out about everything from politics to religion and from economy to morality. Out of all of them I suggest you to study closer the following performers: DEKOH, SFDK, Zatu, ToteKing, Shotta, Zeropositivo, Juaninacka, Xinkoa, DJ Makei, Puto Largo, Acción Sánchez, La Alta Escuela, and El Tralla. You can find information about them all on the Internet, but mostly in Spanish. Therefore there is no point in adding all the links here for your consideration. Though, I have the whole thing stored.

I have tried to cover the entire metropolitan area (area metropolitana) - including the localities up to 10-15 km from the city, which is everything there is between Rinconada and Dos Hermanas, Sanlúcar la Mayor and Alcala de Guadaira - for not leaving the rap artists from smaller towns out, like Dogma Crew from Mairena del Aljarafe for example.

I'm not a rap addict myself, but I can't deny the poetry of the lyrics sung by the Spanish-speaking raperos, especially by those from Spain. They are the best lyricists in the Spanish music industry (no ofense). The examples I give you are a good way to listen to the sound of Castilian spoken in Andalusia as well as to see what are the streets of Seville and homes of Sevillians like. You should watch the videos for that reason alone. It would be, of course, better if you understood Spanish to appreciate these guys and to enter into their mentality. But maybe you do.

Anyway, what they all have in common is that they are committed to their city and their neighbourhoods. Here you have just a piece to prove my point. Then, they often show themselves in their videos with a local graffiti artists (grafiteros) and tattooists (tatuadores), and they use from time to time the English words you can only understand knowing their dialect (e.g. harcor for "hard core").

Sevillian rap, here it comes:

There is also a documentary made about the rap and graffiti artists from Seville called Sevilla City! Día a Día de los Mejores Raperos Sevillanos! that was awarded in 2006. It's available on YouTube in Spanish in about 10 minute parts: 1/5, 2/5, 3/5, 4/5 and 5/5.

Holy Week in Seville - What is it all about

Holy Week in Seville (Semana Santa de Sevilla) is probably one of the most extraordinary celebrations in the Christian world, which explains why it attracts both national and international media attention (see an illustrative news item) and brings together that many religious people and unreligious rubbernecks from Spain and abroad: there are estimably around 3 million people in Seville during that time of the year. 

How come that they have developed such a celebration?

To start with, the Holy Week processions are prepared and staged by religious brotherhoods, which are exclusively male. During these processions they carry, in true unity, huge images of Christ and the Virgin, called pasos, through the streets of Seville, the saint's image being their most important ritual object. From there, Dutch anthropologist Prof. Dr. Henk Driessen (University of Nijmegen) points out that the Holy Week in Seville is above all a high time of male sociability. According to him (see the references), religious brotherhoods were historically organised along class lines. American anthropologist Prof. Dr. David D. Gilmore (Stony Brook University) brings the same to attention: he has also found that the only people who joined the brotherhoods back then in the 70s (at the time of his stay in Spain) were members of the wealthiest class (one per cent of the population of the area studied).

These days money and status are not even an issue anymore. Men keep joining the brotherhoods and Seville keeps celebrating Holy Week in its characteristic way. I asked myself, since when? Now I sort of know. Musicologists Corinna Kramer and Leo J. Plenckers, who have studied saetas, rhythmically free flamenco songs that deal with suffering of Christ or the grief of his mother Mary performed in the religious processions held in Andalusian towns during Holy Week, argue that the tradition of singing saetas in front of an image existed already in the nineteenth century, but the tradition of carring images in Holy week processions may be much older. So, it dates back to centuries.

Example of a saeta

In any case, these brotherhoods are activated only once during the year for Holy Week. Many nazarenos nowadays are not even religious. They pay their share, practice for the synchronised movements of the pasos, are there for Holy Week, and that's more or less it. But it's not by far insignificant as this is the intensest period imaginable. It's a hell of a contribution to their brotherhoods, families and society in general. Driessen says that fireworks, the monotonous rolling of the drums, the excessive drinking during processions, sleeplessness, the carrying of the heavy floats through the winding and inclined streets, hoarse competitive shouts like "Long live Verónica" (those of El Valle), or "La Soledad is the best" dramatise the atmosphere of the celebrations. The downside to all this extremity is that the processions often end in chaos. The men all worn out. But look, it's highly significant that women are part of the audience, proudly watching their husbands, fathers, sons, brothers and fiancés act out their masculine role. It's a men's thing, unquestionably.

Men start acting an expected role when being very young. They go to football practice for not being considered gays by others. They join adult men with 5 years or less only, wearing a super cute mini version of nazareno's robe for participating in processions.

Nazareno boy of San Gonzalo, image taken from here

They have to be sociable, witty and amusing, with gracia (funny, with ease). Cachondeo, a particular type of joking, is very popular among Andalusian men, most seen in the streets, bars and cafés. The initiator of the joke tries to get a rise out of his victim. It is important for the victim to keep his face, withstand the jest, and strike back in a cool manner. They then stop at nothing in making an out of line joke (broma pesa). A man who looses his temper is despised by the audience. It doesn't have much to do with Semana Santa, but with being a man in Seville. It's all the same in the end. All about social norms.

Holy Week in Seville

The famous Semana Santa de Sevilla, the much-discussed must-see! What is it like? The avoid-like-the-plague instead? Well, it is a large-scale long-lasting mass event that brings millions of people together to share the city streets, so it has its cons of course. I haven't taken part in all of it. I went to see a procession of the Brotherhood of La Pasión (Passion) at the Collegiate Church El Salvador in Seville on Holy Thursday (Jueves Santo). La Pasión is quite a noble fellowship in fact, it was founded in 1531. 

El Salvador

The procession of La Pasión started to march out of the church at 8.30 PM and was expected to be back around 1.00 AM. Thus, a short one. Note that the moment the procession started all the people gathered in El Salvador Square (Plaza del Salvador) remained silent. Not a sound was made, not one single sound amongst the countless gathered bodies. In 2013 this brotherhood held the Holy Thursday procession in the participation of 1100 Nazarenes (nazarenos), penitents, clothed in black tail with black hood (capirote) and yellow straw belt. Some of them may have been barefoot, but I didn't see whether or not they were. What I did see was that many were marching with at least one 10-kilo wooden cross on their shoulders.

Capirotes of El Calvario, similar to those of La Pasión

In any case, this brotherhood had two images: Jesus with the cross on his shoulder and Virgin of Mercy (Virgen de la Merced) accompanied on the left by St. John the Evangelist. No music was played while marching with Jesus, and for moving the Virgin, a typical tune in a minor key was performed by a band: on cornets and drums before and on more instruments after her.

The paso of Jesus

Close-up of Virgen de la Merced

One must see that Holy Week is the highlight of the year for every true Nazarene, taking part in the movement of the floats (pasos) of his brotherhood through the city streets. The entire thing is like 3D version of the Stations of the Cross. The pasos are carried on the shoulders of costaleros, probably up to 50 men, all of the same height, working as a team to keep going for nearly five continuous hours. The costaleros work in shifts (cuadrillas) and since they cannot see what is going on outside (nor can you see them), they follow the instructions of the leader of the paso (capataz). Everything on the floating structures (canastillas) to display religious imagery moving it out of the church most certainly has a special meaning (lanterns in the corners etc.).

The paso of the Virgin

El Salvador itself is a big church, being home to two more brotherhoods (hermandades): El Amor and La Borriquita. They have other imagery and other everything. Their processions were held on Palm Sunday, opening the Holy Week. It's actually a science to know what to see, when to go, where to go and how to get there, as the city is overcrowded during the whole week, but there are some guiding materials designed for public use. Information about the itinerary of all the pasos is available both on paper and on the Internet. One can download it as a pdf-file, and also, luckily for smart phone users, as a free app called iLlamador.

In case my description still isn't clear enough, there is a 1992 documentary worth watching about Semana Santa directed by Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón, as stated by Manuel Trenzado Romero, professor (Political Science and Public Administration) at the University of Granada (see the references). You can read more about the film (in Spanish only) here and see it on YouTube.

García Lorca's "Malagueña"

This time I bring a poem into your attention. It's García Lorca's. This is for several reasons. Firstly, it's called Malagueña, and I have just been to Málaga, another Andalusian city, for a short visit. Secondly, Federico García Lorca is one of my favourite Andalusian poets (from Granada). Thirdly, he was a true devotee (aficionado) of Cante Jondo and flamenco music with what the poem also has to do (for García Lorca's book, see the references).

MALAGUEÑA	MALAGUEÑA
La muerte entra y sale de la taberna. Pasan caballos negros y gente siniestra por los hondos caminos de la guitarra. Y hay un olor a sal y a sangre de hembra, en los nardos febriles de la marina. La muerte entra y sale y sale y entra la muerte the de la taberna.	Death enters, and leaves, the tavern. Black horses and sinister people travel the deep roads of the guitar. And there’s a smell of salt and of female blood in the fevered tuberoses of the shore. Death enters, and leaves, and leaves, and enters, death of the tavern. Translation from here.

The title of the poem has several metaphorical connotations: it refers to a city (Málaga), a song (malagueña) and a woman/death, as malagueña is also understood as a woman from Málaga (I'll make the point on the connection with death clear some time in the future). According to George Boylston Brown, a music historian (please, see the references), malagueña is an example of native folk art of Gypsy influence (but not considered to be pure Gypsy folk art) together with rondena, granadina, cartagenera, murciana, fandanguillo, tango, seguidilla, sevillana and saetas. Basically, it's a traditional style of Andalusian music, a flamenco song used for dance. And, as stated in a study of a Hispanist, Walter Starkie, there is a distinction between Cante Flamenco (flamenco song) and Cante Jondo (deep song): Cante Jondo is limited to the purer and less corrupted style of singing - people have used the word Cante Jondo as a synonym of Cante Gitano (Gypsy song), whereas Cante Flamenco is used for every sort of Andalusian folk songs.

Edward Stanton, Professor Emeritus at the Department of Spanish Studies in the University of Kentucky in Lexington, who has worked on comparative literature and popular Spanish culture and has published on such topics as Hemingway in Spain and the contemporary pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, agrees those for whom García Lorca is an "extremist". García Lorca noted that the poetry of Gypsy music - Andalusian music influencer, as already stressed above - lacks a middle tone. Love and death constitute the two basic poles, leaving little room for the development of intermediate themes. The deepest forms of this music flourish only in extreme states - religious or sensual ecstasy, freedom, death, guilt. Stanton says that the poems do not usually describe or comment on these states. Their involvement is too direct to permit the luxury of moral or philosophical speculation.

For my Estonian readers, here's a very fine video version of García Lorca's Malagueña: