Semana Santa in Seville

hey everyone!
i'm writing this entry to you on a lazy, late monday morning. yes, that's right, i got to sleep in today because it's Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Spain and I get the entire week off. paid. and it just so happens that Holy Week in Seville is the most extravagent and amazing festival of its kind in the world!
Most Sevillians prefer to leave the city during this week, and I can understand- there are crowds and tourists everywhere. if you live in the city center, as i do, it can be very difficult to navigate your own streets. but since i have never experienced Holy Week before, I am determined to brave the crowds and enjoy the processions.
So what is Semana Santa in Seville? Basically it is a week of elaborate processions of intricate "floats" (well, they aren't really floats, they are heavy at about 4000 lbs. at least and are carried throughout the town by about 40 men who are hidden underneath the float). The "floats" (I really don't like using that word but i can't think of another one) depict Jesus and Mary and are very intricately decorated with velvet, gold, flowers and lots of candles. every float is preceeded and followed by nazarenos, people cloaked in a traditional costume of repentence (it bears quite a resemblance to the KKK). there are also priests that swing incense everywhere, and a band in front of the float that plays music. there are 60 processions of this during Holy Week, one for almost every church in the city (i believe). You need to obtain a guide (found at any kiosk or supermarket) to know which procession is where and when, etc. All processions leave from their church, make their way through the downtown and towards the cathedral, then go back to their church. a procession ends with them placing the float down in it's place at their church where it won't be touched until the next year. Some churches that are far away from the downtown so their processions can last up to 12 hours. those poor men underneath the floats!
i saw my first procession last night. i didn't go seeking one out though, it came to me! i was with my friend marion at a bodega near my home, and one passed by. marion and i started snapping pictures like crazy, but unfortunately i can't show you any pics until the end of the week, when i will be able to convert everything to a disc.
anyway it is a very moving experience and some of the processions are en silenco, so you can hear a pin drop as they pass by. others are most joyful. you will hear people crying out "guapa! guapa!" (which means "beautiful") to the Virgen Mary.
Living in Seville, it is interesting to see the work that goes into preparing for Holy Week. I have witnessed many times the bands practicing their music in the street, or the men carrying a "practice float".
Some people are real Semana Santa- afecionados. I had to chuckle to myself in the weeks prior to Holy Week because in supermarkets they would play music from the bands and have big offers on Holy Week DVDs. One sweeping store promotion said "Special set! 8 DVDs plus 4 CDs of band music!" As to why someone would want to watch 8 DVDs of processions is beyond me. Don't get me wrong, the processions are interesting, but 8 DVDs and 4 CDs worth of it? come on!

Spring in Seville really has sprung, at it is amazing at the very least. The orange trees have blossomed, and the flowers, called azahar, smell amazing. and the entire city smells of this. also there are jasmine trees that have blossomed and they smell so good. in some parts of seville and in brenes, there are lemon trees. have you ever smelled a fresh lemon blossom before? absolutely amazing.
combine those smells with the smell of incense and candle wax, and its pretty magical.

anyway i will keep you updated on what i see this week. i look forward to having a week with nothing to do but hang out and wander about in my own city.

Hasta ahora!