Each year, as springtime approaches, Seville begins
to prepare for its holyweek festivities. Few cities
preserve their traditions intact to the extent that
Seville does. From the start of the holy week right
through to the end of the April fair, the street is
the stage of festivities.
Corpus Christi
Few cities preserve their traditions intact to the
extent that Seville does, particularly when it comes
to religious celebrations.
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The Corpus Christi procession
bears witness to this, congregating thousands
of worshippers in the streets of Seville, carpeted
with rushes and rosemary for the passing of
the Body of Christ. In the early hours of the
Thursday after Trinity Sunday, people flock
to the cathedral and the area around it to take
part in this festival that commemorates the
institution of the Eucharist. The celebration
of the Corpus Christi, which has preserved its
popular character, is an expression of faith,
a synthesis of devotion, simplifying mysteries
of faith, the body and the bread, the blood
and the wine. |
For the Corpus Christi celebration, a group of children,
known as the Seises, sing and dance in the cathedral
on the day of the festival and the eight days following
it. The costumes that they wear and the songs that
they sing date back to the 16th century.
"Velá" de Santiago y Santa
Ana
The end of July signals an important date on the other
side of the river. The Velá de Santiago y Santa
Ana is one of the traditions that best identifies
the Triana quarter. In spite of the hot weather at
this time of year, people flock to the Altozano area
for a festival that is mainly celebrated by night.
Virgen de los Reyes
Another big day for the city is 15 August, when a
huge number of people from the city and from other
towns and villages in the province gather in the area
around Seville Cathedral to watch the Virgin of the
Kings procession in honour of the city's patron saint.
Many Sevillians even interrupt their summer holidays
to pay their respects to their patron saint, an event
in which all the city's civil and religious authorities
take part.
El Rocío Pilgrimage
The Virgen del Rocío, the Virgin of the Dew,
popularly known as the "White Dove" or the
"Queen of the Marshes"... is the first and
last reason for the El Rocío pilgrimage.
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Pilgrims come from near and far
to the village of El Rocío in Almonte
(Huelva) for the most famous pilgrimage in the
world. Although it takes place in the province
of Huelva, Seville takes an active part in the
event as a sign of its devotion to the White
Dove. |
Each year the original brotherhood, Almonte, welcomes
the Sevillian brotherhoods: Triana, El Salvador, La
Macarena, Cerro del Aguila and Sevilla Sur. These
brotherhoods set out from Seville on their pilgrimage
to the village of El Rocío a week before the
festivities are due to begin.
Bullfighting Season
The art of bullfighting is deeply rooted in the city,
not only because it is the birthplace of many bullfighters
or because it has one of the best bullrings in Spain,
but also because of the Sevillians' great love of
the fiesta nacional.
The season starts on Resurrection Sunday and runs
untilthe end of spring. The bullfights held during
the April Fair feature the most prominent figures
in this art. They are called corridas de farolillos
in reference to the paper lanterns that are used to
decorate the streets of the fair.
The highlights of bullfights in Seville include the
famous "silences of the Maestranza", when
the bullring is crammed full of people watching the
bullfight and not a sound is to be heard, and the
opening of the Puerta del Príncipe for the
bullfighter to make a triumphant exit, an unforgettable
milestone in a bullfighter's career and a coveted
honour reserved only for those who are awarded three
bull's ears, a distinction desired by many but achieved
by few.