Holy Week Jumilla : Official Murcia Region tourist site

Declared of International Tourist Interest

The terms "unusual", "different" and even "exceptional" have been used to refer to Holy Week in Lorca, Cartagena and Murcia. In Jumilla, the concept of Passion is different to these cities.

Without abandoning its Levantine roots, this locality looks towards the Castilian Plateau, where sobriety is the defining characteristic. But its sobriety, or even bareness and severity, are not synonymous with a lack of spectacle. And Jumilla exudes a certain kind of measured spectacle, intensity and total commitment. Its processions and people conserve the medieval spirit with which they were born, none other than the didactic part that all this martyrologic exhibition entails. It was necessary to explain why, when and how Christ died, and what Christ�s death was like, as well as Biblical passages. Prior to the 15th century, there was nobody better than the Franciscan Order, based in Jumilla with a missionary vocation, to make the processions more, much more, than simply bringing some images out of the churches. .

Something meaningful takes place nearly every day of Holy Week, as well as the processions, from the public representation of the arrest of Jesus to the transfer of thrones and images from the churches to the point at which they enter the processional march, from the proclamations, which are now a tradition, to the pilgrimage from the Hermitage of San Agust�n or the Monastery of Santa Ana. In Jumilla, both the daytime and night-time routes of the brotherhoods will make those visiting the city feel involved in an atmosphere that will seem new and surprising.

MORE INFORMATION

> Jumilla's Holy Week website

MOST NOTABLE PROCESSIONS

The most picturesque procession is the Silencio, which is held each year on Holy Tuesday, early in the morning. It starts from the Church of Santiago and goes through dark and winding streets, round corners and small squares lit up by fires and candles. The silence is only broken by the sound of the chains dragged along the pavement and the drums.

The most famous is the Calvario, on the morning of Good Friday. This procession has its origins at the start of the 17th century. The whole air is beating, a funeral march, an audible warning of whips and drums, of trumpets...

And the procession with the greatest fervour is Santo Entierro, on the night of Good Friday. The Nazarenos go slowly and quietly with images on the side of the floats, with a huge audience and the chapels of the Via-Crucis illuminated.

You can't miss the tamborradas (drumming) on Glorious Saturday and Saturday of Passion and the caramelada, a unique battle of sweets held amongst the brotherhoods at the end of the Resucitado procession.

One of the most special parts of Holy Week is the Auto Sacramental of "The Arrest", a theatrical work which portrays the temptations of Jesus, the betrayal of Judas and the Arrest of Jesus. The Tarde de Mantillas on Maundy Thursday. And the Armaos Parades, with the "snail dance" (danza del caracol) on the morning of Easter Sunday.

CURIOSITIES

Except for Tuesday and Sunday evening, every day the Nazarenos indulge little ones by treating them with sweets. What's more, the Caramelada, a battle of sweets held by the brotherhoods at the end of the Resucitado procession, takes place on Easter Sunday.

You have to try Jumillian empanadas, which are made from potato, egg, tuna and pine nuts, and can be found in all the town's bars and bakeries.

The parades and marches, before and after the processions, feature all the floats that will take part in the processions, to the rhythm of music.