That Ain't No KKK

Semana Santa=Holy Week=A Crazy Sevilla

Tourists flock from all parts of the world to be here this week to watch human carried floats(pasos) and the hooded Nazarenos walk the streets, making a loop between their respective churches, the Catedral, and then back to their churches. It makes traffic a nightmare and Sevillan city-life come to a halt. Also it means a second Spring Break for meeeeeeeee!

I really can't describe this Catholic tradition very good because unless you are here in person or have been here in person, or are a native Sevillian, you won't understand. But go to this website and it can explain anything you want to know> http://www.exploreseville.com/events/semana-santa.htm

These pasos weigh from 2 to almost 4 tons, and are carried by 30-40 men, depending on each paso. There are 56 Brotherhoods walking this year, and each Brotherhood has their own unique outfit-hmm, that looks familiar...the pointed hood, the white or black shroud...KKK anyone?

The pasos that I have seen have been about 8x15 foot, and are adorned with silver, gold, and flowers. And that precious metal isn't just plating, it is solid.

The first procession, or cofradiato to leave was on Palm Sunday, and is called "La Borriquita", and depicts Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey-hence the name. I saw this one, along with a lot of little children. It is traditionally the kid's paso. I've also seen "El Beso de Judas", "Jesus de Las Penas", and "San Benito". Most of the Brotherhoods date back centuries, with the "Vera Cruz" paso having been built in the 14th Century! Each paso except for La Borriquita is followed by a Virgin Mary paso. I think I like these more than the actual Jesus scenes.

Even though I've only seen about 4 or 5 cofradiatos out of the more than 56, I have no desire to see more. The crowds are completely awful, and since I am short, it isn't worth it unless I have the front row of the street, and then, people get really pushy and abnoxious and it takes about 30 mintues to walk a block. I'm not exaggerating. Yesterday I really needed to go take a picture of a landmark in Sevilla for school, but instead I ran into yet another paso with its crowds of people directly blocking the street I needed to get across. I gave up and went home. They are everywhere around the city right now and tomorrow(Thursday) and Friday are the most action packed with round the clock pasos who leave their church at 7PM and get back at 7AM.

It takes so long because the men who carry them can only walk about 50 yards or so with all that weight on their backs. Then they set the paso down and take a breather, then pick it up with a dramatic flare(insert applauding auidence) and walk 50 more yards. Repeat.

I am leaving for my Italy trip tomorrow and should have plenty of interesting stories and pictures. I head first to Florence, then Venice, then Pisa and back to Sevilla on Tuesday.

Love you all and have a great weekend. I will think of you while I'm eating fresh Italian food!

-cor

Below: A Virgin Mary paso resting, the officials relighting candles, and then the lift off. Pretty dramatic. Oh, and these crowds were nothing. I will post pictures later, it isn't letting me right now and I need a siesta.

Khmer Rouge

Just saw this on my desktop news. I find it interesting because last semester I took History of the Vietnam War and one of our lectures covered Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

>Khmer Rouge accused faces survivors at trial<


-clh

Barcelona

Rainy, Lyxan, Good Food, Gaudi, Picasso, La Rambla, Catalan

Madrid, finally I say.

AND EVEN MORE…


I am slightly sick of writing, but I know that if I don’t get it done right now, I probably won’t get back to it. And Madrid was the main city right?

So Madrid beats Sevilla in food, nightlife, shopping, people, music, and art. Have I forgotten anything?
I ate comida Cubano, comida Chino, comida Turco in the capital. Amazing because Spanish food had no flavor. Where is Mexican food when you need it? Oh that’s right, in Texas…

In Madrid I went to the Prado Museum, the Reina Sofia Art Museum, and the Parque de Retiro. I loved loved loved the park which is comparable to Central Park in NYC. And thought I liked the Prado because it holds so many important pieces of art, I am not the hugest fan of religious artwork. Therefore I loved the Reina Sofia much more. It has the most famous Pablo Picasso painting, Guernica, and many paintings by Salvador Dali, Miró, Gris, and more artists.

The park had this cool glass palace, the “only” statue in the world dedicated to the devil, El Angel Caído, music playing hippies, and tons of people watching.

The last night we were there, Saturday, I went with two girls to go to a jazz concert. Too bad that we got there too late and the place was so packed that they couldn’t let us in. So we turned around and headed down the street looking for a place to rest our tired tired feet. Around the corner there was a small place that advertised live music, so we went in and listened to a local band play. I thought they were decent enough, though my friends didn’t agree with me. The only thing that I could have done without was this one chick who played a flute, a clarinet, the piano, and also tried to sing. I think they allowed her into their band out of pity.

Sunday we took the AVE tren home to Sevilla and I arrived in much need of rest. Ironic eh? Isn’t Spring Break supposed to be a relaxing week?? Adios amigos y familia. I’m off to BARCELONA tomorrow with Lyx! Cheers for more traveling!
-Corey

Pictures:

1. Mascarpone cake. The first legit cake I've seen in Spain, and the leftovers heated in our microwave was heaven.
2. The rows and rows of taxis infront of the train station.
3. The band we saw. I think multi-task girl is in the background...
4. And the sign of the band that we didn't see.
5. Dancing for money infront of the famous El Oso y El Madroño (Bear and the Tree).
6. Parque de Retiro at dusk.
7. Hippies playing drums in the park's plaza. The drums were resonating off the walls.
8. A tree that was covered in carvings.
9. The Crystal Palace that was in Retiro.
10. Chillin'. Look at hot stuff in the center there.
11. A street band playing for money. They were really entertaining.

Parte Dos

AND MORE…

After Toledo, I visited the palace of Felipe II built in 1560. It is called El Escorial and let me tell you that it is one big sucker. It wasn’t too beautiful though, because Felipe II was muy religious and liked the cold, austere look. What a guy.

In El Escorial lies the Royal Pantheon, where most of the kings and their wives of Spain have been buried. It was a solemn environment and you could tell that Spaniards take this stuff seriously.

I have my days confused already, so I am not sure about which day we went to El Escorial because I also went to La Granja, the Burbon’s palace from the 18th Century. The gardens there were beautiful and I liked that palace a lot better than Felipe’s. I still didn’t care much for the actual building though, my main focus was outside.

Okay
After La Granja, the final sight outside of Madrid was the Roman aqueduct in Segovia. It doesn’t contain any glue/nails/cement/etc. to hold it together but rather relies on key-blocking. That is when you carve out-ies and in-ies into the large stones and lay them on top of each other. By pure pressure and engineering, they stay put. This structure was amazing because it is still standing 2000 years later.

And Segovia is known for their suckling pig, so I went with some professors and friends to see what it was about. Looked OK :)

Also there was a castle that Walt Disney based his Disney Castle off of, and tiny streets to wander about in. We stumbled upon the old Jewish quarters and there was some very beautiful doors and old wooden beams still supporting buildings.
Off to Madrid.

-clh

Pictures:

1. El Escorial, or at least a tiny part of it.
2. Iglesia de Vera Cruz (Church of the Holy Cross), a perfectly round church in Segovia that has many legends around it.
3. a building in the Jewish quarter, including old wooden beams
4. suckling pig
5. and the bill
6. The Segovia Cathedral, the last Gothic cathedral built in Spain
7. The Roman aqueduct
8. can you see it?
9. at the La Granja, overlooking a part of the jardins (gardens)
10. view of the La Granja from the jardins