Processions and Passions

Every spring, thousands of people come to witness the different processions that go through the streets of Madrid. The atmosphere created by the beating of drums and trumpets, and the colorful display offered by hundreds of members of the brotherhood in their colorful costumes, are an unmissable spectacle.

Madrid not only commemorates the Passion, during Holy Week many other parallel cultural events are celebrated. Churches and basilicas schedule concerts of sacred music, the different brotherhoods take to the streets with the floats they have been preparing throughout the year and the best restaurants and bakeries in the city add to their menus typical Holy Week dishes with a traditional touch.

During Holy Week the images are adorned with numerous candles, flowers and rich embroidered mantles to go out in procession through such representative places as Paseo del Prado, Calle Alcalá or Plaza Mayor. Throughout their entire route, they are accompanied by dozens of Nazarenes and carried by costaleros from the different brotherhoods.

Of the most important processions held on Palm Sunday and Holy Wednesday, head to the Paso del Cristo de la Fe y el Perdón and the Nuestro Padre Jesús de la Salud procession.

The big days of Holy Week in Madrid are Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Among these, the most notable are the procession of Jesús del Gran Poder y la Esperanza, the procession of Jesús Nazareno and the Virgen de la Soledad, both on Holy Thursday, as well as the three pasos of Jesús de Medinaceli, María Santísima de los Siete Dolores and the Santo Entierro on Good Friday. On Holy Saturday, the brotherhoods of the Virgen Dolorosa and the Procession of Solitude carry out their penitential station.

Special mention must be made of the Silent Procession, for the unique atmosphere created during the early hours of Good Friday, when a large group of brothers lined up and dressed in tunics and hoods walk solemnly through the streets of Madrid, where the only noise that breaks the silence of the night is the sound of the Nazarenes' footsteps, a unique spectacle that is not common in the hustle and bustle of the city of Madrid.

Finally, to conclude Holy Week and celebrate Easter Sunday, a drum parade in the city of Madrid moves to the Plaza Mayor in Madrid, from where a route begins in which numerous brothers accompanied by drums and bass drums provide a soundtrack to the commemoration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

With a spectacular staging, more than 300 residents of Chinchón perform a live Via Crucis during Holy Week through its streets, Plaza Mayor and surroundings. It culminates with the great live representation of the Passion in the church of the Ascension, a ceremony declared of National Tourist Interest since 1980.

Between Passion Friday and Easter Sunday, one of the most unique Holy Weeks in Madrid is celebrated in Alcalá de Henares. A perfect combination of popular fervour and artistic beauty that fills the historic centre of Alcalá de Henares with sensations and contrasts. There are eight brotherhoods that tour the city, a tradition that dates back to the 16th century. Others seem to want to take us back to the time of the old University of the Golden Age, with the colours and costumes of the Brotherhood of the University Christ of the Doctrines.

The Procession of the Encounter in Móstoles is the final touch to Holy Week in the Community of Madrid. It stands out for its originality and colour, as well as for being more than 100 years old, as it is described in texts from 1908. The Procession of the Encounter is made up of two floats, that of the Risen Christ and that of the Virgin of Solitude. The floats are carried by thirty costaleros in the first case and by 24 in the second.

Both processions meet in the Plaza de Cuatro Caminos, at which point the veil covering the face of the Virgin is removed, whose images simulate a greeting three times until they come together.

La Semana Santa de Parla, declarada de Interés Turístico Regional, cuenta con una rica historia que se remonta al siglo XVI, esta festividad cuenta con una gran participación ciudadana y un destacado valor cultural.

Durante la Semana Santa, Parla acoge numerosas procesiones en las que se veneran imágenes religiosas de gran valor histórico y artístico. Destaca la procesión de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, que recorre las calles del centro histórico, y el Santo Entierro, que culmina en la ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad.

Seven brotherhoods make up the Junta de Cofradías (Board of Brotherhoods) during Holy Week in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, which has a tradition whose origins date back to the time of Philip II. The processions of El Entierro (The Burial) and El Silencio (the Silence processions) (altered only by the beating of drums) are the most notable of a total of eleven parades.

This festivity has also been declared of Regional Tourist Interest. The processions are accompanied by Holy Week concerts in the churches and cycles in the San Lorenzo Auditorium.

With the status of having been declared a Festival of Regional Tourist Interest, Torrejón's Holy Week dates back to the 16th century and is characterised by the artistic value of the baroque carvings displayed on its floats. The best known of all of them is El Calvario, with images of Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows, attributed to the school of Gregorio Fernández. Another curiosity is the float of the Last Supper carried by local children.

Carabaña se ha convertido en un punto de referencia para la celebración de la Semana Santa en la región. Desde 1988, sus vecinos recrean cada Viernes Santo la Pasión de Cristo en una representación viva que involucra a más de 200 personas. Esta tradición, declarada Fiesta de Interés Turístico Regional, ha logrado cautivar a locales y visitantes por igual.

La representación, que se ha consolidado como una de las más importantes de la Comunidad de Madrid, sumerge al público en los momentos más significativos de la Semana Santa. Gracias a la participación activa de los vecinos, que se encargan de interpretar los distintos papeles y de preparar los decorados, se logra una experiencia única y emotiva.

The Daganzo Passion was declared a Festival of Regional Tourist Interest in 2014. Currently, the Passion has more than 120 actors, residents of the town, and is becoming increasingly important in the region.

For its part, the Carabaña Passion is performed on Good Friday with up to ten biblical scenes that follow one another until the Resurrection.

On Holy Thursday, the town of Morata de Tajuña has been performing the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus since 1987. 450 people (including actors, Jewish people, Roman centuries, priests, Sanhedrin guards, information hosts, volunteers, civil protection and security, etc.) are distributed across eleven stages throughout the municipality, which thrills everyone who attends the performance.

Also noteworthy are the activities that take place around the passion of Morata, such as the traditional Jewish Artisan Market, the local sweets, the “Pasioncitos” that are made in bakeries and pastry shops in the town, as well as the concerts of the Municipal Band of Morata, the Musical Group and Sacred Music that take place during the day.

La Pasión de Villarejo de Salvanés es una representación teatral que recrea los últimos momentos de la vida de Jesucristo. Nacida en 1980 de la iniciativa de un grupo de vecinos, esta tradición se ha convertido en uno de los eventos más destacados de la Semana Santa madrileña y, desde 2013, ostenta el título de Fiesta de Interés Turístico Regional.

La representación se desarrolla en un marco incomparable: el conjunto histórico-artístico de Villarejo de Salvanés. El castillo y otros elementos arquitectónicos de la localidad se transforman en escenarios naturales que dotan a la representación de un realismo y una belleza únicos.

Cada año, más de un centenar de vecinos participan en esta emotiva representación, que incluye escenas como la Última Cena, el prendimiento de Jesús, la crucifixión y la resurrección.