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- History
- Essential vocabulary
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- La "bulla"
- Strolling through Seville
- The madrugá
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- The program
Semana Santa (Holy Week)
The Madrugá
Good Friday at dawn (popularly known as la madrugá) is considered the culminating moment of
the Holy Week. The Christian liturgy calls for the commemoration of the tragic hours of the
Passion of Jesus, which lasts from the Last Supper (night of Holy Thursday) up until the
Crucifixion (around three pm on Good Friday).
On this day in the processions are gathered and adorned with their best artistic and devotional
elements of the week. Throughout the whole night and into the dawn and during daybreak, the
city is swarmed with people and emotion. The vigil produces an odd sensation during which point
one confuses yesterday with tomorrow. This feeling without doubt contributes to creating a
mysterious atmosphere which appears to capture the city.
From the moment when the first procession, Nuestro Padre Jesús del Silencio, enters the
Campana Plaza, at around 1am, until the last canope framed (palios) floats, la Esperanza de
Triana and la Macarena arrive, at around 1:30 pm on Good Friday, twelve hours will have passed.
It is for this reason that usually two options are planned for the madrugá:
a) Live out the dawn from the time the first steps are made; processions make their way to the
street at around 1am and return when the daybreaks. In order to do so, one usually heads home
early on Holy Thursday, in order to have dinner and gather strength. Others, the more daring,
chose to live out Holy Thursday and la Madrugá uninterrupted.
These are the most bustling hours, during which the lay brotherhoods, immersed in the deepest
moments of the night, reveal the most emotionally intense moments.
b) Rest during the first hours of the night in order to go out around 4am. In this case its best to take advantage of what remains of the night, thus contemplating the lay brotherhoods dressed in black, and fully live out an explosion of light with La Macarena float, La Esperanza de Triana and Los Gitanos, all sparkling in the early sunlight. All of this is a parable of night – death and dawn – resurrection.
Even after dawn breaks, those who are fatigued from staying up all night, though still resisting in order to see some of the main floats of Seville, meet up with folk, especially families with children and elderly members. They've just woken up and dressed in their Sunday best, prepare to catch the most brilliant moments of these three brotherhoods as they make their way back to their neighborhood churches.
Advise on catching la Madrugá
- Wear comfortable clothing, especially shoes. Be prepared to experience cold weather during the early hours of dawn.
- Although it may appear strange, stopping to rest during the break of dawn can have devastating effects; sleepiness can take over. Its best without doubt to have a coffee in some bar (all bars are open that night) and continue ahead as long as you can. At the end, a hot chocolate with churros (fritters) before heading home isn't a bad idea at all.
- At the same time The Madrugá represents the culminating moment as far as devotion, art and emotion are concerned, its also the point of most bustling and numbers of Nazarenes. This makes for unavoidable prolonged waiting time in order to see the floats, especially at the start of the dawn. Be patient and enjoy watching the processions (Nazarenes, insignias, altar boys, etc.), some of which are the most interesting of the Holy Week.
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