 Holy Week |
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Holy Week in Cordoba is a public demonstration of the faith of a people. The phenomenon of the fraternity is multi-faceted, a combination of various factors - cultural, artistic, historical, musical, anthropological, etc. - that mean nothing without the celebration of the religious floats that represent the passion, the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Everyone gets involved and joins in with the Brotherhoods, congregational associations that appear alike from a distance, but each one with distinctive roots and personality. Some Brotherhoods have centuries of history behind them and were founded to fulfil the social needs of a specific neighbourhood or professional association. Others were formed for the devotion of a particular image or, more simply, because of the need of a temple to have its own parish.
Those coming to Holy Week in Cordoba for the first time will notice a big difference between the ‘bulla’ (noisy) and the ‘silencio’ (silent) Brotherhoods. Although the former are characterised by their eye-catching colours and joyful music, and the latter for their funereal cortege, there are infinitely more nuances to observe. The vibrant phenomenon that it is today has been shaped over the course of the time. The fraternities are associations that represent the whole population, their membership including all ages and social classes. For this reason, the entire city throws itself wholeheartedly into the event. The people of Cordoba want to show off their Holy Week, with the neighbourhoods of each district viewing their own Brotherhood as a little ‘embassy’ that parades around the city. Another feature of this religious event is that most of the brotherhoods process through the Historic Old Town, some of which has been declared to be World Cultural Heritage. If this city is seen as a top tourist destination at any point in the year, during Holy Week it has a particularly special dimension, as this great visual spectacle highlights Cordoba’s most outstanding monuments.
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Official route