 Holy Week |
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The Holy Week in Granada as we know it today is a 20th century creation. The centuries-old tradition was lost after the Mendizábal ‘desamortización’ (disendowment process) and was not recovered until 1917, promoted by Granada’s Archbishop. Since that year, 32 brotherhoods were born in the city, responding to certain specific situations in the recent history of the city. Anyway, the Holy Week of Granada also suffered deep crisis during this period that weakened its spirit.
The 1920s, 1940s, 1970s and 1980s were the decades when were created most of the current brotherhoods, the latest being the most active.
Currently the Holy Week of Granada is living a good moment. The opening of the brotherhoods, 25 years ago, to younger members through teams of ‘Hermanos Costaleros’ (float bearers) was a breath of fresh air for these organisations with old structures and old members. Nowadays, young people and women are the main pillar of the growth of the confraternities. Their presence made possible the Holy Week that we know today.
The young Holy Week of Granada has always looked to other Holy Weeks of Andalusia in search of models and sources of inspiration. This is the reason why it does not have so many own elements; many of its aspects are adaptations of the traditions of other provinces. In their beginning, the confraternities of Granada took the Levante and Málaga as example. Today, Seville is the main influence. But Granada has something that other cities in Andalusia lack: the power of its images and the value of an unrivalled landscape.
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