Lorca, Maundy Thursday, Jueves Santo

Lorca The first of the big biblical processions.

Lorca is famed throughout Spain for its spectacular biblical processions, racing chariots, hundreds of horses and glittering displays which proudly feature the exquisite and vibrant embroideries for which Lorca is so justifiably famous.

In total there are four parades in which the elements of the biblical parades feature, and this year we "completed the set" by attending this parade to be able to accurately recommend which are worth going to and why.

 It´s a daunting task undertaking this product, the fear always being that readers will attend an event and have a bad experience because of poor information given, so we make every effort to go to everything at some point, rather than just download it off somebody else´s  web page, which so many sites and tourism information products seem to be doing in this digital age.

Unfortunately, each year we can only be in one place each day of the week!

The Semana Santa processions in Lorca as we see them now have their origins in the first biblical  parade which took place in 1855, in which 30 members of the Paso Blanco  commemorated the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.

The following year, the Paso Azul created their first group of participants, the group known as "La Calle de la Amargura, " and from then on the Biblical element continued to grow until reaching the magnitude it assumes today.

There are 5 different Cofradías, although the main 2 which comprise the biblical element are the Paso Blanco and the Paso Azul, the blues and the whites.

There is intense rivalry between the two, each assuming control of one side of the street, selling seats to their own supporters, the noise and rivalry between the two bringing an air of expectation and excitement to the whole experience before the first cm of embroideries even enter the street.

Each side is decked with flags, supporters wearing coloured neck-kerchiefs to signify their allegiance, showering flowers onto their favourites as they pass by in glowing triumph.

The noise is overwhelming, and as each element passes the voices rise in a crescendo of support and the street vibrates to the stamping of feet from the stands tiered upwards from street level.

The sumptuous embroideries are known as bordados and represent many thousands of hours of work, stitched by hand using real gold and silver thread, vibrant and colourful, so detailed in their execution as to almost appear painted.

This year the paso blanco presented several new cloaks which their team of embroiderers had made for this years procession, representing 50,000 manhours of labour invested into maintaining their representation in the parades.

During the year the pieces can be seen in the museums of both the whites, morados and the blues within Lorca, although there´s no substitute for actually seeing them fly past attached to an 8 horse carriage.

The horses are one of the most spectacular and exciting elements of the parades, with 700 parading on the big Friday night procession, and this is one of the elements which was most noticeable having attended all four processions to see the difference.

In total there are four, the first two being free and the last two paid ticket events.

To be perfectly honest, we would choose the second and fourth parades as being the ones well worth going to, these two being on Palm Sunday and Good Friday.

The first Friday procession lacked the large "floats" which carry the figures of Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Nero, the fallen angel etc and had very few horses, we counted three rows of 8 and three of 4, with just a few accompanying horse escorts.

The Palm Sunday parade had several of the biblical elements, including the boat of the Pharaoh Ramses II and had a lot more horses and somehow a lot more excitement. The fact that the parade was followed by the Palm Sunday parade led by Jesus on a donkey, followed by over 1000 people dressed as a crowd in Jeruslaem,  made the whole evening so much more of an experience, a riot of colours and waving palms which completely gridlocked the central of Lorca as it passed.

The two main paid processions take place on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, but if we were purchasing tickets, we would strongly recommend the Friday night over the Thursday.

Although some of the big biblical pieces were in the Thursday procession, it was certainly smaller than the Friday night, with a lot less horses and somehow less excitement, although for first time visitors to Lorca it would still excite and entertain.

But 35 to 50 euros is a lot of money to pay out for a seat, particularly for a family, so if tickets are being purchased, having now seen this Thursday night procession, we would strongly recommend visitors book for the Friday night which is the most spectacular, the biggest and incorporates all of the biblical elements.

Lorca has applied now to UNESCO to have its Semana Santa classified as being worthy of UNESCO human patrimony status, Patrimonio Inmaterial de la Humanidad, which will help to guarantee its continuity and give it more International exposure.

Its certainly worthy of this status, being an incredible, unique and explosive celebration of Easter, and a must see at least once in a lifetime experience for anyone proposing to spend Semana Santa within the Region of Murcia.´

And if you´re unable to come during this incredible week, at least go to the Museums and see these magnificent embroideries within their home seats, in the headquarters of the Cofradías who lavish so much love and care into making  and caring for them throughout the year.

Once the mad flurry of Spring fiestas are out of the way and the museums restored to normality, we´ll catch up with the backlog and post visitor details for you. In the meantime, if you plan to visit Lorca soon, the tourist office will be happy to supply a map and visitor details.