Semana Santa in Yecla

The traditional Easter processions of Yecla date back to at least the 16^th century

As in many other parts of the Region of Murcia Semana Santa is a very important week in the calendar of Yecla and a number of impressive processions are held featuring the town’s religious and artistic heritage. These are organized by the “Cofradías” (or brotherhoods) who undertake the religious parades of penitence, and have been declared as being of Regional Tourist Interest.

Yecla also has an excellent Semana Santa museum in the atmospheric former church of La Asunción, which contains the more than 80 figures and tableaux paraded in the streets every year in 11 processions as well as embroidered adornments, gold and silver pieces and wooden sculpture. The best known of the figures is the Virgen de las Angustias, created by Francisco Salzillo in 1763, which is usually revered in the Basílica de la Purísima, and the statue of Santísimo Cristo de la Adoración de la Cruz by José Esteve Bonet (1800).

The Semana Santa celebrations in Yecla date back to the 16th century and include the traditional "Sermones de Cuaresma" (Sermons of Lent). The first records regarding Cofradias in Yecla relate to the Cofradía de la Sangre de Jesús (The Blood of Jesus), which was linked to the penitence and support of the preaching of San Vicente Ferrer and the Dominican monks.

Next to appear was the Cofradia of the Hermandad de la Cruz (The Brotherhood of the Cross) or of the Vera Cruz, linked to the Franciscans who in that period founded a monastery in Yecla. There is also the Cofradía de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (Our Lady of Solitude), which included members from the nobility and rich families, as is the case in many other localities throughout Spain. The processions featuring penitents who covered their faces and wore tunics in a format recognisable today began in the seventeenth century.

There are now 19 Cofradías.

Among the most popular procession in the modern Semana Santa of Yecla is the one on Palm Sunday (Domingo de Ramos), known as the Procesión de las Palmas (Procession of the Palms) or "La Burrica" (the little donkey) because it includes a little donkey and is accompanied by a multitude of children and adults carrying palm leaves and olive branches.

But the most picturesque is perhaps the Procesión de los Farolicos del Martes Santo, (Procession of the small lanterns on Holy Tuesday) which is for children accompanying the tableau of Christ in a reclined position while carrying their lanterns.

The event which takes place on Jueves Santo (Maundy Thursday) in Yecla is also popular procession among visitors, featuring 17 Pasos or carved figures in the procession known as the Procesión de la Pasión del Señor (Procesión of the Passion of our Lord). More than 3,000 people take part in this procession full of light, music, flowers, art and devotion.

The Procesión del Silencio (Silent procession) takes place at midnight, when all the lights are turned off, and parades through the centre of the town, with only the sounds of saetas, a type of hymn sung by a lone voice, and the prayers of the participants in the Vía Crucis. This is always an atmospheric occasion, charged with emotion as the penitents mourn the betrayal of Christ.

The "Enterramiento de Cristo" (the burial of Christ) on Good Friday also features 17 pasos. It starts at sunset and is one of the most emotional occasions of Semana Santa for the faithful. At midnight, the Virgen de la Soledad is accompanied to join the “Procesión de la Soledad” (procession of solitude) whilst the residents sing the moving "Stabat Mater Dolorosa". The night ends with “La Plática de Despedida" o "Sermón de la Soledad” (Sermon of solitude).

Easter Week ends with the joyous procession on Resurrection Sunday, which is unusual in Yecla due to the presence of “El Diablico”, a little devil who runs around the procession attempting to escape the triumph of Life over Death and Good over Evil.

Most of the processions start at the Basílica de la Purísima and a Good place to watch the mis the Plaza Mayor, where ceremonies such as the “Cortesía” on Good Friday and the meeting of processions on Easter Sunday take place.

And while visiting, don’t forget to try the typical local gastronomy of the time of year, including pasties filled with potato and a white bean stew with balls of cod!

If visiting Yecla don’t forget to make sure one of your first ports of call is the tourist office (Plaza Mayor, 1, telephone 968 754104, email turismo@yecla.es).

For more local events, news and visiting information go to the home page of Yecla Today.