Semana Santa Lorca, The Lorca biblical parade Friday an astonishing extravaganza

Semana Santa Lorca, The final biblical parade

The Friday night biblical parade in Lorca lived up to expectations providing spectacular entertainment for the four hours it took to file through the centre of Lorca.

There are several Cofradías in Lorca, but the most prominent are the whites, Paso Blanco, and the blues, Paso Azul, and competition between the two is fierce, both attempting year on year to outdo each other in the splendour of the floats they create, the daring of their horsemen and the embroideries they display.

Looking at the cloaks filing past, its easy to believe that theyre actually painted, so vivid and detailed are the pictures which glow on the backs of passing horses, and the massive floats, the cloaks on the back of some of them covering more than 10 square metres, but theyre all embroidered by hand, in incredible detail.

Even the robes worn by the penitents filing past were embroidered with thousands of euros worth of gold thread, each one a unique work of art, which grew more flamboyant as the procession progressed, thousnads of hours of painstaking labours of love for the  Cofradias who so proudly display them.

Its been a fascinating journey around the region this week, experiencing the differences between the way each individual location displays its sculptural heritage and expresses its faith, every area with its own characteristics and peculiarities.

The processions in Cartagena are sleek, shining rows of immaculate satin clad figures, ghostly in their smooth precision and perfect timing, all moving as one, the stamp of the Military and naval past of Cartagena defining the discipline of their movements.

The Murcians poked fun at the military precision, saying that the Carthaginians gave out their sweets in the same way as they paraded: one sweet per street, measured, calculated and perfectly timed, whereas the Murcians spread like a gabble of red across the network of the city, tunics bulging obscenely with kilos of sweets, boiled eggs, beans and bread which they dispensed generously, without reservation and with warmth of spirit, filling the evening with colour, life and the abundance of the murcian orchards.

Lorca, was splendid beyond comparison,  a magnificent show which dazzled and impressed, the trading history of Lorca clear for all to see. In the history of this City, display mattered, traders fought for the valuable silk trade and merchants jealously guarded their trading routes which spread into Arab territory, and along the coast, the gateway to wealth and material possessions.

In this procession, Pharaohs raced their horses with Roman generals, and Popes glowed vivid gold in vibrantly painted vaulted floats, while the angel Gabriel fought the battle between good and  evil with the love of God triumphant over the devils who rocked and roared in golden chains.

Over 700 horses packed the streets, thrilling the crowds as they charged headlong at full speed filling the air with dust and excitement, others dressed in gorgeously embroidered robes displaying remarkable horsemanship and control with a dressage display which lasted from one Cofradia to the next, particularly astonishing when an enormous horse danced and bowed at the hands of a small child who appeared to be totally dwarfed by the size of the horse it was riding.

Although it was stunning it somehow lacked the sense of danger which the Palm Sunday parade on the previous Sunday had held, the bareback riders a little more contained, and less wayward. On the Sunday night they were like young bloods let loose in front of  a beauty parade, whereas on the Friday night, they were more aware of the importance of not missing a stirrup, so took less risks and behaved a little less outrageously.

One of the greatest surprises about this night was the participation of the watching thousands who roared and cheered depending on their loyalty to the whites or the blues, waving handkerchiefs, cheering, throwing flowers to their favourites and screaming their loyalty and approval of the floats as their "team " passed by.

A tiny little incident showed how deep feelings run. Photographing from the street level, spectators would ask us to pick up flowers and sweets from the streets and pass them up to the stands in-between floats. It became a mechanical action, fishing the shiny sweets from the sand and putting them on the rail for the  children, and without thinking I put a white carnation on the rail above my head and looked up to see three young lads with blue neck-kerchiefs pick up the flower, make a gesture of disgust , pull off the white head and toss it back into the street.

Later on, when the procession had finished, we followed the floats back to the church of the Paso Blanco, and witnessed the most extraordinarily fervent display, as the floats were cheered into their church to ecstatic applause, cries of Vive el Paso Blanco ringing in our ears, hundreds of people packing into the building as members of the Cofradia were greeted, and welcomed back to their seat.

If you go next year, do the same, it was an extraordinary experience and brought home just how passionately the people of Lorca embrace this tradition and their Semana Santa..

Another moment which was astonishingly uplifting was when the float of the Virgin paraded at the end of the procession and the air was filled with swirling rosepetals  raining down from the buildings lining the route, from one end to the other. Walking along behind her with the air full of pink petals and the applause of the whole crowd who stood as she passed was uplifting and emotional, fervour and faith mingling with the smell of incense and roses , the crowd behind her swelling with each step as the stands emptied and whites and blues joined together to follow the procession.

If you missed it this year, go next year.

Its a once in a lifetime experience.

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