Semana Santa, Toledo. Men in suits

The more I have been watching  the events of Semana Santa the more I have noticed the men in suits!  That, in a way, is ironical given the vibrantly coloured costumes that the members of the cofradía wear.

These pasos were in the church where a rain stopped procession was meant to start, so I am assuming these would have been in it.

It is the men in suits that are the captains of proceedings.  Watching them I was struck with how much they were like the men in suits who buzz around the Pope.  An irony, given the news that broke on Easter Monday of Pope Francis's death.

These men bustle around the paso, guiding it, calling instructions, and knocking on the paso in coded signals to those carrying it.  I think there must be a specific time before a rest is needed.  I haven't been able to work out if is the length of the accompanying music, or the clock that controls the decision, but the instructions seem to be a three tap warning, then about 30 seconds later a single tap says "stop".  It is repeated again, after the rest, with three knocks to say "get ready" followed by the single knock to say "pick up".  

Look at the caterpillar feet moving the paso.  Take note of the men in suits

As soon as the paso is picked up the costaleros start swaying from side to side, before moving forward.  I am assuming that this is to get everyone working in unison.  Even the bands seem to do that too.  Just watching one procession it is quite possible that one could miss these little quirks - I know that even in the last one I watched I noticed some new things.  I have even noticed a reflex action by some in the crowd who start swaying on the signal!

Semana Santa processions in Toledo were many, and at all hours of the day, and night!  Sadly though some were cancelled due to the weather. 

Holy Wednesday was scheduled to have several processions.  I arrived at the Monastery de San Juan de los Reyes and found a good viewing spot.  The band were ready and waiting to participate, but then the drizzle started.  They went into the church to keep their instruments dry, especially the drums.  The rain eventually  got heavier and the umbrellas, which had been put away, came out again, and after more than an hour word came that it was cancelled. I went "home" to get some rest and to warm up.

The band were ready and waiting ....

... but the umbrellas came out with the start of the rain

I came out again for the 11.30 (pm) procession, which did happen.  This time it was the turn of the Brotherhood of the Most Holy Christ of the Angels to run the procession.  This was a simple procession with the cofradía carrying lanterns, and some carrying crosses.

Note the bare feet!

The big procession was on Maundy Thursday, and I mean big!  I arrived well before it started and found a possie to wait it out.  I had been there earlier in the day and had seen no evidence of special seating arrangements, but at some time in the interim, two tows of numbered chairs had been placed almost the entire length of the street and on both sides - except where it narrowed and there was no room.  Interestingly, when I returned around two hours after the procession had passed all chairs had been collected. 

Wall to wall people!

You can see the chairs here, and the crowds wandering through.

And the crowd at the end of the procession!

The evening parade began from the Cathedral.  I thought it was only going to be one float, but there were many, led, I think, by different cofradía, and supported by different bands.  The procession began at 8.30pm, but it didn't reach me until about 9.15pm.  Then the floats kept coming!  I think they may have been different processions that joined at one common part, before returning to their "home".

The "man in suit" getting ready to tap the directions 

The back view 

The women were part of the procession, dressed in black, with beautiful tortoiseshell combs holding the black lace mantillas in place.

Patience is necessary for any plans to watch such things.  There are several reasons that these things seem to take forever to arrive, one being that it takes ages to manoevre the paso out of whichever building it happens to be leaving from, and I'm guessing it probably takes a while for cofradía members to line up and be ready.  At one procession I was watching members arrive, carrying their costume, just minutes before it was due to start.  Sometimes, the Spanish don't have a concept time!

After that procession I was able to have a small rest before heading out to the next one, scheduled for midnight.  I thought there might be a reasonable crowd left over from the earlier procession, but no the crowd was almost as big.

FYI - this was taken at 1.47am

At one point as I was heading back home I got stuck behind the procession, which was trying to manoevre the paso down the narrow street on the way to the church ....

... where another paso came out.

That wasn't the end of the night though as after a short rest I braved the Toledo hills and went out for the next procession which was to begin at 3.00am!  The crowds were nearly as big as the midnight ones.

A much lighter and simpler paso

Later, on Good Friday evening there were to be two more processions, but only one happened.  The first, due to begin at 7.30, was stopped due to rain.  The cofradía brought the paso to the door, with the band playing inside the church and then returned.  I couldnt see much at all, except for umbrellas!

Later, I went out again for the 10.30pm procession, thinking that rain might cause this to be cancelled,  but no, it did happen, though it stopped a short while after due to drizzle.  This was a simple procession, probably one of my favourites due to that simplicity.  This was one of the least attended, though that said, there were still a lot of people there.

Easter Sunday dawned bright and sunny so I chose one of two processions to attend, not realising that both would meet before returning to their seperate destinations. 

This paso was carried by the women, but still with the men in suits directing.

This paso came to meet the other, dressed in black, and was carried by the men.

The black cloaks that had been removed.

I have found the whole experience of participating in Semana Santa very interesting and I am very glad that I have made the effort to see all that I could.  The music has been fascinating, and there have been some real treasures amongst it.  By taking the time to see so much, I have a greater understanding of the part that Semana Santa plays in the Spanish culture, and I was able to see things differently as I saw more of the pageantry. 

Via de la Plata here I come!

Semana Santa