Semana Santa in Popayán, Colombia

By -
Perhaps the biggest Semana Santa celebration is in Popayán. Popayán is one of the oldest cities in Colombia, founded in 1537 by Sebastián Belalcázar. Its name, comes from the indigenous words for Two Straw Villages. It referred to the two villages with houses having straw roofs. However, today, it is known as the White City, because of its beautiful white colonial houses.

For over 400 years, Popayán has held processions during Holy Week. They are similar to processions held in Spain.


These celebrations start on Palm Sunday with a procession that starts at the Basilica de Belén. People participating in the procession carry Palms, white handkerchiefs and flags proclaiming the royalty of Jesus Christ.


On Martes Santo (Holy Tuesday), there is another procession where the effigy bearers carry four images from the church of Saint Augustine to the center of the city. Accompanying the procession are the sounds of a solemn requiem. They are met at the church by red-robed men carrying incense, small bells, and a large crucifix. At the end of the procession is the statue of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores.


On Viernes Santo (Holy Friday), Popayán celebrates the Passion of Christ. The procession on this day includes the image of death represented by a skeleton and a group of men armed with hammers, chisels, and other tools. These men symbolize those who took down the body of Christ from the cross. Finally, there is a representation of a Holy Sepulcher, where the body of Christ was laid to rest. It is made of ivory and tortoise shell.


Popayán also has what it calls "Procesiones Chiquititas" . Here those carrying the statues and images are children ranging in age from 5-11. The kids are dressed the same as the adults and all of the "pasos" that they carry are exact replicas, on a smaller scale, of those carried by the adults in the formal processions.


* Photo by Maocandimil

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Popular Colombian Names

By -
Recently, I was asked to write a post on Colombian names, and popular Colombian names. I had a hard time finding a list, but eventually I did find one. According to I.N.E. - Instituto Nacional de Estadística, -- unfortunately, when I found this it doesn't say the year -- the most common Colombian boys names across all ages are: 1 JUAN CARLOS 2 CARLOS ALBERTO 3 ALEXANDER 4 ANDRES FELIPE 5 LUIS FERNANDO 6 DIEGO FERNANDO 7 JHON JAIRO 8 CARLOS ANDRES 9 ALEJANDRO 10 JUAN DAVID The girls are: 1 SANDRA MILENA 2 LUZ MARINA 3 CAROLINA 4 PAULA ANDREA 5 CLAUDIA PATRICIA 6 MARIA EUGENIA 7 PAOLA ANDREA 8 DANIELA 9 LILIANA 10 MARTHA CECILIA Just as here, names go through ebb and flow. Fourteen years ago when we were married, I attended several baby baptisms and met numerous friends of my husband. At the time, it seemed like everyone was naming their kid Juan CAMILO (boy) or Maria CAMILA (girl). I met dozens of them. Then, about 7 years later, I heard tons of SANTIAGO, JULIAN, SEBASTIAN and FE
Read more

Most Common Last Names in Colombia

By -
According to the Registraduria Nacional del Estado Civil in Colombia, the most common last names in Colombia in 2010 were the following. Rodríguez Gómez González Martínez García López Hernández Sánchez Ramírez Pérez Días Muñoz Rojas Moreno Jiménez While this is a list that covers all of Colombia, there are some regional differences. In Antioquia, the last names Restrepo, Zapata y Álvarez are the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th most common names and Montoya 8th, while they are not even in the top 10 in Bogotá, Cali or Barranquilla. The last name Castro is the 10th most popular last name in Barranquilla, however, is it not in the top ten of any other major city's list. Additionally, in Cali, the last name Valencia is in 7th place, while it also does not appear on any other city's list.
Read more

La Madremonte

By -
Image
The myth of the Madremonte (Mother Mountain), and I do say myth though many campesinos in Colombia believe in her today, has it's roots in the indigenous cultures of Colombia and is known throughout much of Colombia including Antioquia, Caldas, Arauca, Caqueta, Amazonas, Guainia, and perhaps more departments. The Madremonte looks like a large woman. She has large, bony hands, large teeth and Betty Davis Eyes -- which on closer examination glow. Her body is covered in leaves and moss. Her hair is a tangled mess of plants and moss which often covers her face. She lives in the mountains and jungles, (in Antioquia and Caldas she lives in swamps where streams are born. People who claim to have seen her, usually report to have done so near thickets and bushes in jungle like areas. Others report having heard her bloodcurdling screams and groans on stormy nights. She rules the winds, the rains, and all the vegetation, and her role is to protect nature. She punishes those who invad
Read more