Malaga Easter celebrations 2019
- When: 14th – 21st April 2019
- Where: Malaga, Spain
- Website: www.semana-santa-malaga.com
As the holidays get closer, lots of people are wondering where to go for their Easter holidays 2019. Malaga, Spain is an excellent destination, with the Easter parades and processions in Malaga being some of the finest in the whole of Spain. This year, the Holy Week in Spain is from 14th - 21st April 2019.
The cofradías brotherhoods of Malaga which organise the Semana Santa processions are some of the oldest in existence, such as Vera Cruz, which dates back to the 16th century. What’s for sure is that the popular processions representing episodes from the life of Jesus Christ during Holy Week in Malaga are unrivalled. They are less parade floats than thrones (tronos), carried around the city of Malaga on the shoulders of costaleros (sack-men, so named for the cloth sacks they wear around their necks to deal with the burden of carrying the tronos). In some cases they need as many as 200 people for one religious scene. These Easter parade thrones are beautiful and also very heavy, with the Virgen de Dolores Coronada standing out at a whopping 660 stone or 4,200 kilograms.
Malaga, one of the oldest cities in Europe
Malaga is the most populous and largest coastal city in Andalusia. The Phoenicians founded the city in the 13th century, making Malaga one of the oldest cities in Europe. Part of its urban area was declared a “Conjunto Histórico”, a type of Spanish conservation area, thanks to the undeniable influence it has had on so many civilisations. The historical centre of the city has a large concentration of various monuments of interest like the unmissable Alcazaba Arab fort, the Cathedral, the Roman Theatre, the Jewish quarter and the Palacio de la Aduana, as well as the archaeological heritage buried underfoot. All this makes Malaga an attraction for holidays and as a place to live at any time of year.
Easter celebrations in Malaga, Spain 2019
The most exciting upcoming event in Malaga, Spain is the Semana Santa Holy Week festival. This festival involves many different celebrations, with the most typical things to do in the Malaga Easter holiday schedule being to watch the daily processions. The weather in Malaga at Easter is expected to be largely sunny and warm, especially on Easter Sunday, which is on 21st April 2019. However, on the Tuesday of Easter Holy Week, 16th April 2019, thunderstorms have been forecast in Malaga.
Of all the Easter processions in Malaga in 2019, La Esperanza will be the longest at 6,300 metres, nearly 4 miles. The Cofradía del Amor follows it with over 4,760 metres, or 3 miles, and the Monte Calvario comes in a close third at 4.5 kilometres, 2.8 miles.
The brotherhoods which carry the procession floats depart from their fraternity houses or centres, walk their route and return to their temples. However, as Malaga has experienced changes over time, these routes are not exact and have been known to vary. Each brotherhood carries out a determined route, although curiously enough they all share one particular 800 metre stretch, an official route going from the main boulevard, circling around the statue of the Marques of Larios and continuing along the Calle de Larios and the Calle Granada streets.
In some of the streets which nearly all the processions usually go along, there are chairs available to rent and some citizens of Malaga even bring their own seats from home to sit and watch the parade. When the Semana Santa parades finish, the thrones are stored safely again. One especially emotional moment to witness is the meeting of the throne of Christ and the throne of the Virgin Mary. The people carrying them lift them up and sway them gently to the sound of hymns and the applause of the crowds. All in all, it’s a week that’s not to be missed.
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