Until the 5th April in Valencia, as in other parts of Spain, especially the regions of Andalucía and Castile & León, the Holy Week will be celebrated, a popular religious expression of the Passion, the Death and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This celebration, known as Maritime Holy Week, has special roots in the district Poblados Marítimos of the city of Valencia (maritime districts) composed of the neighbourhoods of Grao, Cabañal and Cañamelar. They are the ancient fishing neighbourhoods of the city, facing the sea and with their own idiosyncratic way.
According to tradition, whilst there are no documents that certify it, the Maritime Holy Week dates back to the C. 15th when the well-known Valencian Saint Vincent Ferrer was one of the driving forces for establishing the festival. The Maritime Holy Week includes a wide participation from the residents of these neighbourhoods, and is extremely popular in the rest of the city of Valencia and its province, with the mesmerising parades carried out by the brotherhoods, fraternities and corporations that make up the bulk of the events of this festival. These parades stand out for the particular clothing and hairstyles of the participants, among which you can see representations of historic characters such as Pontius Pilate and Herod, among many others.
Without a doubt, the events that bring together the most members of the public are the Holy Interment (Good Friday) and the parade on Resurrection Sunday. Among the most curious events is the peculiar trencà dels perols (at midnight at the dawn between Easter Saturday and Resurrection Sunday) in which residents launch from the balconies of their houses old crockery and earthenware utensils in a noisy metaphor for the renewal of the Spirit.
Photo of the poster courtesy of the Main Commission of the Maritime Holy Week of Valencia.
