Father José Correcher Blanco is the priest at San Antonio, one of Dénia’s town centre churches. He explains how traditions have grown up in his home town.
The background to the extraordinary processions starts in Seville where the tradition of a parade to symbolise the journey of Christ to Calvary began and then spread to other towns in Spain.

But Dénia didn’t use to mark Semana Santa as much as in other cities of Spain.  Since the Spanish Civil War and during the Franco era, traditional processions were all but banned. However, a ‘Silent Procession’ was allowed, and in Dénia, this still continues today.
The procession comprises the ‘Santísima Sangre’ or Christ on the cross with the Virgin Dolorosa or Heartbroken Virgin accompanying her son.  The whole spectacle is a silent, moving and solemn experience. 
It starts from the Ascension church to his own San Antonio.

Andalucía’s influence
In 1990, the new San Miguel church in Dénia was opened in response to the large wave of Andalusian immigration  which swept into the Dénia area looking for work. These immigrants brought with them their own distinctive customs, and in particular their Semana Santa traditions from the south. This area of Dénia witnessed a resurgence of traditional Semana Santa customs mainly from the Andalusian community. Dénia people, however, have not incorportaed these ‘new’ traditions into their Easter celebrations, the two communities celebrate in a very different way.

Have the Semana Santa processions lost their religious significance in recent years?
“Today there is a new social phenomenon. Following the tourist boom of the 1970s, tourists are more interested in the whole spectacle of the processions and less interested in their religious meanings, and what’s more, they come for the good weather!”

In some of the processions, the marchers wear long, pointed hoods that cover their faces. Can you explain the significance of that?
“Traditionally, those people were penitents, repenting for their sins. They wished to remain anonymous and so would cover their heads and faces. They would also beat themselves or carry heavy crosses on their backs, pleading for forgiveness from God. Today this has converted into part of the traditional Easter Week processions.”

Why are there several Virgins in the Semana Santa processions?
“Theologically there is only one virgin, Mary, the mother of God.  Yet over time, artists started to depict various representations of Mary.
We can say that the ‘prototype’ of the Virgin in the processions is the Virgin Dolorosa, or ‘Heartbroken Virgin’, represented with seven stabs wounds in her heart or with one, according to the different biblical interpretations.
Processions take place throughout the day and it makes sense that different images of the Virgin will be represented:  images that show her emotion, her pain, her grief in seeing her son crucified. The different names of the processing Virgins come from the different sites where the Virgin appeared to followers, or where she is the patron saint.”
 
Is there special music during the Easter services?
“The mass is accompanied by different music than the norm.  
On Good Friday, the music is sad and solemn, representing our sorrow and pain from the death of Christ.
On Easter Sunday, conversely, the music is celebratory.  Today the music is much more modern than it used to be, much more accessible to the congregation.