Recommendations

To see the brotherhoods outside the Official Route, you should bear in mind a few recommendations.

Do not forget that the procession times always correspond to the time when the Guide Cross at the beginning will pass. From this moment you need to calculate the time required for the whole brotherhood to pass. That is to say, the idea is not to see them all from start to finish, but rather to take your time and enjoy the ones you come across. Neither should you forget that the setting they pass through is as important and the statues themselves. One way or another, it is the best way to explore the city on foot.

Comfortable shoes

Throughout Easter week, the old part of town is literally closed to traffic. The best way to get around is on foot or using public transport. If you come by car, the best thing is to leave it in a public car park away from the processional routes. Remember that you will go from one place to the next on foot, so always wear comfortable shoes - it is a long week.

Visiting churches

Each morning you can, and indeed should, go to the respective churches and visit the brotherhoods that are to go on processions that day. This is the best way to take in the atmosphere of each one, and to feel the excitement of the hours prior to their departure.

Tradition in Seville

In Seville, special mention should be made of the "Besamanos del Gran Poder" which starts on Palm Sunday and finishes on Easter Wednesday. The best thing is to visit it on Sunday, to understand just what devotion to the "Gran Poder" brotherhood means in Seville, and also to get to grips with the depth of these beliefs and their distance from popular clichés.

Tradition in Málaga

In Malaga there are traditional "transfers" held on some mornings. This is where statues are taken from the church to their processional thrones, giving the neighbourhood a sneak preview of what the afternoon´s procession will be like.

The most spectacular one is "El Cautivo", on Easter Monday - an explosion of religious devotion where the whole neighbourhood gets involved, ideal to help understand what this Passion Week is all about.

Here, special mention should be made of the arrival of the "La Legión" procession - their boat moors at the port on Maundy Thursday, although they keep watch over the "Cristo de Mena" statue from Easter Wednesday.

Overcrowding

Steer clear of packed crowds and when you find one try to move away. Sometimes doorways and shops can make good shelters in these cases. You can always find secondary-looking streets, others with little apparent interest or which are on the return route, offering excellent opportunities to live the experience from up close. You should also respect the procession, cross streets only at marked spots and at suitable moments, always giving priority to penitents.

Going just in front of or behind a processional throne has its benefits but also its disadvantages. Many people often try this and it is becoming more and more difficult. The idea is for each person to make his/her own programme, in accordance with requirements and possibilities.

With children

If you are going with children, get an idea in advance of the location of open, comfortable spaces where you can wait sitting down and have something to eat or drink, and especially where the children can move freely to ask the penitents for wax - an ideal way to help children get over their fear of the apparently dark figure of the penitent.