“Perhaps, after two years, he has forgotten how to move the stone”. The joke runs through the corridors, in Vara de Rey, during the Semana Santa festivities where the Virgen de la Esperanza has been resting for almost an hour now, to the right of the statue of the general. The costaleras and costaleros of the brotherhood of the Santo Cristo de la Agonía and the Señora de la Esperanza have been walking around the plaza for some time now, biding their time. They smoke. They take the opportunity to play with the families’ children. They have a drink. They make plans for the final public holiday of Semana Santa. The tourists enjoying the Semana Santa celebrations, numerous at that hour, around noon, on the promenade, are busy with La Esperanza, whom they photograph from every possible angle, looking for the brightest glint of her crown.
Semana Santa excitement
At the same speed as the joke of the stone (the one that sealed the enclosure in which Jesus was buried after the crucifixion) the Semana Santa programme of the Bishopric of Ibiza runs from mobile phone to mobile phone, which everyone consults to make sure they haven’t got the time wrong. It was an hour and a half ago that La Esperanza came out of the door of the church of Santa Cruz – “To heaven with her!” – to applause and the Spanish anthem. Accompanied by her musicians, her faithful and her manola, a seamstress, wearing a white mantilla as tradition dictates. It has been an hour and a half since La Esperanza began her journey and she is still waiting, standing on the promenade for her resurrected son. “Between the departure of La Esperanza and that of the Resurrected Jesus there was mass,” says one of the attendees after exchanging several messages with someone who is still in the church. The faces of those around them is one of absolute astonishment. “It was much better last year, Mass was held and then the two images came out at the same time. We weren’t standing here for so long,” says Rosa Andrade, who has followed the Virgin, holding the arm of Emilia, her mother, who is now sitting on a bench, during the whole procession. Despite its short distance of only 500 metres, it is not without its dangers.
On the verge of reaching s’Alamera, the Virgin’s crown slips off the image’s white and gold mantle. Just a few centimetres, but just enough for the brotherhoods to fear that it could get worse. Fina, one of the members of the band, climbs on the float and does not stop until the cross of the crown points to the sky again. Until it does not move. Only then does she separate herself from the image and, with extreme tenderness, repositions her hands and rosaries. The applause, when she returns to the rows of musicians, one of the loudest of the morning, marks the resumption of the procession. A walk along the promenade, surrounding the central statue, making sure that the crown does not touch the tops of the trees, and to wait. In the sunshine. Staring at the clock, where, in a little while, her son will appear. Resurrected.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.