Pasos (floats) hold lifelike wooden sculptures of Jesus or the Virgin Mary with individual scenes of the Passion. Some of these sculptures are hundreds of years old and are considered artistic masterpieces.
Welcome to Seville, an ancient Spanish city where the faithful have been holding Holy Week processions since the Middle Ages.
“I lived in Seville for two years,” said Maria Rudloff, mother of four living in Scarsdale, New York. “One of the things that impressed me the most were the pasos. The statues in these floats were made of wood, wax and wire and were decorated with flowers. The statues have clothes which are richly embroidered. The locals have tremendous veneration for these figures.”
According to Rudloff, every neighborhood has its own float. Parishioners from each neighborhood spend all year preparing for the Holy Week procession.
“For them, it’s a sacred journey of reflection, penance and spiritual renewal,” she said.
Many pasos are richly decorated using gold or silver ornaments. Mary is usually depicted as weeping for Jesus or holding him in her arms.
The floats are organized by cofradias or religious brotherhoods.
