With one eye on the sky and fear still somewhat embedded in the body after seeing how the rain flooded the beginning of Holy Week with sadness, Good Friday dawned in search of a light that the 'salzillos' shed. We had to get up earlier than in recent years because the clock still doesn't show summer hours but it does show winter hours, but the purple procession did give a warm hug to all the Murcians. The sky opened at seven o'clock in the morning and, with it, the doors of the Church of Our Father Jesus. The Holy Supper asked for passage.
Thousands of people had been waiting minutes before the doors of the temple for the start of one of the most emblematic – and long-awaited – processions of Holy Week in Murcia. Mobile phones prepared to capture the moment hid the emotion reflected in the faces of those who faithfully did not want to miss the moment. Inside, nerves and desire merged between penitents and shelves of the Royal and Very Illustrious Brotherhood of Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno. The wait seemed eternal, but the time had come to show off the eight images of the sculptor Francisco Salzillo and the step whose author is anonymous and whose protagonist is Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno.
Without tradition and devotion one could not understand Holy Week or a day like this. Like Carlos Quiñonero, who, accompanied by his family, turned 45 dressed in purple: «It is a devotion that is internalized. Good Friday is a tradition that is deeply rooted for the people of Murcia and means a lot to everyone. Despite the nervousness about the weather, we have prepared the week with all the enthusiasm in the world, as it could not be otherwise.
FP
There are those who have worn violet dresses almost since they can remember and those who are approaching a decade as penitents of this procession. This is the case of Víctor García, who seven years ago was convinced by his friend Carlos Marín to join the brotherhood: «My grandfather came out, my father came out and now a few years ago I managed to hook up a friend. Today is an incomparable feeling. We knew that Murcia cannot stand many days of rain in a row, so we were clear that today we would wear the tunics,” confesses Carlos, about to put on the hood for the fourteenth time. «It doesn't matter how early you get up. This morning is lived with hustle and tension because you don't know who is more nervous, your parents while they dress you or yourself. “It is a tremendous joy,” says Víctor.
Víctor García and Carlos Marín, this Friday, before the procession.
FP
The departure of the procession was witnessed by a multitude of Murcians and residents of nearby towns. Among the attendees were authorities such as the president of the Community, Fernando López Miras and the Minister of Culture, Tourism, Youth and Sports, Carmen Conesa. This year there were no stands to taste chocolate and churros, but the nearby cafes were not enough to provide the caffeine necessary to endure a day as long as it was beautiful.
Behind us, very far away in time but still with a place in our memory and heart, are the years when the coronavirus and the rain wasted the opportunity to put on our tunic. There are those who still remember those days when it was impossible to process along with them, like Cristina Guirao, who stopped playing the clarinet in Las Musas de Guadalupe to become a butler. «Being here is something that comes directly from the heart. On days like today it doesn't hurt when the alarm goes off and it's night; You jump out of bed and soon the fights begin with your family so that the sash and the stockings fit properly and that no detail is neglected. “Those nerves bloom from the same emotion that comes with being here today,” reveals Cristina, who waits with glassy eyes for her turn to enter the church and begin parading through Murcia.
Cristina Guirao.
FP
The traditional neighborhood of San Andrés was the first to be dyed 'morao', but there were hardly any streets in the city center that were not dressed up for the occasion.
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