On Good Friday, the streets of
Corella serve as the backdrop for a magnificent cortege. Religious imagery represents scenes from the Passion of Christ and various biblical characters are brought back to life for a few hours.
In the afternoon, the streets of Corella are the setting for a magnificent procession. Religious imagery is used to represent scenes from the Passion of Christ and various biblical characters come back to life for a few hours. This is a
solemn Baroque procession dating from the 18th century which in 1967 was declared a
Procession of Tourist Interest by the Ministry of Information and Tourism, as being
one of the fifty most original and representative processions in Spain.
Some of the most characteristic acts include
the entry into Jerusalem. After the relevant paso, a group of children marches along with palms, four girls carrying a carpet, and Jesus holding his right index finger up, mounted on a highly adorned donkey.
The apprehension is another of the most veracious moments. Jesus walks along barefoot with a rope around his neck. The executioners quell him with staves and pull on the rope until the prisoner hesitates and falls to the ground.
But the high point of the drama is undoubtedly the
meeting between Christ with Simon the Cyrenian and Veronica. In the Place of the Cross, before the expectant gaze of the public, Christ carries a heavy cross of 100 kilos. With a tortured expression, he walks slowly along until a man with a purple habit appears. After kneeling and kissing the ground three times, he approaches Christ and helps him to carry his burden for the rest of the procession.
Veronica then appears with a clean, white cloth and wipes the face of the Lord. His image becomes imprinted on the cloth.
Despite the throngs of people congregated in the square, absolute silence reigns, which even further intensifies the profound emotion of the performance.