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Brazil
Holy Week has developed into one of Brazil’s (more specifically in the southern town of Campanha) main symbols of community identity. The celebration’s foundation of exaggerated performance and musical accompaniments does, however, intervene with the Catholic Church’s orders of Vatican II. While the elaborate festivities connect the Brazilians to their local, historical values, the clergy persist to enforce a more modern, prevalent church.

The main conflict of the local church and the Vatican orders is the selection of music. The Holy Week celebrations incorporate music that awakens and encourages a spiritual experience by tending to the senses and emotions. The music allows people to connect with their rich past and gives them a sense of belonging.

The Campanha Holy Week begins on the Monday evening before Easter with the Procession of the Deposit. Our Lord of the Stations is kept in a large black box that is shown on the main square brought from the church. Followed by the box is a band and procession of people that walks towards the church in a reverent manor. Once outside of the church, there begins a sermon that focuses on the Easter story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Following the sermon, a choir leads the Miserere, by Manoel Dias de Oliveria from inside the open church doors while the black box is brought inside the church, and people come in to kiss the human-sized figure of Christ. The figure resembles the blood-stained Jesus carrying the cross. There are processionals on Tuesday and Wednesday that make a sequence of stops at different chapels where a significant song is sung at each. The stations have a large painting that portrays the episodes of the cross of Christ. Occasions on Thursday are inside the cathedral, which entail a blessing of oils in the morning and a night sermon. Good Friday begins with afternoon ceremonies followed by the week’s main event of the “Descent from the Cross” in front of the cathedral, followed by the “Funeral Procession of Our Dead Lord.” The drama incorporates Christ being brought from the cross into a coffin, which is then paraded around to the performances of the “Song of Veronica.” There is a drama performed by the youth on Saturday morning, with the “Paschal Vigil” that night. The streets are transformed on Saturday night into a beautiful array of intricate, colorful carpets to prepare for the following day. Easter Sunday begins before sunrise with the singing of the choir and band performances to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Bells and fireworks are followed by a mass that ends with the “Hallelujah Chorus.”

Easter in Brazil

Remembering the Baroque Era: Historical Consciousness, Local Identity and the Holy Week Celebrations in Former Mining Town in Brazil

Maya
Holy Week (Semana Santa) in Guatemala incorporates processions with huge wooden platforms supporting different saints. The heavy andas are held by the locals, both men and women who are frequently in purple robes. In front of the parade is a man holding a container of incense accompanied by horn and flute music played by a small band. Intricate carpets, or alfombras, line the streets during the week’s celebration. Easter processions begin at sunrise and all people come to join the festivities.

The Judas figure (Christ’s betrayer) has been the main point of focus during the Mayan Holy Week in Amatenango. The priest calls Judas the “killer of Christ”, and the figure was beaten after the Crucifixion performance on Good Friday. The interactions with the Judas symbol have changed through time and it is now treated more calmly than the past.

Guatemala: A Journey Through the Land of the Maya

Judas Transformed [Maya, Holy Week]

Yaqui Indians
Yaqui Holy Week is both ritualistic and theatrical in its’ celebrations. The major event of the Yaqui Indians during Holy Week occurs on Wednesday evening in which people arrive to the church on horses and begin to crawl on the floor. Light begins to go out and people begin the whipping to the sound of ceremonial groans. Children and a dark hooded figure, symbolizing the betrayer of Christ, join the Thursday morning procession to the church. There they give their oath to God’s service for the next three or five years. There is a symbolic search for Jesus that night when the “Pharisees” visit various crosses in the streets and capture the “old man” (symbolic Jesus). A solemn atmosphere arises on Friday when Jesus is (representatively) beaten and buried. On Saturday, an idol of Jesus’ betrayer, Judas, is detained as many people gather to watch the performance. Sunday is a much-anticipated celebration of Christ’s resurrection filled with beautiful flowers and fireworks. A drama is performed enacting evil being defeated by good. People watch with excitement as evil is eradicated symbolically through dance.

Interpreting Yaqui Semana Santa

Week Celebrations of the Yaqui Indians