On October 26, 2024, an extraordinary departure was held celebrating the 425th anniversary of the first preserved book of rules, dated 1599, of the Dulce Nombre de Jesús brotherhood of Marchena. An outing that was spoiled by the rain, but that did not prevent us from enjoying the sweet child through the streets of Marchena.
The day before, a Ministriles concert was held in the parish, recreating what processional music was like at the time when the brotherhood was founded.
There was also a parade organised by the Dulce Nombre de Jesús Musical Band, which was also celebrating its anniversary. This impressive parade brought together more than 200 musicians from the Dulce Nombre band – including former members of the band – as well as other bands from the town such as the Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, and from other towns in the province such as Arahal, Morón de la Frontera, la Lantejuela, Áznalcollar…
I don’t have any photos or video of the extraordinary departure of the Dulce Nombre (because of the rain), but RTV Marchena together with Libetel TV made a fantastic live report:
The Dulce Nombre is a much loved figure in its village and well known in the rest of Spain for being very unique and characteristic. It represents a child Jesus already carrying the cross, as an allegory that since childhood he was predestined to die on the cross. It also represents the dreams that Jesus had as a child in which he dreamed of everything that would happen to him. The brotherhood, in fact, was founded by some children, who went out in procession with a cross, in the 16th century.