If something characterizes the Andalusian Holy Week, it is the fragrance of orange blossom in its streets, full of orange trees -which give sour orange. The beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday, is almost synchronized with the appearance of the first orange blossoms. Azahar is a word of Arabic origin, az-zahr, which means “white flower“. In my portfolio I have a photo gallery of the Marchena orange blossom.
However, just 47 days before Holy Week, all the streets are still under construction. Will the works be finished on time? We will have to ask María del Mar Romero Aguilar, mayoress of Marchena. The route of the Three Kings parade had to be changed, and it did not end well.
425th anniversary of the first rules of the brotherhood of the Sweet Name of Jesus of Marchena
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.
Coullaut Valera exhibition in San Pedro street, Marchena
Lorenzo Coullaut Valera was a Spanish sculptor and illustrator born in Marchena in 1876, the son of a French engineer. He spent his childhood in Nantes, France, and returned to Spain in 1893. His works are found throughout Spain and Latin-America and he has a museum in his hometown.
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