Semana Santa in Cartagena

The processions in Cartagena are organized by four brotherhoods. Every brotherhood is divided into smaller groups ("agrupaciones"), each in charge of one of the floats in the procession. Women have recently been brought into more roles but do not always wear the hood and robe. There are two main brotherhoods, the Californios and Marrajos, who have a strong rivalry which is seen as one of the reasons Cartagena maintains so many major parades. After a difficult time in the early nineteenth century they experienced a revival with new members from the managers and owners from the mining boom in Cartagena. which is now the . The Senior Brother was exiled from Spain for supporting the losing Hapsburg claimant in the War of the Spanish Succession. The colour of this brotherhood is black. Resucitados The brotherhood of Our Lord Jesus Resurrected (known as Resucitados) organises the procession on the morning of Easter Sunday. The colour of this brotherhood is white. They originally started in 1941 as a section of the Marrajos brotherhood to commemorate Christ's resurrection, but became a separate brotherhood in 1943. The parade has ten floats that tell different parts of the Easter story. Instead of incense used in the other three processions bells are used. ==The Parades==

Each float is preceded at the front by a richly embroidered standard ("estandarte"), carried by three members of the group and followed by two symmetrical lines of members, who march and stop in unison to the beat of drums. When they stop, they all remain absolutely still and in total silence. Their military-like discipline may have earned their nickname of "tercio", a word which broadly means "regiment". At the rear of the "tercio" a concert band and the drummers follow, and then the trono made of artistically carved gilded or painted wood. Some of these floats move on wheels whereas others are carried on the shoulders of hundreds of "portapasos" (or float-carriers), who also march to the rhythmic beat of the drums. Most of the processions are in the evening, or in the day time in holidays, but on the Friday before holy week one of the traditional processions starts at 3.30 AM and goes on to 6. The majority of parades start at the Church of Our Lady of Grace. ==Clothing==

The members of the group are all clad in the same colours. The men in the floats wear a robe, a sash around the waist, a cloak, a high pointed hood to cover their heads and faces, and sandals. ==Floats==

"Cartagena style floats" are the name given in other towns to multi-level flats with electric lights, introduced by the Californios and made possible through the money from the region's mining boom at the end of the nineteenth century. On the top of the float visitors to Cartagena can see the processional images, polychrome wooden sculptures which are displayed either separately or in groups. The images include works by classic artists such as Francisco Salzillo, , , Mariano Benlliure, or Federico Coullaut-Valera as well as others by contemporary sculptors. Unlike in other cities, in Cartagena the order of the floats in the procession follows the chronological order of the events narrated in the Gospels. The images are surrounded by "cartelas", a kind of electric candelabra or sometimes a sort of upside-down chandeliers, fixed to the float and decorated with colourful and intricate floral arrangements. ==Piquetes==

Also unique in Cartagena are the infantry companies ("piquetes") at the rear of the main processions, escorting the float of the Virgin Mary which, under popular Marian advocations such as Our Lady of Sorrows or Our Lady of Solitude, usually close the procession. ==Naval Involvement==

Given its role as the historical home of the Spanish Navy, every year on Holy Tuesday the Spanish Navy Marines send a delegation to the procession on that day. ==References==