Start of the procession of the Cofradía del Santísimo Cristo de la Expiración y María Santísima de los Dolores from la Iglesía de la Santísima Trinidad. Christ Crucified and the Blessed Virgin (Our Lady) of Sorrows leaving Holy Trinity Church. One of eight processions that took place on Good Friday.

This scene was one of the most difficult to shoot and I decided eventually to split it into two scenes becuse of the length. I promise I have edited the material down by at least eighty percent. Starting the processions is a long, slow, nerve-wracking process watched by several hundred spectators.

The first scene shows Christ Crucified on a wheeled float leaving the church:

The second shows the María Santísima de los Dolores leaving the church borne on the backs of the “costaleros”. To be a costalero is considered a great honour and requires a great deal of rehearsal. There are several videos on YouTube showing various rehearsals over the year in Úbeda. The costaleros are hidden by a covering over the float and have to be directed by other penitents in front of and behind the float:

A slow and precarious procedure, but for me this was one of the highlights of Semana Santa and well worth the wait. Of course, I was so engrossed in the proceedings I forgot the camera. The tape ran out just before the lift of Our Lady of Sorrows outside the church and by the time I had changed tapes She was well on the way down the slope. Sorry for the blip! The band of the Guardia Civil was particularly impressive and you can see a full clip of them playing here.