Easter in Spain is getting closer and closer, and that is why in this article as you have asked us in our Spanish classes at InterLenguis we will tell you the most important curiosities of this holiday so that as a guide you can understand the most important points.
Before starting with the details of this festivity, as our teachers will have told you in class, Semana Santa has its origin in the religious sphere and depending on each part of Spain it is celebrated with particular characteristics.
In the first place, we will begin highlighting the reasons why the Holy Week of Salamanca has become a Festivity of International Tourist Interest. For it we will have to mention one of its main attractiveness that is the imagery, that is to say, all the carvings that pass by its streets of very important artists like can be José Lara Churriguera, Alejandro Carnicero or Felipe del Corral. The oldest of these figures dates from around the fifteenth century carried on the platforms or floats of different materials such as wrought iron and wood and different colors that characterize this celebration.
Despite the similarity that can apparently present this celebration, we have to keep in mind that it is very different depending on the area of Spain in which we find ourselves as for example in the central area of Spain in cities such as Salamanca, Valladolid, Zamora or Madrid Holy Week can be more sober and silent (without missing the music in any case), while in southern Spain, more specifically in cities such as Seville, Malaga or Granada, the celebration can be more “rowdy“, more concretely in cities like Seville, Malaga or Granada the celebration can be more “rowdy”, aspect that is due to the fact that it is not so present this silence and respect so characteristic of the north zone of Spain, when dedicating spontaneous saetas (canticles dedicated to each image), to sit in chairs while they eat different foods, its much longer duration (being able to last some hours)…
During these dates it is common for Spaniards to consume some typical food dishes such as the “potaje de vigilia” or “cuaresma” which is one of the most important typical dishes consumed during these dates. It is a dish based on chickpeas to which spinach and cod are added. And it is this last ingredient where we must pay special attention since cod is used for the preparation of this dish because during the quarantine period it is not allowed to eat meat.
Another typical dish is “los limones” which has its origin in that it was formerly prepared by the market gardeners, but unlike the previous dish, this one is consumed specifically in the town of Salamanca. The main ingredients of this dish are orange, lemon, boiled egg and chorizo.
Moving on to desserts, the most important of these dates are the torrijas, thin slices of bread soaked in milk with cinnamon and battered in the pan and breaded with sugar.
We must also highlight the pestiños (typical sweets of Extremadura) or fried milk.
During the month of March and April you can find news and the program of these festivities in the newspaper of each city, in this case we leave here the one of Salamanca so you do not miss anything and the official website of the Junta de Cofradías de Salamanca.