Seville is a different city during Semana Santa. From Palm Sunday to Easter, there are 60 processions by 53 hermandades (brotherhoods), a tradition dating back to 1521. MAIN PROCESSIONS PALM SUNDAY — Hermandad de la Borriquita (with a donkey figurine), Hermandad de la Paz (the most family-oriented). MASTERED TUESDAY — La Estrella (women in black mantillas), El Carmen Doloroso. HOLY WEDNESDAY — El Cristo del Buen Fin (penitents with chains). MADRUGÁ — NIGHT FROM THURSDAY TO FRIDAY (THE MOST IMPORTANT) From midnight to noon, 6 hermandades traverse the city: • La Macarena (1:30 AM — from the Basilica, the most famous Virgin Mary of Seville, a mantilla embroidered with a crown) • El Silencio (3:00 AM — the oldest procession, 1340, only silence) • Gran Poder (1:00 AM — Cristo del Gran Poder, the most beloved Christ of Seville) • La Esperanza de Triana (2:00 AM from Triana — across the Isabel II Bridge) • Los Gitanos (3:30 AM — the gypsy brotherhood) • El Calvario (5:00 AM) GOOD FRIDAY — La Carretería, La Soledad de San Lorenzo. RESURRECTION SUNDAY — La Resurrección. ETIQUETTE • Do not shout or clap at the paso (Christ statues) • Saetas (prayers sung from balconies) — a sacred tradition, listen in silence • Clothing: modest, no bare shoulders in churches • Buy a palco (a chair in the rostrum) a month in advance online — Plaza San Francisco, Sierpes • Hotels are 3-4 times more expensive — book 6 months in advance GOOD TO KNOW Nazarenos = penitents with pointed hats (capirote) — THIS IS NOT THE KKK, a 15th-century tradition (the KKK copied from the Spanish). Brotherhoods wear the paso for 4-12 hours.