Holy Week in La Selva del Camp

Holy Week in La Selva del Camp is the town's most deeply rooted traditional festival, and its events, maintained by local residents, particularly the Brotherhood of the Blood, have been a source of cultural, participatory, and tourist interest.

La Selva celebrates its Holy Week with a high level of popular participation and a series of very unique characteristics, decisive elements that led the Generalitat of Catalonia to declare Good Friday a Traditional Festival of National Interest in 2010, with special mention of the Via Crucis on the way to Calvary, also declared a Heritage Festive Element of National Interest.

The extraordinary beauty of the Good Friday "procession" at 7 in the morning, which leaves the town, crossing the stream and heading towards Calvary Hill; the silence broken by the sound of the armed men's lances and the musical melodies, many of them native, that accompany the different Mysteries; the revival of the Dance of Death, of medieval origin and unique in the province, which is performed in the "procession" of the Holy Burial; the active participation of entire families, and the festive character that it entails; the feeling of belonging shared by the Selvatans; the reunion of Selvatans living outside the town... are elements that make up the unique and traditional experience of Holy Week in La Selva del Camp.

One of the fundamental elements that adds the most beauty to the processions is the music. The sound of the trumpet, with the blast of the Blood, which indicates the departure of the procession and key points along its route; the drumbeat of the armed men together with the chirping of the lances, which marks the procession's progress like a heartbeat; and all the songs that accompany the different Mysteries, many of them pieces originating from the Selva, performed by the Schola Cantorum and the Selva del Camp Music Band.

Another fundamental aspect that has shaped Holy Week in La Selva del Camp is its continuity over time. It has been celebrated uninterruptedly since the Middle Ages, with only occasional suspensions of processions due to war or inclement weather. All of these elements have created a cultural interest beyond the town itself, attracting photographers, the media, and visitors from all over Catalonia.

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