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Superior Level
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Easter is a religious festivity that begins with the first spring fullmoon. Catholic
Roman and Ortodoxes Christian call it Holy Week, Big Week, because we remember Jesu's big
actions and sacrificies to redeem Humanity.
In Holy Easter we remember Jesu's life since his entrance in Jerusalen on a little donkey
to His rise from the dead after his crucifixion.
We sing, play music, march, throw carnations to Our Lord and carry the thrones. Children
make wax balls.  We say
cumpliments to Christ and Virgin: Handsome!, Pretty!.
I like Palm Sunday mass. I am really looking forward to picking a little holy branch of
olive tree and to placing it somewhere at home. The procession is called "La
Pollinica" and it remembers us Jesu's entrance in Jerusalen to preach God's Word. He
was riding a donkey and people was going round Him with palms and branches of olive tree.
Jesu's Life scenes are remembered in the thrones that we walk in the streets.
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Saeta (Sacred song)
A sung prayer. Flamenco songs or poems which are sung or said when a image is passing.
Incense - Aromatic substance which is burnt in a container for the street to smell well.
Nazarene
 A person who accompanies the
thrones in its route. He is wearing a robe and a pointed hood. He is taking a candle, a
cross, a mallet, a walking stick or a banner.
Penancer or Promise
A person who is acompaning Christ or Virgin behind the throne. He can take a candle, a
cross; blindfold eyes, barefoot, or easily, he can go walking and praying. |
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Throne
 Platform where the images
(Jesu, Virgin, caracters of the christian history) are placed.
Thrones are made of wood (carved, golden or silvered). Robes and gowns of the images are
made of velvet, embroidered with gold or silver thread. Some gowns are made flowers.
A lot of men (Men of throne) carry it because it weighs very much (some of them 600 Kgs).
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Brotherhood
 It is an association of
people (religious , specially).
Mantilla
Woman in black suit with a back ornamental comb and a mantilla who accompanys the
Virgin's throne in a procession.
Pallium
Ceiling in an embroidered cloth that is over the Virgin's throne |
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Altar boy (acolyte)
Boy who helps the priest in the mass.
Band
 Musical association that
plays wind and percussion instruments (trumpets and drums) that accompanys the procession.
Usually, there are meetings of bands and every one plays its "song".
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Processions
 A big audience crowded
to watch the processions. People got excited (there were even persons with a handkerchief
in their hands to dry their tears).
For the whole year, brotherhoods have worked very hard for the processions to be very
nice. Organization and rehearsal are required .
Each procession goes out the street walking its thrones. In the procession some people are
dressed as nazarenes with candles, crosses, large torches ,etc. Also the band goes
playing. The most important thing is the throne. On the throne, Jesu or Virgin's image
appears.
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|  Depending on what
image it is, Christ is Captive, With the cross on His back or Crucified. Virgin is Of the
Loneliness, of the Dolors, of the Hope, of the Dove (people release pidgeons when the
procession goes out), etc. She is waring a robe, a gown and a pallium, generally, from
velvet, embroidered with gold or silver thread.
Christ's thrones carry lanterns in the four corners and the floor is covered with flowers.
The Virgin takes , in front, some lines of light candles and, on the corners, bunches of
flowers.
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| It seems as if the thrones walked, flied, with their step by step. The foreman directs his men of the throne
with a bell. They walk the streets applauded by the crowd. Some people sing
"saetas". From the balconies petals of flowers are thrown.
When a brotherhood is passing along the streets everybody gets quiet: the grown-ups keep a
respectful silent and the kids go amazed. The grown-ups have to take the kids on their
arms because these can not see anything from the ground.
Children like making wax balls: They bring closer to the nazarenes and ask them for wax
drops from their candles to make a big ball.
A procession is made by two lines of nazarenes with their butler, who says if they have to
walk or stop; the band, the mantillas, the altar boys, the throne, a group of militaries
(honor brothers in the brotherhood) and the promises or penancers.
They go out their temple and march along the streets of the town. In the route they go in
the cathedral to do a penance. When they go back the temple, in the early hours, it is a
festival: Christ's throne and Virgin's throne are situated face to face and are rocked,
lifted up; the band plays, people sing "saetas" and the audience aplaud. |
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There are some legends related to the Brotherhoods in Málaga. One of them
is about Zamarrilla:
In the middle of the XIX the police was persecuting a thief called Zamarrilla. He hid
under the Virgin of the Bitterness' gown. The police didn't imagine that the thief was in
the church and went out. The thief, grateful pinned on the Virgin's robe a white rose with
his dagger. The rose turned red because the image bled. Zamarrilla became a good man.
The other one: In Carlos III's time there was an epidemic in Málaga. There weren't men to
take the thrones out. The prisoners went out the prison, took the procession out and
afterwards they went back voluntary to jail. The king awarded them with the perdon. Every
year, Our Father Jesu the Rich liberates a prisoner in the Holy Wednesday. Afterwards he
goes in the procession as a nazarene.
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| In our village, Alhaurín de la Torre, there are two brotherhoods: Our
Father Jesu of Nazaret (the Purples)...
 
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| ... and the Christ of the Truth Cross (the Greens).  |
| These two brotherhoods are rival and "fight" to have the best band, the
best military group, the best robes, the best images, etc.
People of the village belong to one or other brotherhood and for months before Easter are
rivals, even people in the own family.
On Maundy Thursday the "Purples" go out. In the square the Christ blesses
everyone there .
On Good Friday, the "Greens" go out. "Legionaries" mount guard Christ.
There is one day in which the brotherhoods join their strength and forget their rivality.
It is on Easter Sunday. Both brotherhoods take Resucitate Christ's procession out.
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| In our grandparents
times, children played Easter in March and April:
The thrones were just vegetables boxes with flowers and candles on.
The images were earthenware. Drums were big tinned-foods and they used their trumpets from
the Three Wise Men.
There is an area of Málaga that has a children procession as before. It is famous and
people go to watch it. |
 In the streets there
are stands with lemons with salt and bicarbonate, and "sugar cane".
As they are fast days and withdrawal, we don't eat meat. Typical dishes in Easter are:
Chickpeas pottage, Cod bun, rice pudding, french toasts and honeyed friters. In Alhaurín
de la Torre we eat rice with chestnuts, too.
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CHICKPEAS POTTAGE
1/2 Kg of chicpeaks (soak them the night before)
1/2 Kg of cod (soak it the night before. Then peel and break it into little pieces).
One ripe tomato
One paper bag of
saffron (colouring)
One pepper
One coffee spoon of paprika
One onion
Two spoons of olive oil
One roasted head of garlic
Cloves
One bay leaf
Salt - Water
One bunch of parsley
spinach, chards or
other vegetables.
Put the ingredients all together in a casserole (less cod and vegetables). When
the chickpeas are tender, add vegetables and cod and boiled 15 minutes more.
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COD BUN (DOUGHNUT)
1/4 Kg of cod (Soak it the night before. Then peel and break it into little pieces).
Flour
Water
Paprika
Salt
Two cloves of garlic
Parsley
One coffee spoon of baking-power
1/4 l of olive oil
Cut the cloves of garlic and the bunch of parsley into little pieces. Make a dough
with wate, flour, paprika, baking-power, salt, garlic, parsley and cod.
Put a clean tea towel as a lid on the bowl and let it rest some hours.
Then put a pan with the olive oil on the fire. When it is very hot fry the dough
spoon by spoon till they are golden.
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RICE PUDDING
100 gr. of rice
A pinch of salt
100 gr. of sugar
A stick of cinnamon -
powder cinnamon
3/4 l. of milk
Peel lemon
Put the rice, covered with water in a saucepan. Boile for 10 minutes. (It must be
left without water). Drain and pass by cold water.
Put the milk with a sick of cinnamon and the peel lemon in other saucepan and boil.
Then pour it on the rice with the sugar and the salt. Boil over a low heat, stiring
continnously, till the rice is tender. (If the milk is consumed
you can add more boiling milk).
At the end, pour it in a dish and sprinkle with powder cinnamon.
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FRENCH TOASTS
12 slices of bread
2 eggs
1 glass of water
3 gr. of powder cinnamon
125 gr. of sugar
250 gr. of honey
olive oil
Stir the milk, the honey and half of the sugar all together in a bowl.
Soak the slices of bread by a side in the mix. Let them the rest
all the night on a plate with holes.
Then pass them by stir eggs and fry them in well hot olive oil.
When they are golden take them out and drain. At the end, put them on a dish and sprinkle
with sugar and powder cinnamon.
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HONEYED FRITTER
2 o 3 oranges juice (sweet oranges better)
1/4 of olive oil
1/4 l. of white wine
Sugar
One coffee spoon of baking-power
Honey
One coffee spoon of aniseed
Flour
One coffee spoon of sesame
Lemon peel
Put the olive oil in a pan on the fire. When it is hot fry the lemon peel, the
aniseed and the sesame. Let it cool.
Then filter it and mix with the wine and the orange juice in a bowl. We are adding
flour and kneading till we get a fine dough which comes off the bowl.
Place the dough on a clean and plain surface . We lengthen it with a rolling-pin to get 1
cm. thickness.
We cut the dough into squares (5 cm.) and let them rest 5 minutes. We fry them in a lot of
well hot olive oil. When they are cold you can put on honey or sugar.
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RICE WITH CHESTNUTS
1/4 Kg of dried chestnuts
6 cloves
1/2 Kg of rice
aniseed
1/2 Kg of cane honey (black honey)
A stick of cinnamon
Water
Sugar
Soak the chestnuts the day before. Then put them in a casserole with the cloves, the
aniseed, the stick of cinnamon and the water.Boil (half an hour in a pressure cooker)
till the chestnuts are tender.
Get them out, filter the water in other saucepan and put the rice. In half boiling add the
honey and the sugar (3 soup spoons or what you like).Stir and let it boil till the
rice is tender. Then mix the chestnuts and serve.
Pupils of 4th - 5th - 6th
April / May 2.000
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