Two groups, sins and dancers, appear with impressive costumes. In that of the Sins, wearing masks and carrying long sticks, red and black dominate: they are Evil. The Dancers, also with masks but clothed in white, are Happiness and what is Good.
During the mass, the Sins wait outside. To begin the procession, they attack amidst a fire of gunpowder and battle cries, until they fall humiliated. To continue the procession, the Dancers, to the sound of music, perform the dance of the ropes.
The different masks and variations of dress among the Sins and Dancers represent different personages, such as “The Major Sin”, who, with a pig’s face, represents the Devil; “The Prominent Jew” - the blindness of faith; “The Captain” - charity; “The Mayor” - hope; “The Drummer” - temperance; “The Baton” - strength; or “The Midwife”, who goes through the procession and gathers the Dancers to form a long line behind her. In this way, the celebration acquires the symbolic significance of theautos sacramentalesand dramatic works of the Spanish Golden Age, with the peculiarity that the entirety of the representation is performed without words.
Festival of National Touristic Interest.
DATES OF CELEBRATION:
Varies. From Corpus Christi (generally two months after Easter) to the following Sunday.
SUGGESTIONS:
The procession makes its way through the western part of the city, and can be viewed most comfortably from streets Veracruz, Grande, and Alcázar.
