Heritage
Intangible Heritage
Holy Week and the Glory celebrations of Lucena cannot be understood only in terms of their extraordinary artistic heritage. Beyond its images, processional thrones, embroidered textiles, and historic churches, Lucena preserves a far deeper and less tangible heritage, shaped over centuries: a rich tapestry of traditions, sounds, rituals, gestures and ways of life passed down from generation to generation, forming a unique identity.
It is a living heritage. A heritage that is not confined to display cases, but lives on in the streets, in brotherhood houses, in churches, at ‘juntas de santero’ (santero gatherings), and in the collective memory of generations of Lucena’s people.
The most important expression of this heritage is Lucena’s ‘santería’, officially recognised as aBien de Interés Cultural (BIC, Asset of Cultural Interest). This distinctive way of carrying processional thrones, with its profound anthropological, social and cultural significance, makes Lucena’s Holy Week unlike any other in the world.
Santería: soul of Lucena’s popular religiosity
Santería is the great hallmark of Holy Week in Lucena and one of the most distinctive expressions of Andalusian popular religiosity. It is the ritual art of carrying sacred images on processional thrones, borne on the shoulders by ‘cuadrillas’ of ‘santeros’ (santeros crew), whose faces remain uncovered. This creates a direct bond between those who carry the throne, the sacred image, and the people who accompany the procession. Its origins lie in ancient Andalusian processional traditions and in the influence of Málaga’ ‘paso a correón’, from which Lucena developed its own distinctive ‘santería’ tradition, instantly recognisable and unlike any other.
However, ‘santería’ is much more than a way of carrying a processional throne. It encompasses an entire cultural word, shaped by its own codes, vocabulary, rituals, sounds, internal hierarchies, and ways of life, all transmitted orally from one generation to the next. The way the shoulder is positioned beneath the ‘varal’ (carrying beam), the movement of the processional throne, the ‘manijero’s’ commands, the sound of the drum and the ‘torralbo’ and the ‘juntas de santería’ all form part of a living lenguage unique to Lucena.
Santería also plays a vital social and human role. Each year, the ‘cuadrillas’ bring together people of different ages and from all walks of live in a shared experience built on camaraderie, fellowship, and tradition. Recognised as a Bien de Interés Cultural (BIC, Asset of Cultural Interest) by the Junta de Andalucía (Regional Government of Andalusia), it is now one of Lucena’s most valuable and distinctive elements of intangible cultural heritage, and one of the defining features of its Holy Week.
A living Tradition passed down through Generations
In Lucena, Holy Week and Glory celebrations are woven into everyday life and into the shared memories of generations of local people. Many families have maintained a longstanding connectin with their brotherhoods, with succesive generations serving as ‘santeros’, ‘manijeros’, ‘camareras’, musicians, or drummers, or brotherhood members, all belonging to the same brotherhood. The tradition is passed from grandparents to parents, and from parents to children, as a family legacy deeply rooted in the identity of the city. Children grow up listening to processional marches, attending worships, and playing at carrying miniature procesional thrones as ‘santeros’, absorbing the traditions, customs, and emotion of the ‘santería’ from an early age.
Of special significance is the traditional Children’s Processions, a true cradle of this tradition, where many children take their first steps into the world of ‘santería’, processions, and the distinctive symbols of these celebrations. This is complemented by the ongoing work of the Youth Committees of many brotherhoods, which play a vital role in educating, engaging, and encouraging the active participation of new generations.
The transmission of this tradition from one generation to the next has helped preserve may of its coustums virtually unchanged to this day, keeping alive a way of understanding popular religiosity that remains deeply rooted in the everyday life of the city. In this way, Lucena’s Holy Week remains a living tradition, sustained not only by its artistic heritage and processions, but also by the daily commitment of entire families who continue to pass on, from one generation to the next, a unique way of embracing, living, and understanding this tradition.
Lucena’s Sound Heritage
One of the most distinctive and evocative features of Lucena’s popular religiosity is its unique soundscape. Lucena has a distinctive soundscape that transforms its streets, squares, and churches throughout the devotional calendar, especially during Lent, Holy Week, and the Marian celebrations. The deep, resonant beat of the Lucena drum, the ancient rhythms of the ‘torralbo’, and the voices of the ‘manijeros’ are an inseparable part of the town’s emotional and cultural landscape.
Added to these are Lucena’s own ‘saetas’ sung from balconies and hidden corners of the historic centre (and also heard during ‘juntas de santeros’); the ‘misereres’ , performed in the intimacy of the town’s churches, especially in honour of Our Father Jesus the Nazarene (Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno) every Friday throughout the year; the traditional songs of the ‘campanilleros’ ; and the devotional songs dedicated to Mary Most Holy of Araceli (María Santísima de Araceli). Together, these elements form a distinctive sound tradition, transmitted orally and preserved through deep-rooted popular tradition.
Rituals: The Popular Liturgy of a Town
Lucena’s Holy Week preserves arich and complex world of rituals, shaped over centuries through ceremonies, inherited gestures, and customs transmitted from one generation to the next. Beyond the processions, Lucena’s popular religiosity is expressed through a succession of collective practices that have gradually shaped a distinctive social liturgy of their own. The ritual of dressing the ‘santero’, the ‘juntas de santería’, the selection of the ‘cuadrillas’, and the way a processional throne is prepared and carried are all part of a shared body of customs that the community embraces naturally and that are deeply woven into the everyday life of the town.
Each brotherhood also has its own distinctive ways of understanding and celebrating its acts of worship and religious observances. ‘Besapiés’ (veneration by kissing of the Christ feet), ‘besamanos’ (veneration by kissing of the hands), ‘vía crucis’ (Station of the Cross), image transfers, proclamations and brotherhood gathering are all expressions of a tradition that brings together religious devotion, family memory, and community participation.
These traditions are complemented by a rich ritual calendar that begins long before Holy Week. Throughout the year, and especially during Lent, Lucena is gradually transformed by acts of worship, meetings, preparations, the assembly of processional thrones, floral arrangements, and the preparation of robes and ceremonial furnishings. In this way, Lucena enters an extended ceremonial seasion, during which public spaces, churches, and homes all share in the same collective experience. These practices extend beyond the purely religious sphere to become essential expressions of community life, identity, and social cohesion.
A lenguage of its Own: The Oral Tradition of Popular Religiosity
Lucena’s Holy Week and Glory celebrations preserve a rich oral and linguistic heritage, much of it closely linked to the ‘santería’. Over generations, ‘santeros’ have developed a distinctive vocabulary of their own, made up of terms, expressions, and forms of communication that remain fully alive today. This popular vocabulary is one of the most characteristic and least well-known aspects of Lucena’s intangible cultural heritage.
The name given to the different manoeuvres, the manijero’s commands, the parts of the processional throne, the positions of the ‘santeros’, and certain gestures and movements together make up a rich and distinctive lexicon, transmitted orally from parents to children and from experienced ‘santeros’ to younger generations. Added to this are nicknames, traditional names for sacred images and processional routes, together with numerous expressions associated with brotherhood life that form part of the town’s collective memory.
Alongside this rich vocabulary, the oral tradition also preserves stories, anecdotes, family memories, and accounts transmitted over decades through gatherings, ‘santería’ meetings, and brotherhod gatherings. Many of these stories have never been recorded in writing and have survived through direct transmission one generation to the next. This oral tradition lies at the heart of the cultural, social, and anthropological identity of Lucena’s popular religiosity.
A Celebration That Builds Community
Holy Week in Lucena is one of the main elements of social cohesion and collective identity of the town. Beyond its religious and artistic dimensions, it has, over the centuries, shaped a complex network of family, neighbourhood, and community ties that remains deeply embedded in everyday life in Lucena. Brotherhoods and confraternities serve as spaces for intergenerational exchange, where people of different ages, professions, and sensibilities come together around a shared heritage and common traditions.
This sense of community is especially evident in the close relationship between the brotherhoods and some of Lucena’s most emblematic urban spaces. Places such as the Llanete de Santiago or del Señor, the Flores Street, the Cuesta del Reloj, thePaseo del Coso and the Llanete de San Agustín have become part of the collective memory and emotional landscape of generations of Lucena’s people. The passing of the processions, encounters between neighbours, the singing of saetas, and moments of profound silence have transformed these places into settings deeply embedded in Lucena’s collective memory.
Holy Week continues to shape the rhythm of the town’s social and emotional life. Entire families organise their lives around acts of worship, practice sessions, meeting, brotherhood gatherings, and celebrations associated with their brotherhoods. This is complemented by a deep-rooted popular religiosity, expressed through vows, traditional prayers, family participation in acts of devotion, and a profound emotional bond with the sacred images ―all of which continue to form an integral part of Lucena’s shared spirituality and public expression of faith. This ability to foster a sense of belonging, strengthen human relationships, and keep a shared memory alive is one of the most important values of Lucena’s intangible cultural heritage.
Artisan Trades of a Centuries-Old Tradition
Complementing these crafts are others, less visible yet equally essential forms of expertise, such as the dressing of sacred images, floral decoration, the construction and maintenance of processional thrones, and even the traditional tuning of the Lucena drum. Beyond the material objects themselves, this heritage preserves techniques, know-how and working methods that form a fundamental part of the intangible cultural heritage of Lucena’s popular religiosity.
Lenten Traditions and Know-How
Lenten and Holy Week are also marked by a rich culinary heritage, deeply rooted in the rhythms of the religious calendar and family life. Recipes transmitted through generations, convent-made sweets, traditional pastries, and dishes traditionally prepared during Lenten remain an integral part of family life in Lucena. ‘Torrijas’, ‘pestiños’, ‘gachas’, ‘potajes’ (traditional vegetable stews), and other dishes traditionally prepared for days of abstinence continue to accompany acts of worship, family gatherings, and community celebrations.
Closely linked to the liturgical calendar and family life, this traditional cuisine is also a vehicle for shared memory and cultural transmission, helping to preserve Lucena’s collective identity.
A recognised, protected, and living legacy throughout the year
The distinctiveness of Lucena’s Holy Week has been officially recognised through various heritage and tourism declarations. Lucena’s ‘santería’ has been declared Bien de Interés Cultural (BIC, Asset of Cultural Interest) by the Regional Government of Andalusia in recognition of its unique intangible cultural heritage, while Lucena’s Holy Week has held the designation of Fiesta de Interés Turístico (Festival of Tourist Interest) in Andalusia since 2003. These recognitions reflect the outstanding historical, anthropological, cultural and social value of a tradition deeply rooted in the identity of the town. Brotherhood and ‘santería’ life in Lucena unfolds throughout the year through acts of worship, gatherings, educational activities, charitable initiatives, concerts, brotherhood events, and celebrations organised by the different brotherhoods and confraternities, together with the ‘juntas de santería’. Holy Week is not merely a once-a-year celebration, but a living and enduring tradition, deeply embedded in the social and cultural life of Lucena.
