While I hardly ever write about it, not sure why, I could fill volumes with tales of Holy Week or La Semana Sancta, spent in the Andalusia region of southern Spain.
Do this once and it will change your life. Twice- there are not enough prayers of gratitude for it. For me anyway.
I was there for Holy Week 2001 and again in 2004.
Every city and town has processions that last all week – Sevilla having the most extravagant of them all. And part of the procession experience is to be immersed in hearing una saeta, sung from the wrought iron balcony of a Sevillan home. Las saetas have roots in Judaism and in Islam – in the complex and compelling history of that part of the world, where la convivencia once happened, albeit briefly.
I am short on time, so I will try to add to this later, but this morning, I leave you with a video of una saeta for La Esperanza Macarena in Sevilla.
There Will Be Bread 
I don't know what's wrong with me today, crying over everything I see and read. (I'm hoping it's the Holy Spirit and not simply hormones!):)What a blessing to be able to see this in person. Thank you so much for sharing, Fran.
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Oh, Fran, thank you for this, as I needed it in the worst way! I'll do my best to be brief in explaining why.In my Pentecostal upbringing, we treasured an inexplicable, indubitably physical sensation we called a "quickening"–a sort of autonomic spark that jolts the system and alights in the depths of one's being. This comes in response to an "anointed" messenger, whether a speaker or singer whose words and/or tone transcend articulation. I know it sounds odd, but it's very real.While I miss none of the legalism and fanaticism that plague my tradition, and I'm grateful for the welcome and love of my "mainstream" Protestant community, I have often longed for fresh moments of quickening. And this truly anointed singer refreshed my spirit by tapping something I've not experienced in a long, long time. It is exactly what I needed as I transition from Lent's wilderness into Jerusalem's travails!Thank you again!
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Fascinating.
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A huge thank you, Fran, for this gift.What a treat! What an outpouring of Spirit. How much I wish I could join Him this way… Some day maybe in Sevilla.(((((((Fran)))))))Blessings.
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