[Leica] IMG: Santa Faz, or an 8 km walk with 100, 000 of my closest friends

[Nathan Wajsman]

Just north of Alicante there is a monastery called Santa Faz (Holy Face), housing what is supposedly a piece of cloth used to wipe Jesus’s face on his way to the crucifixion. The relic has not been studied scientifically, so it is impossible to verify the claim but it does not matter. Every year, on the second Thursday after Easter, a pilgrimage takes place, starting at the cathedral in the centre of Alicante and finishing 8 km later at the monastery. The relic is brought out on this one occasion each year, mass is said on the square in front of the monastery, and then people settle down to an early lunch and a well-deserved rest. In past years, the young people would bring with them stolen shopping carts full of booze and other supplies, which they would consume on the beach following the procession (it is a couple of km from the monastery to the beach). But beginning last year, the police has cracked down on this huge botellón, so this year not a single shopping cart was to be seen. The young people still managed to smuggle some bottles in backpacks etc., but the drinking binge is much subdued, probably a good thing.

As is apparent from the above, this event, one of the major dates on the Alicante calendar, is a mix of tradition, religious devotion and just a fiesta. I have walked the route on a couple of occasions, but this year, instead I took my bicycle and the camera in the handlebar bag, which allowed me to move up and down the procession and document it at various points. The resulting gallery is here:

https://www.greatpix.eu/Santa-Faz-2019/

As always, comments and critique are welcome and appreciated.

Nathan

Nathan Wajsman

Alicante, Spain
http://www.frozenlight.eu <http://www.frozenlight.eu/>
http:// <http://www.greatpix.eu/>www.greatpix.eu
PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws <http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws>Blog: http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/ <http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/>

Cycling: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/belgiangator <http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/belgiangator>

YNWA