In Seville was cancelled Semana Santa march

Famous Easter procession in Seville, which was to be held on Good Friday, will not take place. The reason is heavy downpours that are spreading along the south-west Spain. Easter processions in Seville were cancelled for the first time in 80 years.

Easter procession is one of the key festivals in Seville, which attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists. Hotels in Seville in the last week of Easter are filled with pilgrims, who come in the town to see and take part in the procession. Processions, involving six fellowships of believers (cofradias), are collectively known as La Mandruga. They are one of the most unusual actions of Semana Santa - celebrations of the last week of Lent.

For Seville residents cancellation of the march was a real tragedy. The procession is usually broadcasted on Spanish television. This time Spanish TV showed only people crying in the rain.

Last time La Mandruga was cancelled only in 1933 during civil war in Spain.

La Mandruga is a process of wearing high caps people, who pass through the streets of Seville in complete silence. According to the tradition, in order to head the column, the person must be a member of the fellowship more than several dozen years. Parents send their children to the fellowships with the hope that one day they will go at the forefront of the La Mandruga procession.

La Mandruga is considered to be one of the most massive religious processions of the Catholic world.

Today due to heavy rains warning is announced in 23 Spanish provinces.