Jorge Melón is the senior brother of the Very Ancient and Venerable Brotherhood of the Blood of Christ and the Holy Cross, who paraded yesterday from the Cathedral together with Ecce Homo. He has been linked to Holy Week for about 40 years and was the eldest slave of the Christ of La Laguna.
How do you live the preparations for the procession?
With great enthusiasm, because you have been waiting all year for this day, and with nervousness, since you always think about whether something is not going to go well. At first everything is calm and I see people excited, wanting to go out in procession and very well.
On a day like this where the weather is a bit fluctuating, that is also an important factor…
We are looking at it every day. You are afraid, especially after seeing that yesterday it sparkled and at times a little stronger. It is looking forward to it and not going out would be a shame.
How many members does the Brotherhood have?
We have 100 and, of them, and as usually happens in all brotherhoods, more or less half are active. Some 40-somethings usually go out in procession, while there are also brothers who pay the fee and come to events but do not parade for reasons such as age.
What characterizes this lagoon brotherhood?
Relations with the Civil Guard and the Army, mainly with the Artillery Regiment. Every year the Military Band comes. Artillery helped us in the re-foundation of the brotherhood, which was an important support at the beginning and it is a relationship that we always maintain.
Do you have anything new in this edition?
The previous boards had been working for several years on the project of adding silver embossing to the base of the step, as was formerly the primitive throne that burned in San Agustín, and this year we have managed to raise the money to mainly do the front part and the one at the back, and we are left with the two on the sides. Thanks to the economic management carried out by the treasurer and the work carried out by the previous meetings, it has been possible to carry out this year.
They are on their way to 75 years of the refoundation…
In two years we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the refoundation and we are already starting to work to celebrate it with many activities. We are emptying ideas for it.
What would you recommend about Holy Week in La Laguna to a tourist or someone who does not know it and who asks what they could attend?
I think the most beautiful are the monuments on Holy Thursday. He would also recommend the Madrugada processions; Magna, which allows you to see the entire Passion, and Silence.
How do you see the future of Holy Week?
I think you have to change the chip a bit. The other day I went to Cristo, to the conference organized by La Esclavitud and to which the older brother of La Macarena from Seville came, and he said that they are based on three pillars: education, worship and charity. I think the latter should be a fundamental pillar of the brotherhoods. We also have to open up more to society and do activities during the year for young people and coexistence.
