Yesterday, the Church of San Juan Bautista hosted the presentation of the poster and programme for this year’s Holy Week in La Orotava, starring the Christ tied to the Pillar. The event unveiled the new promotional video of the town’s Holy Week, “with spectacular images”.
The image of the Christ tied to the Pillar of San Juan Bautista takes centre stage on the poster, coinciding with the 400th anniversary of the birth of the renowned Sevillian sculptor Pedro Roldán, who created it at the end of the 17th century. It is considered the finest work of Andalusian baroque in Canarias. “The sculpture, a full-size polychrome wood carving, has a history of 335 years and its arrival in the town was very significant as it led to a greater prominence of processions in the town.
The Holy Christ at the Pillar procession takes place every Maundy Thursday and sets off from its church at 10:00 pm, accompanied by thousands of faithful and by the Venerable Slavery Brotherhood of the Holy Christ at the Pillar, founded in 1758. The procession throughout its route overwhelms all who witness it with its emotion in the midst of a silence only broken by the singing of traditional Malagueñas.
Since April 9, 1914, it enters the Town Hall square alongside the floats of Saint John the Evangelist, Saint Mary Magdalene, and the Virgin of Glory. This procession is one of the most emblematic of Holy Week in La Orotava and one of the most distinguished in all of Canarias.
Regarding the Holy Week programme, 2,500 copies have been printed this year, to be sold at two Euros, and the proceeds will be donated to Caritas, as detailed in a press release yesterday. The edition of the programme and poster is undertaken by the La Orotava Town Hall, while the Joint Committee – chaired by Mayor Francisco Linares and with representation from all brotherhoods, fraternities, and parishes – has been responsible for coordinating the entire worship programme for three decades.
