Mª Ginesa Martínez Villa
Josefa Salinas Camacho
We began Lent 2020 with the imposition of ash and the recognition of the Solidarity Candle to Manos Unidas, and then we had the presentation of our Holy Week 2020 by Julia Rubio Alarcón. From there, the gear was already prepared to start a Lent full of events, a prelude to a great Holy Week, our Semana Mayor, new and different every year.
We were preparing the presentation of the magazine El Anda and the homage to our Nazarene of the Year, Francisco Benedicto, but uncertainty arrived, the rumors, the omens...; everything indicated that the epidemic was advancing uncontrollably and it was necessary to restrict contacts, which led us to precautionarily postpone said act.
On March 14, the announcement of the state of alarm arrived, which only a few days ago seemed impossible. We went from being anxious for the arrival of our Greater Week to seeing how everything was suspended: hand kisses, triduos, transfers, proclamation. It was something that we had never planned, nor could we understand, we were going to live Holy Week confined to our homes, with the streets empty, and our Brotherhoods and Brotherhoods in the temples. A spring without the smell of incense, wax, jasmine or wallflower... it was incredible but already inevitable.
Before that Holy Week that José Antonio Gázquez Milanés could not proclaim, the President of the Board of Passion Brotherhoods addressed these words:
“The difficult circumstances we are going through make it impossible for us to be able to enjoy together, in the streets, these days that we so long for, and for which we have worked so hard for twelve months. But Holy Week in Cieza, as we know it and want it, will return, God willing, more vital, more beautiful and more enriching than ever. We all dream of that moment, which will be unique and unforgettable, and we all have to be there to live it to the full.
But the fact that the processions do not take to the streets this year does not mean that we cannot keep the spirit of the brotherhood of Ciezano alive; the one that unites us all in a big family in which no one can feel alone, no matter how much they are confined within the four walls of their home. And for this reason, the first thing we would like to tell you is that we encourage you to decorate your balconies so that our people can dress up for Holy Week, and remind us that the processions will happen again, and that we are already looking forward to them with great enthusiasm.
In addition, we propose to join these days in the universal language of music, which is a fundamental element of our way of procession, and that we like so much. We want music to sound these days through the streets orphaned by processions, so that the melodies that cradle the Saints on their thrones on this occasion strengthen the bond between us, and feed that perfect symbiosis that Holy Week in Ciez has always had with its town".
The streets were flooded with music, that music that made us imagine the passage of La Burrica, or the Arrest in the Plaza Mayor, the General procession in San Sebastián street, the Penitente procession along the Paseo or the Holy Burial in Larga street , and, of course, the joy of the Resurrection in the Courtesy in the Corner of the Convent. They had stolen our Holy Week, but they could never take away the spirit of Cieza's previous week.
Not only did we reinvent and revive the processions, as believers and the Church that we are, we were going to experience the Mystery of Death and Resurrection in an unprecedented way: the liturgical celebrations reached our homes thanks to the social networks of the Parish of the Assumption, from where a great effort was made so that we could all experience them.
And now that?
We had a multitude of events and meetings to schedule ahead of us, and also elections to the Board of Brotherhoods. We had to see how we could continue working: for this it was necessary to meet, talk, dialogue, organize... but it was impossible to do it in person. Even without training, we started with the meetings through the Meet; The first ones were horrible, we just said "can you hear me?", "can you see me?", "I can't see you all...!", in short, chaos. But something that came to get out of the way has actually come to stay among us. It has been the most agile way to be in contact, in the Board of Brotherhood's own board, in Board meetings, in board meetings, even the occasional assembly has been held by this means.
But the pandemic, like so many other things in our daily lives, has made us rethink certain activities, including works of charity. Very remarkable was the emotional and supportive initiative of the Brotherhood of the Oración del Huerto y el Santo Sepulcro, which, in collaboration with the Hijos de Cocina Bakery, donated a consignment of dumplings and the typical sleeping bread cakes to the residents and staff of the Mariano Marín-Blázquez Residence.
Later, in the month of May, the Charity Board of the Board of Passion Brotherhoods under the title "With flowers to María", promoted a Campaign by collecting donations, through Bizum, to Cáritas Cieza, allocating it to the people to whom this crisis has accentuated their vulnerability. At the end of November and until January 8, 2021, under the slogan Advent and Christmas, time to help!, a new solidarity campaign was carried out, this time addressed to Manos Unidas, through its group of blindness
Solidarity races were also reconsidered. The Brotherhood of Santa María Magdalena organized its solidarity half marathon in favor of the Cancer Association and thus on Sunday, December 6, the 'XXXI CIEZA CITY HALF MARATHON' was held. It was a very participative event, promoting physical activity and the most important, solidarity; It was held as a non-competitive day and carried out virtually. Later, and in the middle of Christmas, the Santa Verónica brotherhood held its 11th edition of the popular San Silvestre “Ciudad de Cieza” race, Antonio S. Piñera López Memorial, an event that, likewise, this time had a virtual nature, individual and non-competitive, although of course supportive, collaborating with the Piedras Vivas Association for the maintenance of its soup kitchen.
The pandemic even changed the usual distribution of the magazine El Anda, taking place in May, a magazine that talked about processions and feelings that this virus left in the warehouse of oblivion.
The meetings, although with restrictions and with the pertinent sanitary measures, were gradually recovering normality in the following months, resuming in the month of July, and accustoming the Brotherhoods and Brotherhoods to a new reality and a way of leading a brotherly life. different through telematic meetings.
At the end of August, the Patrons Saint Bartholomew and the Blessed Virgin of Good Success presided, in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption, a prayer mass for the end of this pandemic, in that sad year 2020 that had neither processions nor Fair .
Since September 2019, and after the DANA that devastated the path to the sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of Good Success, the Patron Saint remained in the Basilica of the Assumption longer than usual, and also longer than expected by the works, lengthening as consequence of this pandemic. She wanted to stay in Cieza, as if she foreshadowed that she had to be with her people in this difficult year for everyone. The floral offering to the Patron Saint was suspended, but the solemn Religious Function and subsequent Vigil were carried out, with limited capacity in accordance with the Order of the Ministry of Health. In October, the masses in honor of our Patroness were resumed on the first Saturday of each month, the flame of Marian devotion to our Patroness continues more alive than ever, and prayers increase in these uncertain times.
On October 24 and 25, promoted by the Youth Council, the Virtual Days of Children's Coexistence were carried out on the social networks of the Junta de Hermandades Pasionarias and an interactive Kahoot on Easter for the little ones. For the first time in our brotherly history, on November 14 the Decision of the XXXIII Photography Contest "Holy Week in Cieza 2021" is broadcast in streaming.
This 2020 ended, the year that devastated so many lives and so many illusions, illuminating the Cross that Cieza presides over from the Collado de la Atalaya, and that serves as our Patron Saint's habitual abode. It was blessed in the prelude to the nativity, on December 24, and the esplanade of the Hermitage of the Virgen del Buen Suceso is illuminated again, after 15 years. Hopefully that light, which we see from afar every night, will serve in these difficult times of Consolation and Hope.
A new year was beginning, and with it the illusion of returning to normality, of being able to tie the girdle and dream of processions. But in a statement as cold as that morning of January 22, 2021, our Bishop Mons. D. José Manuel Lorca Planes, brought us back to harsh reality. He addressed a letter to all the confreres of the Diocese inviting us to "live Holy Week and its preparation serenely, without rushing, without being overwhelmed by the procession", reaffirming the suspension of the Holy Week processions in a note from the Diocesan Delegation of Brotherhoods and Brotherhoods of the Diocese of Cartagena on the processional outings of Easter 2021.
Once again, in this sadly crowded Warehouse of Memory, our desire to hear the roll of a drum was once again cornered.
