Procession of the Banners and Proclamation of Holy Week
Passion Sunday morning
Passion Sunday has become, over the last four decades, the great celebration for the Nazarene family of Cieza. It is a day conceived and planned for members of the brotherhoods to have a day of gathering and fellowship before each one immerses themselves in the tasks of their own brotherhood to finalize preparations for the processions. It all begins in the Town Hall's Plenary, where the Board of Passionate Brotherhoods fulfills the required task of requesting permission from the local authority to 'bring the Saints out into the streets' and occupy them until Easter Sunday, and where the mayor presents the Board with the corresponding annual subsidy. Next, the traditional Procession of the Banners begins, in which representatives from all the brotherhoods that make up the Board of Passionate Brotherhoods participate, wearing their respective robes and carrying their banners. They parade through the streets to announce the imminence of Holy Week to the residents, in a joyful procession accompanied by pasodoble music. When the procession reaches "Mesones" Street, the banners gather around the Monument to Holy Week in Cieza to pay homage to deceased procession participants. Then, at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption, the banners make their solemn entrance to the altar, and once the Board has publicly presented the speaker to the large audience, the Proclamation of Holy Week in Cieza begins. This grand speech, delivered each year, takes on the challenge of inviting all the people of Cieza, whether members of the brotherhoods or spectators, to experience and enjoy the great event that has been quietly preparing for a whole year. The ceremony in the church concludes with a small concert of marches, ending since 1994 with the piece Semana Santa Ciezana, a work by "Maestro Gómez Villa"; finally, a fraternal meal is celebrated, closing the quintessential Nazarene day of Lent in Cieza.

Schedule of events:
Gathering: 10:00 am (Town Hall).
Procession of the Banners: 10:30 am (Plaza Mayor).
Tribute to the deceased members of the Holy Week brotherhoods of Cieza: 11:15 am (Monument to Holy Week in Cieza).
Holy Week Proclamation: 12:15 pm (Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption).
Concert: approximately 1:15 pm (Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption).
Brotherhood Meal.
Route: "Plaza Mayor", "Cid", "La Parra", "Rincón de los Pinos", "Pinos", "Larga", "Buitragos", "San Sebastián", Corner of the Convent, "Paseo" (left side), "Santa Ana", "Buen Suceso", "Mesones", "Cadenas", "Barco", "Cánovas del Castillo", "San Pedro" and "Plaza Mayor".
Order of procession: musical group, banner of the Board of Passion Brotherhoods, banners, standards and lanterns of all the Brotherhoods of Holy Week in Cieza accompanied by a representation of the same with the corresponding tunic and music band.

Unique features and suggestions: Throughout the entire Lenten calendar of events, there is no day as distinctly fraternal as Passion Sunday, the 'Sunday of the Proclamation' for so many residents of Cieza. On this day, the commitment to unity that gave rise to the centuries-old Board of Passionate Brotherhoods is almost tangibly evident throughout the various scheduled events, culminating in the long and relaxed conversation that follows the fraternal meal. But beyond this grand family celebration, for any Holy Week enthusiast, Passion Sunday also holds an unmissable event: the Proclamation itself. As soon as the drums and music begin to drift into Cieza homes, residents take to the streets to watch the banners and the members of the brotherhoods pass by in this joyful and colorful procession, which until very recently marked the first time the robes were seen in public. And, having fulfilled their role of summoning the crowd through music and banners, the general public will make its way to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption, ready to hear the town crier. No speech or text from the brotherhoods, not even those in the magazine "El Anda", generates as much anticipation among the people of Cieza as the Holy Week Proclamation. It is always awaited with a fervor that fosters a receptive and enthusiastic atmosphere for the proclaimer, encouraging him to fulfill a far from trivial responsibility: to ignite the flame of Nazarene passion and move all those present by speaking, precisely, about what they hold most dear. This challenge transforms the task of proclaiming Holy Week in Cieza, far beyond the honor it may represent, into the undertaking of an extremely difficult task.

Photograph by Enrique Centeno.
© Board of Passionate Brotherhoods of Cieza
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