Bonilla de la Sierra (Ávila), Apr 07 (EFE).- The overwhelming and austere procession of “Los Negros”, in the small town of Bonilla de la Sierra in Avila, with only 131 registered inhabitants, has shown this Good Friday the flavor rural of Avila Holy Week.
Far from the crowds and the hustle and bustle caused by the masses that come to witness the processional parades, this municipality of Avila, declared a Historic-Artistic Site since May 1983, announces the death of Christ in a unique and singular way, through the three protagonists of the procession of “Los Negros”.
They are Luis Fernández, 82, Carlos Jiménez-Torres, 21, and José Blázquez, 58, who have left the chapel of the impressive collegiate church of San Martín de Tours (16th century) in a parade in which these penitents, dressed in rigorous black, have kept the distance of 30 meters and 50 steps.
Three protagonists: “The Blacks”
In this way, they have complied with the tradition of announcing the death of Christ in an overwhelming parade in which each of them has played an instrument: Fernández the shearing, Jiménez-Torres the bassoon and Blázquez the drum, whose roar has moved many who were inside and outside the temple.
And all this, in the midst of a sepulchral silence, only broken by the sound of these three instruments, which have been making their way through the cobbled streets of Bonilla de la Sierra, some 60 kilometers west of the capital of Avila, on the slope north of the Sierra de Gredos.
This unique procession, with a rural flavor, took place on a splendid day, after the morning Stations of the Cross through the intricate streets of this town that last night experienced these same scenes in a gloomy and mourning atmosphere.
500 meters in an hour
This is one of the most unique Holy Week acts that take place, since few are similar to this parade whose 500-meter route takes just over an hour to complete, due to the measured slowness of the protagonists.
There are no images, steps, banners, incense, or any other element of the traditional staging of the previous week, since the three protagonists, together with the rich heritage of Bonilla de la Sierra, are enough to provoke unforgettable feelings and images.
Above all, for those who come to this unique and surprising town for the first time, which offers one of the most impressive acts of Holy Week in Avila, thanks to an impressive singularity.
The three protagonists prepare themselves, as if it were a ritual, inside the collegiate church, before beginning to leave in procession, one by one, from a temple whose interior is part of the procession route.
Each one of them, dressed in a habit, executioner and black cinctures, has been appearing with a distance of 30 meters and 50 steps, at a leisurely pace and maintained throughout the journey, in a ceremony turned into a ritual, after being recovered three years ago. decades.
Procession of “Los Negros”, solo
The first to appear, like a spectral figure, was Luis Fernández, who at 82 years old has been part of this procession since he was 14, in which he rings the shearing.
Meanwhile, the young Carlos Jiménez waits from the sacristy for the first of ‘Los Negros’ to come out of the door of the temple to begin, at the same rhythm, his journey playing the bassoon.
The commitment of the latter, a resident of Ávila and closely linked to Bonilla de la Sierra, responds to his desire to continue this tradition at the hands of Esteban Jiménez, whose memory he intends to keep alive following his wake, after passing away in 2017 when he was 54 years.
Jiménez, who was 16 at the time, has continued his legacy by wearing his ‘black’ uniform, playing the bassoon that he himself made at the time.
The last to leave the temple, once the first two ‘blacks’ have abandoned it, has been José Blázquez, who has hit the drum, whose roar has made it rumble inside the collegiate church.EFE
