Holy Week in La Selva del Camp

Holy Week in La Selva del Camp is the most deeply rooted traditional festival in the town and its demonstrations held by the residents, especially by the Brotherhood of Blood, have been a source of cultural, participatory and tourist interest.

La Selva lives its Holy Week with a high popular participation and with a series of very specific characteristics, determining elements so that in 2010 the Generalitat de Catalunya declared Good Friday a Traditional Festival of National Interest, with a special mention of the Via Crucis on the way to the Calvary, also declared a Patrimonial Festive Element of National Interest.

The extraordinary plastic beauty of the "profession" on Good Friday at 7 in the morning, which leaves the town crossing the stream and heading up the Calvario hill; the silence broken by the sound of the spears of the armed men and the musical melodies, many of them autochthonous, that accompany the different Mysteries; the recovery of the Dance of Death, of medieval origin and unique in the province, which is interpreted in the "profession" of the Holy Burial; the active participation of entire families, and the festive nature that it entails; the feeling of belonging shared by the selvatanos/as; the reunion of selvatanos residents outside the village... are elements that make up the unique and traditional experience of Holy Week in La Selva del Camp.

One of the fundamental elements that add more beauty to the processions is music. The sound of the trumpet, with the touch of the Blood, which indicates the departure of the procession and the main points of its journey; the kettledrum of the armed men next to the chopping of the lances, which marks the march of the procession like a heartbeat; and all the songs that accompany the different Mysteries, many of them original pieces from the Jungle, performed by the Schola Cantorum and the Camp Jungle Music Band.

Another of the fundamental aspects that has shaped Holy Week in La Selva del Camp is its continuity in time, which has been celebrated uninterruptedly since the Middle Ages, since "professions" have only been temporarily suspended due to wars or due to inclement weather. All these elements have created a cultural interest beyond the population itself, attracting photographers, the media and visitors from all over Catalonia.

Do not miss it!