Semana Santa Processions. Good Friday at Catedral de San José.

Fifteen different processions took place during Semana Santa (Holy Week). Processions varied in size and duration.  Today's highlight was the Good Friday procession leading out of Catedral.

The procession was scheduled to start at 2pm so we made our way to Parque Central after lunch and arrived before the procession started.

Parque Central was packed with people - local Antiguenos, vendors selling wares as if they working at a carnival and tourists.  This was such a different view of Parque Central than what we experienced a week earlier when it was more like a sleepy little town park. 

Even with the throng of people there, we were able to secure ourselves some good spots near the entrance to the cathedral and close to the procession path.

The purple banners, adorning the buildings around the park, had been replaced with black ones to commemorate the sadness of this day which is the day that Christ was crucified.....the town is in mourning.

People were standing and sitting on every piece of ground available.  Even the steps leading up to the cathedral's entrance were crowded.  Statues of Christ Crucified hung on the cathedral doors.

Chant music piped over the Catedral's loudspeakers set the tone for the start of the procession.

Shortly after 2pm, the procession started, heralded by the incense carriers and the church banner which today is in black cloth.  All the float carriers were outfitted in black robes today.  It was incredible to watch this huge float be carried out of the Catedral, down the steps and to start its way through the streets of the town for next  three hours. 

Here is a compilation of the videos that I took of this unbelievable procession. Absolutely amazing!!