At 17:23 p.m. there are already a dozen, and little by little the others are arriving. In the Church of Our Lady of Candelaria there is still much to do. One by one, flower by flower, the group of women cofrades embellishes the throne of the Cristo de la Buena Muerte, which is already counting down the hours to dirty the street after two years of shelter. Under him, XNUMX women, a family that is not united by blood but by devotion, and which remained united under venus and tide, or pandemic.
The 900-kilo throne will be fully carried by the 23 women of this Moya female brotherhood. The route is short, but it is not exempt from difficulties as it includes several steep and cobbled streets, where firmness and coordination are put to the test.
This year, more desire and enthusiasm than ever, although less time to prepare since a month ago “it was more no than yes”, recalls Lali Rodríguez, one of the most veteran 'loaders'.
She has been under the throne from the beginning, to which she has been led by a feeling that she is capable of explaining with words. "I don't know how to express it, it's a very big feeling" so that words fall short. “It is not a promise, it is something that has moved me for more than 20 years” when she went to the church to collaborate and never left. »The exit is very exciting«, she explained. She is one of those who has gone to place flowers, in these last hours before the big night. Next to her, Alba Moreno listens carefully, she is the youngest of the brotherhood and this will be her first year under the throne.
"Very nervous," he confided. She has been involved in Holy Week in Moya “since she was a child”, as confirmed by the other members of the brotherhood, who have seen her grow up. Before her, she carried her throne, her grandmother, her mother, and her uncle who is now a foreman, it is “a family tradition”. When she was very young she went to see the procession, determined to be an active part of it as soon as she could. "At fourteen years old I said I wanted to take the throne, but I couldn't until I came of age", this Easter after two years of hiatus due to the pandemic, he has already turned 18 and will stand under the Christ of the Good Death in his debut . »I want to live the experience«, she assures.
Lots of history under one throne
Tonight the Cristo de la Buena Muerte will return to the streets of Villa de Moya, a small town of just 8.000 inhabitants of Gran Canaria that has been taking this step on the shoulders of its women for 20 years. Three generations meet under the throne, with a united group that ranges from 18 to 70 years old, where age is not taken into account, nor is the reason or promise that has led them to 'charge'. "There are many stories under this throne," says Fernando Benítez, in charge of Holy Week in the Villa.
Like Alba, Fernando has been involved in Holy Week “since he was a child”, for more than 40 years. It was in 1999 when the parish priest Don Andrés Ojeda made the dream come true, "working with him was very easy, he had a lot of confidence". It is proposed that Moya have a silver throne for her patron saint, the Virgin of Candelaria, and he himself went to order it in Lucena, Córdoba. The Virgin "looked beautiful on that throne," he recalls, and when they overloaded the priest they decided "it's okay, my son," he told him.
In 15 days they had already managed to summon "a troop of women and men to take away" and that, he emphasizes, "is something very difficult in such a small town, but we managed it." His steps »without too many pretensions, simple«, define him, and you can see the pride in his words. The throne of Christ is carried only by them, »there are very few brotherhoods only for women and it is meritorious in a town of just a few miles of inhabitants«.
The girls, Fernando assures, "are more committed and are more united among themselves", and it is that in the group "they pull each other, they know each other and they support each other". If in 1999 the first step came out, already in 2000 they came out and from there “without interruption”. This year, after spending years in shelter “they are going to show off a precious trousseau”, he anticipates very satisfied.
The complete team in the church of Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria – LBL
«The one who comes stays», explains Mira, looking at the work of the women who place flowers on the throne, «we are not moved by the economic or the festive», it is the feeling and the talent because »you have to know how to walk, the step is risky, women change the choreography depending on the street“. They are “very brave” women, she confesses. The pandemic has not only left a two-year hiatus in Holy Week but "a trail of needs that remain private, but they are there". For the girls, "being here is also a time to avoid their personal dramas."
This year “some of us are missing”, he remembers sadly, and it is that “Pinito, the joy of the throne and the oldest woman in the brotherhood” left them last year, “we are going to miss her a lot, she was very noticeable «.
As he speaks, Saulo Moreno walks by behind, and affectionately comments to Fernando and his wife "I am nothing without them." They respond with smiles, assuring that Saulo is crucial in Moya's Holy Week, foreman of the brotherhood »and the one who knows them all best«.
Saulo has been involved in Holy Week for half his life, as has his family. Today directs the steps of women under the throne, where coordination and concentration are needed so that forces do not fail in a cubicle with hardly any space. Today at 22 p.m. will be the moment, which invites everyone to live it. This Holy Week will not be easy and they have had to “rush the times”, although everything went well in the last rehearsal. After this rehearsal on Monday, all that remains is to finalize details until well into the morning, and leave everything ready to go out, finally, tonight.
The throne of the Virgin of Candelaria is practically ready – LBL
