2023 - From The official instagram account of Antonio Banderas "A punto de sacar por la calles de Málaga a nuestra Niña de San Juan. Feliz #domingoderamos" @virgendelagrimasyfavores #virgendelagrimasyfavores #Malaga #SemanaSanta |
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Semana Santa in Malaga with Antonio BAnderas
Guide to Holy Week / Semana Santa in Andalucia
Semana Santa processions explained in detail
Every year Málaga born actor Antonio Banderas makes an enormous effort to spend Semana Santa in Málaga city where he leads the Virgin de las Lágrimas y Favores (Virgen of Tears and Favours) procession. 2023 was no exception, just before the procession left, he posted on Instagram, (see above), wishing everyone a happy Palm Sunday.
As an example of the lengths to which this international icon will go in order to participate every year, in 2008 he flew down from London where he was filming “The Other Man”. He had special permission to leave the set because, as he told press, it was written into his contract before he even started work on the movie.
Holy Week 2008 was particularly difficult for Banderas who sorely missed his father, José Domínguez Prieto, who had recently passed away. He recalled how only the year before his father had joined him on their traditional balcony on Málaga´s emblematic Larios Street. The actor’s dedication to Málaga’s Semana Santa celebration is yet one more term of endearment with the local population.
Antonio says, “Wearing the hood gives me a certain freedom – I’m not walking around the streets with my face visible. I’m on the same level as everyone else, exactly the same. That’s what the hood is all about: hiding your identity and going from being an individual, to being part of a collective.”
In this video from Semana Santa 2013, you can see, first hand how Banderas, is just another member of the brotherhood, as they all sing the hymn of Lagrimas y Favores, written by Antonio himself.
About Semana Santa, he says it’s a “great ritual which... has been celebrated for five centuries”, and that he would never want to miss taking part is this local tradition. Banderas has close ties to the church, as his parents were married there, he and his brother were baptised there, and he played near it from an early age. His participation in Semana Santa also extends to carrying a paso in another procession, La Esperanza, on Jueves Santo (Holy Thursday). He also enjoys watching other processions.
Semana santa Dates
Semana Santa dates are written in the purple info box on our Semana Santa home page
Guide to Holy Week / Semana Santa in Andalucia
Semana Santa processions explained in detail