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SEMANA SANTA

EXPLAINED: Spain’s Easter white hoods are a symbol of penance, not right-wing extremism

Tourists could be forgiven for gasping in horror at the first sight of the white hoods marching towards them at one of Spain's Easter processions.

Published: 8 April 2019 09:16 CEST
Updated: 31 March 2024 08:07 CEST
EXPLAINED: Spain's Easter white hoods are a symbol of penance, not right-wing extremism
If you see people strolling the streets of Spain wearing white pointy hoods, rest assured they are not Klansmen. Photo: Jaime Reina/AFP
For many, the first thing that comes to mind is the Ku Klux Klan, but capirotes, those eye-opening white pointy hoods, are a quintessential part of Semana Santa celebrations in Spain and don’t represent what foreign visitors think.

The KKK’s cone-shaped headwear is branded in our collective imagination as negative and has become a symbol of racism, fanaticism and violence.

Compared to the Spanish capirote, the KKK’s pointy hat is more recent. According to an article published by the Israeli newspaper Hareetz, when the Klan originally formed in 1865, members did not wear the garment, as they were “too disorganised and decentralised to wear a uniform”.

The group’s official uniform was introduced in the early 20th century by William J. Simmons, who re-established the KKK in 1915. Members started wearing a uniform as a way to become more cohesive and centralised.

The hoods ensured anonymity of Klansmen so that they couldn’t be recognised and held accountable for their actions.


Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP

According to some sources, Simmons possibly decided to adopt the cone-shaped hat in order to copy the outfit present in D.W. Griffith’s classic film, ‘Birth of a Nation’. Others link the use of the pointy hat to “folk traditions of carnival, circus and minstrelsy”.

A Ku Klux Klan initiation in Mississippi, 1923.The Library of Congress

However, Spaniards don’t see anything controversial in wearing this headgear during Semana Santa celebrations.

In the week preceding Easter Sunday, Spanish cities are filled with festivities; most of them involve religious processions, where people wear traditional costumes, such as the capirote.


Photo: Jaime Reina / AFP

Traditionally, capirotes were used during the times of the Spanish Inquisition: as a punishment, people condemned by the Tribunal were obliged to wear a yellow robe – saco bendito (blessed robe) – that covered their chest and back. They also had to wear a paper-made cone on their heads with different signs on it, alluding to the type of crime they had committed.

READ ALSO: Seven surprisingly strange traditions celebrated at Easter in Spain

Centuries later, cofrades (people affiliated to Catholic brotherhoods) and nazarenos started to use them during Easter processions to symbolize their status as penitents. Today, the capirote still indicates the penitent’s attempt, through penance, to get closer to God; it also covers the person’s face, in order to mask their identity. 

Whenever you see people strolling the streets of Spain wearing capirotes, you can breathe a sigh of relief, as they are not right-wing terrorists but worshippers who are doing penance.

By Ilaria Grasso Macola / The Local

READ MORE: The essential guide to Easter in Spain

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SPANISH TRADITIONS

Spain to scrap national bullfighting prize

Spain's left-wing government said on Friday it would scrap a national prize for bullfighting, a move which angered supporters of the controversial spectacle but was welcomed by animal rights groups.

Published: 3 May 2024 17:19 CEST
Spain to scrap national bullfighting prize

“A growing majority” of Spaniards are concerned about animal welfare, so “we did not believe it is appropriate to maintain an award that rewards a form of animal abuse”, Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun said.

“I think they understand even less that these forms of animal torture are rewarded with medals that come with monetary prizes using public money,” he added during an interview with private television La Sexta.

The annual prize, which was created in 2011 under a previous Socialist government and was first awarded in 2013, grants 30,000 euros ($32,000) to winners.

Top matadors such as Enrique Ponz and Julián López, known as “El Juli”, have won the prize in the past.

Bullfighting retains a passionate following in some circles in Spain and leading matadors are treated as celebrities.

But the practice’s mass appeal has faded and polls show a rising disinterest across the country, especially among the young.

During the 2021-22 season, the last period for which figures are available, only 1.9 percent of Spain’s population attended a bullfight, according to the culture ministry.

Spain’s main opposition conservative Popular Party (PP) vowed to reinstate the prize if it returns to power.

PP spokesman Boja Semper said bullfighting was a reflection of Spain’s traditions and culture.

IN DEPTH: Will bullfighting ever be banned in Spain?

He accused Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government of being “obsessed with sticking its finger in the eye of those who do not think” as it does.

By contrast, animal rights party PACMA called for the “total abolition” of all public support for bullfighting, saying it “cannot be justified under any circumstance”.

Several regional governments, including one run by the Socialists, said they would create their own bullfighting prizes to replace the one being scrapped.

The Fundación del Toro de Lidia, an NGO that promotes bullfighting in Spain, said the culture minister had the “obligation to promote all cultural manifestations, including bullfighting”.

But animal rights groups welcomed the government’s decision.

“This measure marks a milestone in the fight against bullfighting, a controversial practice that has for years generated debate,” animal rights group Animanaturalis said.

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