Submitted by Maya Blackwell on the 2019 summer session program in Granada, Spain sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures…
Although I had attended Catholic school for my entire life up until college, I was never baptised and am not actually a practicing Catholic. However, I have obviously been around the Catholic faith for many years at this point and can still appreciate some of the religion and traditions. That being said, I felt seeing the celebrations of Corpus Christi were a must for me. My friend Christina and I decided to go together and, admittedly, I was a bit bored at the beginning of the procession. It was only the large headed figures we’d seen before, representations of Isabella, Ferdinand, two Moorish kings (I have to assume, I’m not 100% sure), and a never-ending procession of people holding crosses and candles. Christina and I debated leaving. It was early and we’d been out late the night before, but right before we turned to leave I said, “Why don’t we go to the Cathedral entrance, I think there should be something there.” That is where we got the full Corpus Christi experience. We made our way to the Cathedral entrance where we were just in time to see the main attraction leave the church. It appears to be a beautiful altar like a float, adorned with flowers, candles, and statues. The celebration was incredible and I feel that even though I am not a religious person, it was still a cultural experience I will never forget. I am happy that I got to experience this beautiful celebration of the Body of Christ. My favourite part of the procession was when the flower petals were thrown and you could feel the happiness of the people around.
