Granada welcomed the month of May celebrating "Cruz de Mayo" or the "Fiesta de las Cruces" ("May Cross" or "Festival of the Crosses"). Cruz de Mayo is celebrated every May 3rd, and supposedly commemorates Saint Helena's search for and eventual finding of the True Cross of Jesus (that's the religious origin, anyway). This holiday is celebrated in Spain and Hispanic America, and Granada is said to be one of the most prominent cities that celebrates it. I actually really enjoyed it because the city was so festive, but there were no where near as many people as there were during Semana Santa, so it was easy to stay out and enjoy. Plus, we finally have real Spring weather; the temperature stayed in the high 20s, even reaching 31ºC at one point.
Tradition goes that in 1625 in a barrio in Granada, a Cross was put up in a plaza, and the day was celebrated with singing and dancing. Nowadays, many restaurants, schools, and plazas put up a Cross, and there are performances throughout the day in the square by the town hall. The restaurants, schools, and plazas partake in a contest where they decorate a Cross (usually with red and white carnations), and surround it with artisanal handicrafts (traditionally you have mantones de Manila, ceramic trinkets, copper cauldrons, and an apple with scissors sticking in it - more on that later). It's a pretty big deal here, and prizes are awarded by the town hall. We ventured out on Saturday and Sunday to walk around the city, look at some Crosses, and see some of the dances.
A Cross in a restaurant
The origins of how the Cross is decorated goes back to the early 20th century when children in the barrios in Granada would decorate the Cross with .
A cross in a bar
The Cross in Plaza Bib-Rambla
The Cross in Plaza del Carmen
A Cross in a restaurant
Can you see in the picture below an apple with a pair of scissors stuck in it?
A Cross in a restaurant
The apple with scissors has quite an interesting meaning. In Spanish, pero means "but," but in Granada slang pero also means "apple." The explanation is that the scissors represent an "interrupted but," so you supposedly can't criticize the display or say: "...but..." For example, "it's nice but it needs more plates" or "it's nice but the one in that plaza is prettier," etc. The presence of the apple with the scissors stabbing it symbolizes the scissors "cutting out the but," and sort of tell the viewers that you should refrain from criticizing the display.
During the festival, it's really common to see everyone dressed up in traditional flamenco wear. Women of all ages - from babies to grandmothers - sported the body hugging flamenco dress with flowers on their hair, and matching jewelry. It was quite a pretty and festive sight.
Ladies in flamenco wear
Kids in flamenco wear
In Plaza del Carmen right by the town hall, the city organized several dance performances, mostly groups dancing the Sevillana. There were mostly adult groups, but we did catch this one show composed of young girls. Super cute to watch! (Check out the videos below)
In one of the plazas, Plaza Bib-Rambla, they didn't have any official dance performances, but musicians would take the stage, and everybody would just dance in the space in front of the stage.
And that was it for the weekend. Pretty good way to start the month of May!
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