Alicante explodes in Spring in thousands of nuances that permeate our senses.

 

Smell of saltpeter, orange blossom, incense, esparto grass and rosemary. Flavor of dishes cooked by our grandmothers with that unforgettable aftertaste of chickpeas with spinach, aspencat, hake fritters, tuna, bread with tomato and anchovies, pericana, stew and French toast. Sound of drums and cornets, of misereres and cantatas, of the gust of the bearers' shoes and the tinkling of the tassels of the pallium ties on the chiseled poles that support it, of the voices of the foremen and of the complaining of the arrows.

 

Touch of the Nazarene wax with which the brothers illuminate their Christs and their Blessed Mother, of the rouen and the Nazarene serge, of the soft velvet and the rough gold of the mantles and banners. View of our centenary images, of the penitent processions, of our broken and battered Christs and of their Sorrowful Mother in that suffering without consolation, of some bearers making their clothes in a corner of the Basilica or in the acolyte that moves to the rhythm of his heart brother of the aromatic censer. And above all, the light.

 

That intense, blue Mediterranean light of sky and sea. The light of Life. The light of the Resurrection. The light of hope after death. That Alicante light that invades everything and illuminates our lives. Holy Week in Alicante is Light, Smell, Taste, Sound and Touch. Holy Week in Alicante is Tradition, History and Faith. Four centuries long compliments of guild brotherhoods to greater glory of the Virgen del Remedio, del Carmen, San Roque, San Blas or San Antón. Holy Week in Alicante is also Santa Faz y Verónica; pilgrimage, blouse, handkerchief and cane.

 

But Holy Week in Alicante is also Solidarity in Charity to our neighbor exercised from the 28 Brotherhoods and Brotherhoods that process from their parishes and venues to the Santa Iglesia Concatedral de San Nicolás de Bari, sometimes through its wide avenues and boulevards and sometimes through the narrow and hidden streets of its historic center. Love manifested in their social and welfare works that welcome and embrace the most needy in their neighborhoods and parishes.

 

The Greater Board of Brotherhoods and Brotherhoods of Holy Week in Alicante celebrates 75 years of life this year. An important part of the history of Alicante. I invite you to join this common project, which belongs to everyone.

 

As President of the Greater Board of Brotherhoods and Brotherhoods of Holy Week in Alicante, I invite you to join this common project, which belongs to all and to participate and enjoy the many and important events that the Governing Council is preparing: concerts, exhibitions, conferences, photographic contests, gastronomic days and routes, tambourines and a magnificent Official Proclamation await you, in addition to the Stations of Penance, the Via Crucis, Triduos, Quinaries, Besamanos and many other acts that the Brotherhoods and Brotherhoods themselves have scheduled.

 

I am sure that none of this will disappoint you, because all this work is intended for you, who are the Force that has brought our Easter to this point.

 

A strong and fraternal hug in Christ and Mary.

 

Alfredo Llopis Verdú

President of Major Board