La Granadella, in Les Garrigues, will once again celebrate this Good Friday the unnailing of Jesus, a representation that has been maintained for more than 300 years in the municipal parish church and which, as highlighted by the town, is the only one in Catalonia in which Christ is unnailed from the cross.
The central act is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. in the temple, where the moment after the death of Jesus Christ is recreated, when the body is lowered from the cross. The ceremony is part of a deeply rooted tradition in the municipality and was declared heritage festive element by the Generalitat in 2017.
"It has served to give much more diffusion to the event and to increase the number of visitors who come each year" - Elena Llauradó, mayor of La Granadella
A ceremony with armed men, singers and an articulated image
The mayor emphasizes that one of the most outstanding moments comes at the beginning, with the entry of the armed men into the church with a "spectacular and silent" step. From there, the ceremony progresses with trumpet calls and a sequence of specific movements that mark the rhythm of the unnailing.
In the liturgy, the group of male and female singers who perform the Miserere plays a fundamental role. The central moment arrives when the image of Christ is unnailed, an articulated figure whose arms remain bent upon being unanchored from the cross.
Since the institutional recognition of 2017, that image descends by a wooden staircase placed on the altar, a structure that recovers an element that had already existed anciently in the representation.
A preparation that mobilizes the people throughout the entire year
The organization of the unnailing is not limited to Holy Week. The preparation extends throughout the year and involves a significant part of the municipality. Around 150 people participate directly in the act, among them about a hundred armed men, the parish council, the town hall, and the people in charge of carrying the processional images, such as the sepulchre or the Verge dels Dolors.
Attendance has also been on the rise. Last year, around 1,000 people gathered, a figure that has led the municipality to propose ideas for visitors to spend the entire day in Granadella before the night ceremony.
Activities during the day and live tracking
Among the planned activities is the option to visit the Museu del Molí de l"Oli de Catalunya. At noon, one can also follow the Calvary, with the representation of Jesus' path to the crucifixion.
At that same time, Joan Perucho square hosts a craft market and the Armats' canteen, while in the Vila square the Roman camp is set up. The intention is to broaden the experience of those who come to the municipality and distribute the influx throughout the day.
The unnailing is broadcast live because the church has a limited capacity and the interior visibility is conditioned by the temple's columns. The representation is projected onto the church's facade and, as a novelty this year, it can also be followed from the civic center's audiovisual room.
"Cultural and identity act" - Elena Llauradó, mayor of La Granadella
The mayor also emphasizes that it is a "beloved" celebration by the residents, who keep alive a unique tradition in Catalonia and that once again places La Granadella as one of the reference points of Holy Week in the regions of Lleida.