In the week following the No Kings events, I took advantage of the Easter holidays and caught the train at São Bento station, heading to Braga. Unlike previous years when bad weather led to the cancellation of celebrations, now Summer and tourism have taken over the capital of Minho, making us forget the destruction that the early-year storms brought to our country.
Braga is known for its Catholic devotion and the celebrations of this season cross borders. In the past, hooded men, dressed in black tunics, bound by a rope and barefoot, would walk the streets with their ratchets calling the faithful to devotion when the church bells could not be heard. They are the Farricocos.
They accompany the Burial of Jesus in silence on the day following the "Ecce Homo" procession (the famous words of Pilate), religious scenes turned into living pictures that parade through a city submerged in darkness.
[These days I haven't watched TV and have avoided contact with the media, although fearing that the wars are far from over. Peaceful season, whatever your religion, my dear friends]
