Reduced Legión to accompany Good Friday procession in Vélez-Málaga

The traditional presence of La Legión alongside the image of the Our Lady of Las Angustias in Vélez-Málaga on Good Friday (3 April) will be significantly reduced this year due to the military corps’ international deployments in Lebanon and Slovakia, according to the Holy Week brotherhood in an official statement posted on its social media.

The brotherhood has explained to SUR that the Legion’s presence will be limited to around 15 members, compared to the 60 to 80 who usually accompany the procession. “The problem we have faced is that, due to international missions in Lebanon and Slovakia, the Legion from Almería could not guarantee us a sufficient number of musicians,” they said.

There are also overlapping commitments in Álora, Alhaurín el Grande and Malaga city, which has also led to a reduced number of the uniformed soldiers.

One of the most visible effects of this reduction will be the modification of the traditional morning tribute to the fallen in La Legión district of Vélez-Málaga, a particularly moving ceremony that will go ahead, but without the presence of the legionnaires on this occasion.

Instead the military personnel will join the procession of Our Lady of Angustias directly, which will set off at 8.50pm on Good Friday from the town's San Juan Bautista church. The musical accompaniment will be provided, once again, as has been the case without interruption since 2013, by the Cristo de Gracia music group from Cordoba, which will replace the Legion’s military band in one of the most popular moments of Velez-Málaga’s Holy Week celebrations.

The Holy Week museum, located in Santa María la Mayor church, will be open in the mornings during Holy Week. The initiative, aimed at local residents and visitors, will offer a deeper insight into the tradition of the brotherhoods through an exhibition of new artefacts and materials that are not usually on display.

The museum will be open on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 March (Palm Sunday) and then from Tuesday 31 March until Easter Sunday (5 April), from 10am to 2pm.

A special bus service will run throughout Holy Week with free buses running from Chilches, Lagos, Benajarafe, Valle-Niza, Almayate, Cajiz, Mezquitilla, Caleta de Vélez and El Trapiche and Triana on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, with several departures in the afternoon and return journeys in the early hours of the morning.

There will also be a special shuttle service from Torre del Maron Wednesday 1 April, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, with frequent night-time services between the two towns. The town hall is urging people to use the buses as an alternative to private vehicles, in addition to the provision of more than 1,500 public parking spaces at various locations across the municipality.