Ecce Homo procession fills the streets of the historic center of Braga

A human wave gathered, this Thursday night, in the main streets of the historic center of Braga, to see the Ecce Homo procession, which evokes the judgment of Jesus. The farricocos, with rattles and fires in hand, were the figures most awaited by visitors.

Phillipp Machado, of Portuguese descent, says he “has never seen anything like it”. “My mother has had an apartment in Braga for 40 years and we had never seen the processions. This one is very beautiful. There is a lot of respect, silence and security”, he praises, showing the desire to go back on Easter holidays to repeat the experience. “If I had known that this existed, I would have come more times on vacation at this time”, he stresses to JN.

Célia Pires, an extra in the Quadro das Virtudes, already “missed” to return to the procession. “I’ve been participating for 12 years and, as long as I can, I won’t fail”, she guarantees, minutes before the procession begins, which left the Igreja de Misericórdia at 9.30 pm.

The Braga native confesses that walking the streets of the historic center “already costs a little”, but the pleasure of being part of the “most charismatic” procession of Holy Week is greater. “It’s all very beautiful. The farricocos and the horses, essentially”, described Celia, smiling.

The younger ones, too, already fulfill the traditions left by their parents and went, en masse, to watch the passing of the “Lord of the green cane”, for which the procession is also known. This is the case of Fábio Braga, 28 years old, who remembers his childhood times watching farricocos. “I thought they were funny and, at the same time, I was afraid,” recalls the young man, adding that his parents stopped going to the processions and now he assumes that role.

Friend Cristiana Vieira corroborates. “My parents stopped coming to the processions, because it’s a lot of confusion, and now it’s up to the younger ones”, she says. The fact that the pandemic forced her to take a two-year break also motivated her to leave the house this year.

In addition to the farricocos, the procession featured allegorical paintings from 14 works by Misericórdia de Braga, organizer of the initiative, as well as figures linked to the foundation and history of the Santas Casas.

In all, about a thousand participants gave life to the procession.