Highlights-Madrid Day 4
I passed on the chance to join the crowd to attend Mass with the Pope at the Madrid Cathedral (he wouldn’t recognize me anyway). It makes me wonder, “How do you do Communion with a packed cathedral?” When I attended Easter Mass in Burgos, there were people with wafers everywhere! The cathedral is just a few hundred meters from where I’m staying. Later in the day I went to my friend’s house (suburb of Madrid) for lunch with his family. One of the children participated in the familial cofradía (look it up if you want to know more) procession during Semana Santa observations. Calling the walking in step movement with pasos depicting religious figures “celebrations” doesn’t convey sufficient solemnity. I learned several things I didn’t know, such as why the people carrying them sometimes sway from side to side (short version: to convey deep spiritual meaning). I brought gifts from New Mexico as I usually do if I can find things that are non-kitsch, small enough to fit in my luggage, and won’t get my one bag emptied at the security checkpoints. I set a high bar for gifts that I have to transport thousands of miles (coming and going). The entire family took me to Madrid to see the Temple of Debod. It was one of many Nubian temples in a highly concentrated area that were going to be submerged by the Aswan Dam. The better known, and frankly more visually impressive Abu Simbel was one of them. Many were relocated in Egypt, but they may have run out of suitable locations so they gave some away, like this one to Spain (“Here, you take it!”).