The increase in Nazarenes made fitting the processions this Holy Week in Malaga difficult.

With a Holy Week marked by sunshine, the processional parades and crowds have once again been the protagonists this year. This year, on an official route that spans 1,180 meters, the processions have even seen an increase of "more than 100 Nazarenes," as highlighted this Thursday by José Carlos Garín, president of the Málaga Brotherhoods Association during the presentation of the official balance of 2026. This, in his opinion, "makes fitting" even more difficult in the Center, where thousands of people gather to try to see the images and try to cross from one side to the other with criticisms for the "visibility", the cuts, and access limits, among the thirteen controlled corridors; and evacuation routes.

Specifically, Garín pointed out that this "global growth" has been reflected in an increase of 8% in Nazarenes in one year, with an increase in the processions themselves also estimated at the same percentage per day, and by 11% on Palm Sunday and Holy Monday. Something that he insisted has been felt in "the length" that the processions are acquiring, with clear examples such as in the case of El Rico which "had to be arranged in four rows", as a "temporary solution and not something we aspire to". Far from the idea of the processions that lead "towards the throne with two Nazarenes", and which could be addressed by bringing them "closer together". Moreover, considering that the bands "have grown exponentially". "Either the times are adjusted within the margin that is decided, or they are passed on to each other, or the duration of the processions is increased and extended each day," he noted, also counting on the "counting" data of the processions recorded by GPS.

All this also falls within a visibility that he describes as a "frequent controversy" and estimates at "almost 500 meters" for those who do not have a chair, within an official route longer than a kilometer. "The old official route was about 800 meters, of which only 5%, about 40 meters, were available to watch processions without having a chair. It was in saturated areas like the Pasaje de Chinitas, Calle Santa María, or in the wedges that occurred between the stands, where people accumulated with certain risks. The current one, within its 1,180 m, has 40% open to visibility, that is, almost 500 meters to see them," he distinguished.

Management and time, at the crux of the matter

Regarding the management of time by the entity, Garín has delved into another of the "problems posed by the public" related to the wait to cross through the corridors, controlled by authorities; as well as by assistants and watchmen of the Brotherhoods Association (among the 380 hired in general). In this regard, he has estimated between 45 and 50 minutes for a brotherhood to pass a specific point, where "quite a few stops are made" and where "sometimes management may slip". Despite the staff being "extremely trained and educated", and "pedagogy" is applied to the "procession chiefs and stewards to facilitate the opening of the corridors" when the Nazarenes are present. He also made a comparison with years ago, taking into account the volume of people and the "mentality from ten or twelve years ago", which he does not consider "a realistic assessment", but "superficial". As he pointed out, in data collected by his entity in 2023, they saw that "there had been an increase of 56% in the number of visitors in the last five years".

The passage of the brotherhoods, on the other hand, has mostly complied with the clock, except on Holy Tuesday, when a delay of about 15 minutes was recorded at the Tribune. Meanwhile, Palm Sunday had "complex points" like at the Montaño Peña crossing, where Dulce Nombre, Pollinica, and Humildad were involved, but which "went perfectly". As well as the rest of the week "everything worked well", with some modifications compared to other years. For example, on Holy Thursday, with the "difference that Esperanza" went directly to Cisneros, and avoided conflict with Cena's enclosure or meeting with Vera Cruz, as on other occasions.

The crossing with the citizenry

With the historic center, limited in the official route with chairs and stands installed, Holy Week has once again evoked the use of "little chairs" brought by citizens and banned in narrow areas. In this context, the president of the Association sees their use as "legitimate", as long as it occupies a "one-person" space and complies with the place "where the authority decides or as far as it decides". "If you bring a beach chair with arms that leans back, you bring a cooler, it's an unsolidary space. You are occupying an excessively large space, with the stools that have become fashionable you sit there and even behind you there can be someone standing", he remarked, although he expressed a different opinion regarding "camping on the ground", which he described as "striking, surprising, and dangerous".

He also called for citizen collaboration within the entity's chairs, where, on the contrary, "bags of trash" accumulate. "Our workers, when they go to dismantle, encounter a volume that they do not know how to manage. Citizens are encouraged to take their bags with them and find a container when they are finished with them".

Regarding the volume of chairs, the Association has calculated the distribution of about 24,000 chairs, with 99% of them confirmed; about 900 for free sale at an average price of "85 euros for the entire Holy Week"; and a "higher level of occupancy during Holy Thursday and Holy Monday". And, regarding this, they clarified that the empty ones are often because "people do not spend eight hours in them, but move around". On the other hand, they expressed satisfaction with the anti-wax liquid, since "there have been no slips, possibility of staining, and the unsightly way of administering it has disappeared". At the same time, they recognized the work of the security device and the brotherhood volunteers with defibrillators and prior first aid training, during the presentation of this balance of 2026 and their cultural project Fe.