Riogordo to celebrate 75th anniversary of Passion Play with two major evening performances

Culture

The production, which re-enacts the life, passion and death of Jesus, is normally performed during Holy Week but will take place on 24 and 25 July at 9.30pm at the Axarquía town's huge El Calvario outdoor theatre to mark the milestone

Eugenio Cabezas

The town of Riogordo in Malaga province's Axarquía is putting on two special performances of the Passion Play to mark the 75th anniversary of ... the Holy Week tradition on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 July.

The Passion Play, or El Paso as it is called in Spanish reenacts the life, passion and death of Jesus Christ and is normally performed during Holy Week. performances will begin at 9.30pm. Malaga's provincial authority, the Diputación de Málaga, is supporting this special edition as part of its policy to promote the cultural and religious heritage of the province’s municipalities.

The evening performance will allow the audience to experience the various scenes with lighting and an atmosphere that differ from those of the usual Holy Week performances. The venue will once again be transformed to recreate the streets, squares and spaces of ancient Judea, in a production that combines acting, costumes, animals and sets.

El Paso is celebrating its 75th anniversary with two evening performances at El Calvario outdoor theatre

The Pasion Play has been held in Riogordo since 1951 and has survived for 75 years thanks to the involvement of local residents. Hundreds of people from the town, which has just 2,800 registered residents take part in each production, including a number of foreign residents who also get involved as actors, extras or organisers.

Sagrario Molina from the Diputación said that this collective involvement makes El Paso much more than just a religious event, “It is an example of how cultural and religious heritage can become a unifying force within the local community, a source of collective memory and a means of promoting the region,” she said.

She went on to say that over the decades, El Paso has become one of the most recognisable celebrations of Holy Week in the Axarquía and a tourist attraction for Riogordo.

The performances commence at 9.30pm on both days. Tickets can be purchased via the online platform mientrada.net and at various physical outlets including Riogordo town hall, at the Nazareno shop and at Cerería Zalo in Malaga city centre and in Torre del Mar, at the Pasatiempos bookshop. Groups can make their bookings by contacting the town hall directly.

The organisers will also open a ticket office at the El Calvario venue itself two hours before the start of each performance. Attendees are advised to arrive early, particularly as large crowds are expected due to the exceptional nature of the anniversary.

Tickets are available online, at various local outlets and at the venue’s box office from two hours before each performance.

More than 600 local residents take part on a voluntary basis in El Paso de Riogordo, and the performance takes place against a natural backdrop covering 8,000 square metres, with capacity for around 3,000 people. The production recreates Judea as it was two thousand years ago through four large structures – the Sanhedrin, Pilate’s Palace, the Upper Room and Herod’s Palace – as well as a stream, a bridge, a well and the Garden of Gethsemane.

El Paso has received numerous accolades, including designation as a festival of national tourist Interest since 1996. The procession lasts around three hours and comprises 17 scenes, ranging from the Sacrifice of Isaac and the Sermon on the Mount to the trials before Herod and Pilate, the Way of the Cross and the death of Jesus on the cross.