This year 2024, Ondara will once again enjoy its Holy Week; an event of great tradition and deep roots in the population, which Ondara longs to celebrate year after year. Holy Week in Ondara is one of the most colorful and emblematic in the entire region.
30th anniversary of La Passió
The events will begin on Saturday, March 23 (the eve of Palm Sunday) at 22:30 p.m. with the emblematic theatrical performance of The Passion of Ondara through the streets and squares of the town, an event that is performed entirely in Valencian and that stages outdoors the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ. This representation is organized jointly by the La Pasión de Ondara Association, the Santa Ana Parish, the Central Board of Brotherhoods and the Júniors MD collective, with the collaboration of the Department of Festivals and Traditions of the Ondara City Council. Thus, among the participants are members of all these parish groups and, in total, around 80 people of all ages participate: about forty-five as main actors and the rest as extras and dance group. The Passion will be performed on Saturday, March 23, 2024 (the eve of Palm Sunday) at 22:30 p.m. in various locations in the urban center of Ondara (it will begin in the Prado). This year, 2024, marks the 30th Anniversary of the first performance of The Passion through the streets of Ondara. (In case the weather is not good, The Passion will not be suspended, but will be held inside the Prado).
As in previous years, a total of seven scenes will be staged with maximum detail, taking streets, squares and municipal buildings in the urban center of Ondara as locations, which gives this work a special charm. Thus, the first scene is the Last Supper and will take place inside the Prado building. The second scene is the prayer in the olive garden and will take place outside, in the area known as the Prado wharf. Next, the scenery will move inside the Ondara Bullring, where Jesus' appearance before the Sanhedrin will be represented. The trial before Pilate, the fourth scene, will be recreated in the Placeta de las Escuelas, and Jesus before Herod, the fifth scene, will be in the Plaza Mayor. The sixth scene will correspond to the death sentence of Jesus and will be performed again in the Placeta de las Escuelas. Finally, the seventh and last scene, the crucifixion and death of Jesus, will be staged again at the Prado Pier. It should be noted that a characteristic element of La Pasión de Ondara, in addition to being in Valencian, is that the audience is fully integrated into the play, so that they follow the actors in each of the scenes, also forming part of the story. .
This tradition is considered a cultural and tourist attraction, being a very well received event both in Ondara and in the rest of the region. So much so, that this 2024 marks 30 years since the first theatrical performance that took place on the street in the town. The Passion of Ondara has its origin in the staging of the fourteen stations of the Via Crucis carried out by the boys and girls and educators of the Júniors MD movement since 1987. It was in 1992 when it was decided to represent the last moments of the life of Jesus Christ in a work separate from the celebration of the Via Crucis, in a closed area such as the old Victoria cinema (today Municipal Auditorium); and two years later, in 1994, it was decided to take the performance of The Passion to the streets, evolving over the years the structure of the work to what we know it today.
Semana Santa 2024
The next day, Sunday, March 24, the Prado de Ondara building will once again host the Palm Sunday mass at 12 noon; event that will be held indoors, given the massive attendance at the event. A total of seven Brotherhoods participate in Holy Week in Ondara: Brotherhood of Soledad, Brotherhood of La Dolorosa, Brotherhood of Christ of Agony and the Seven Words, Brotherhood of Verónica, Brotherhood of the Sepulchre, Brotherhood of Piety and Brotherhood of Jesus Nazarene. Once again, Holy Week in Ondara will feature events and processions every day. In the Ondara Processions (there are four: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday) hundreds of people from all over the Marina Alta attend, and among them the Holy Burial Procession stands out, which will be celebrated on Good Friday, March 29 at 22:00 p.m. departing from the Convent. In Ondara, notable events typical of Holy Week in this town are also celebrated, such as the Meeting, which takes place on Easter Sunday, April 9 at 8 a.m. in the Plaza Mayor.
