SOMETHINGABOUT “THE PASSION OF CERVERA”
The performances of the “Passion of Cervera” take place every year throughout different weekends of March and April, and Good Friday. Image of a representation of the “Passion of Cervera”.
The “Passion of Cervera” is a theatrical representation of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. A tradition that began more than 500 years ago and has been continuously renewed to adapt to different eras. However, it was in 1969 when, given their historical and social importance, the representations of the “Passion of Cervera” were declared a treasure of the intangible cultural heritage of Catalonia and Andorra.
The show The first references found of the representations of the “Passion of Cervera” date back to the year 1477 in some books, preserved in the Regional Archive of the Segarra, where the original manuscripts of the passion of the year 1534, “Mystery of the passion”, written by Pere Ponç i Baltasar Sança in mediaeval Catalan, are also kept. Initially, the text was written to be performed only on Good Friday, but over the years it was extended with more scenes to fill 6
the entire Holy Week with liturgical acts so that the parishioners better understood the suffering of Jesus and the meaning of the celebration. In the nineteenth century they began to use the text written by the monk of the Montserrat abbey Fray Anton de San Jeroni, “The Holy Passion”, and in the years to come, different Catalan authors created other texts that would also be interpreted. After the break, the show suffered because of the Civil War (1936 – 1939), the text “Christ, Mystery of the Passion” was created, written by Emili Rabell and Josep Mª Sarrate. This text would replace the original one of 1534. Years later, in 1999, a new show was born, “La Pasión de Cervera”, completely renovated and adapted to the XXI century. In addition to the text, the scenography of the show has also included different improvements over the years such as the professionalisation of its artistic direction, and the inclusion of two
