Isla Cristina, Spain – Preparations are underway for the 2026 Holy Week celebrations as officials unveiled the official poster and presented materials to the event’s designated speaker on Saturday, January 10. The announcement marks the official kickoff for the city’s deeply rooted religious traditions.
The poster, a painted work by local artist and sculptor Francis Zamudio, depicts the “Lord Tied to the Column,” a figure central to the Brotherhood of the Flagellation. The Brotherhood was selected to be featured on this year’s poster. This marks a shift back to pictorial designs after several years of photographic posters, and Zamudio’s work is rich with symbolism and detail.
Manuel Ramos Garrido, a young member of the Brotherhood of the Virgin of the Sea and its current Brotherhood Major, will deliver the official proclamation announcing the start of Holy Week in 2026. He received the speaker’s notes during Saturday’s ceremony.
The event, held at the Parish of Our Father Jesus of the Great Power, was led by Jesús Nogales. Rafael Salgado introduced Zamudio, while Antonio Cazorla presented Ramos Garrido. In attendance were local priests Grzecorz Koza and José Luis López Reyes, as well as Isla Cristina Mayor Jenaro Orta, Deputy Mayor and Culture Councilor Jerónimo Sosa, members of the municipal corporation, the newly appointed Brotherhood Major of the Flagellation, Antonio Manuel Infante, and Javier Castro Medero, president of the Council of Brotherhoods and Confraternities, along with representatives from the city’s various religious brotherhoods.
Zamudio and Mayor Orta jointly unveiled the poster, generating excitement among those present. The artwork also features imagery of Our Father Jesus of the Three Falls and Our Lady of the Angels, alongside architectural elements of the old hermitage and the current Parish of the Great Power.
Mayor Orta publicly congratulated both the artist and the speaker, emphasizing the significance of the event. “This isn’t just any event, but one of the most important of our Holy Week, as it marks the start of the approach to our Holy Week and the presentation of two elements that define its character and identity: the poster and the proclamation.”
Orta praised the artistic value of the poster, calling it “a bold and necessary step,” and noted that it is only the second painted poster in the history of Isla Cristina’s Holy Week, both created by Zamudio. He also highlighted the symbolic richness of the work, establishing “a beautiful link between the past and present of our Holy Week and of Isla Cristina.”
Turning to the proclamation, Orta congratulated Manuel Ramos Garrido, stating he “will be the voice of the feelings of thousands of people and hundreds of brotherhood members.” He also thanked those involved in the event and congratulated Antonio Manuel Infante on his appointment as the new Brotherhood Major of the Flagellation.
Orta concluded by stating that “Isla Cristina demonstrates that its Holy Week is faith, art, tradition and shared feeling,” encouraging citizens to continue working together toward a Holy Week in 2026 that “is already beginning to beat strongly.” The event closed with remarks from the parish priests, Grzecorz Koza and José Luis López, the spiritual director of the Council of Brotherhoods and Confraternities.
