The “March of the Penitents” (known in Spanish as procesiones de penitentes or estaciones de penitencia) refers to the processions during Holy Week (Semana Santa) in Spain, where hooded participants called nazarenos or penitentes accompany religious floats (pasos) through the streets in acts of public penance commemorating Christ’s Passion.
These marches originated in the late 13th century (1200s), tied to the formation of the first penitential brotherhoods (cofradías de penitencia) around 1300. Early processions involved self-flagellating penitents (disciplinantes) walking barefoot, dragging chains, and covering their faces for anonymity—practices rooted in medieval public penance from early Christianity but formalized in Spain post-Reconquista.
