Holy Wednesday, procession of Amo Jesús, piano and violin recital.
On this third day of commemoration of Holy Week in Popayán, in addition to the different craft shows, exhibitions in museums and other places, there is the programming of the Religious Music Festival, which has been taking place since Palm Sunday.
This Holy Wednesday, the virtuosity of the teachers edward rojasfrom Colombia, and from Gary Levinsonfrom the United States, performs at the Guillermo Valencia Municipal Theater with a great piano and violin recital that includes sonatas by Tartini, Grieg and Franck.
This concert is of special importance, because it marks the return of the Colombian Eduardo Rojas to the capital of Cauca, the city where he received his training as a pianist. He is currently recognized for his vision to integrate his musical skills with his passion for teaching and entrepreneurship. He has been described by the Dallas Morning News as “a pianist of considerable skill and strength of character from him.” He has performed as a soloist with ensembles such as the Richmond Symphony, the San Angelo Symphony, the Cali Philharmonic, the Bogota Philharmonic, the National Symphony of Colombia, the National Orchestra of Panama, the Great Lakes Symphony, and the Dallas Chamber Symphony.
For his part, maestro Gary Levinson, one of the most important figures in music throughout the southern United States, senior principal of the Associate Concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony in Texas and artistic director of the Forth Chamber Music Society Worth, will be presented for the first time in Popayán. Levinson made his debut in 1991 as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic. He has collaborated with celebrities such as Erich Leinsdorf, Jaab Van Sweden, Miguel Hart-Bedoya, Yo Yo Ma, Lynn Harrel, Eugenia Zukerman, Joseph Kalichstein and Christopher O’Riley, among others.
Holy Wednesday Procession
On this night, the procession of Amo Jesús, which leaves from La Ermita church, at 8:00 pm, is organized by the Permanent Board for Holy Week in Popayán.
While the processional parade passes with its imposing steps on the shoulders of the fervent freighters; the sahumadoras, dressed in the typical ñapanga costume, carry a cauldron or sahumerio as a tribute to Jesus or the Virgin; the regidores, with their long cross, impose order; the musicians sing sacred songs, the moqueros clean the “snot” from the candles and the light bulbs, with their river of lights walk next to the steps, a woman pilot of the Air Quadrant of the National Police, guarding Popayán and his people, to give them security. (watch video). Definitely, the processions of Popayán, in addition to their solemnity, art, tradition, aesthetics and religion, have magic.