Costaleros carrying a religious float (known as a Trono) in the Semana Santa processions in Málaga, April 2011

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Costaleros (carriers) bearing a Trono (a religious float) in a procession through the streets of Malaga, Spain, during Semana Santa (Holy Week) in April, 2011. The "Tronos" feature wooden or plaster sculptures of individual scenes of the events that happened between Jesus' arrest and his burial, or images of the Virgin Mary showing grief, and are physically carried on the shoulders of the costaleros (literally "sack men", because of the costal, a sack-like cloth that they wear over their neck, to soften the burden). Up to 250 costaleros may be required to carry the largest tronos, which can weigh up to 5 tonnes, and the processions can last several hours.

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Size: 3024px × 4032px
Location: Málaga, Spain
Photo credit: © Gannet77 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: andalucia, andalusia, carrying, catholic, catholicism, christianity, costalero, costaleros, easter, espana, españ, holy, malaga, parade, people, procession, religion, religious, robe, santa, sculpture, semana, spain, tradition, traditional, trono, tronos, week, álaga