page_title: Lorca, Spain
section_title: Cultural activity
hierarchical_section_title: Lorca, Spain / Cultural activity
caption_attribution_description: Semana Santa de Lorca
context_page_description: Lorca is a municipality and city in the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia in southeastern Spain, 58 kilometres southwest of the city of Murcia. The municipality had a population of 94,404 in 2019, up from the 2001 census total of 77,477. Lorca is the municipality with the second largest surface area in Spain, 1,675.21 km², after Cáceres. The city is home to Lorca Castle and the Collegiate church dedicated to St. Patrick.
  In the Middle Ages Lorca was the frontier town between Christian and Muslim Spain. Even earlier to that during the Roman period it was ancient Ilura or Heliocroca of the Romans.
  The city was seriously damaged by a magnitude 5.1 earthquake on 11 May 2011, killing at least nine people. Due to a shallow hypocenter, the earthquake was much more destructive than usual for earthquakes with similar magnitude.
context_section_description: Cultural activity in Lorca is the Easter celebration, the Holy Week celebration popularly known as the Semana Santa. Semana Santa festival has been popularised since 1855. It is said to be the best festival held anywhere in Spain where two brotherhoods vie with each other to display two colours namely the Azul (blue) and Blanco (white) for the highly competitive festive display of cloaks. Each of the brotherhood in Lorca, on this occasion, carries an image of Virgin Mary – one draped in a blue cloak and another in white cloak with a banner and a museum. Music played on this occasion is of a different rhythm is reverential and vigorously mixing the story of Old Testament and the New Testament. Apart from this annual festival, there are four small museums where exhibits of Semana Santa costumes are on display. These costumes are finely embroidered on silk and depict historical and religious scenes; some of these cloaks are as long as 5 metres (16 ft). Fiesta celebration for La Virgen de Las Huertas is held on 8 September every year.
caption: Semana Santa
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