Los Picaos of San Vicente de la Sonsierra
Los Picaos are the flagellants of the Cofradía de la Santa Vera Cruz in San Vicente de la Sonsierra. Their public penance accompanies processions and Stations of the Cross on specific dates during Holy Week and the May and September feasts of the Cross, in a religious tradition preserved by this La Rioja community as part of its identity.
Celebration dates
Events involving flagellants take place on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, on 3 May when it falls on a Sunday or on the following Sunday, and on 14 September when it falls on a Sunday or on the following Sunday. The official customary times are 19:30 and 23:00 on Maundy Thursday; 11:30 and 20:30 on Good Friday; and 18:00 for the May and September Stations of the Cross.
View the Los Picaos 2026 programme.
Venue and routes
The processions leave the parish church of Santa María la Mayor, in the walled precinct of San Vicente de la Sonsierra. The May and September Stations of the Cross follow the route to Monte Calvario before returning to the church.
Origins and continuity
The brotherhood's archive records the approval of its statutes in 1551 and already described the rite at that time as a practice dating from time immemorial. Although penitential flagellation was prohibited in Spain in the eighteenth century, the tradition survived in San Vicente de la Sonsierra. The Cofradía de la Santa Vera Cruz now organises the events and safeguards their religious meaning.
How the rite unfolds
The flagellant must be an adult and provide a certificate from his parish priest. He wears a white habit and remains anonymous, assisted by a brotherhood companion. After praying before his chosen religious float, he strikes his back with a skein; a practitioner decides when to make the small ritual pricks with the implement known as the esponja. Afterwards, the wounds are washed and treated with rosemary water.
Women have been able to join the brotherhood as full members since 1998 and take part as Marías, barefoot, veiled and sometimes wearing chains, but without practising the discipline.
Recognition and participation
The Holy Week processions were declared a Festival of National Tourist Interest in 2005. In 2016, the Processions of the Flagellants of San Vicente de la Sonsierra were declared an Asset of Intangible Cultural Interest. Brotherhood members, flagellants, companions, practitioners, residents and visitors take part; the council asks spectators to respect the penitential nature of the rite.
Sources
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