Religious fervor cannot be bought with money. The best places to contemplate it, yes. For some time now something curious has been happening in Andalusia: Holy Week comes preceded by a news blast about quotes and increases and decreases (usually just increases) in rental prices. The chronicles in question have nothing to do with housing, not even with the rates charged by hotels or Airbnb. Its focus is on the balconies of cities like Seville or Malaga with the best views of the religious steps, small viewpoints for which you can pay now. 9,000 euros.
There are those who talk about “commodification” of Easter.
What has happened? There is news that, no matter how much it is repeated year after year, is still that: news. The balconies in the center of Seville or Malaga are a good example. From long ago the media have been counting the prices increasingly exorbitant that are requested during Holy Week for these spaces, places with privileged views of the religious processions. What is curious (as has just been proven in Andalusia) is that, as is the case with residential or vacation rentals, the terrace business is not reaching its ceiling.
In the end it is nothing surprising. Something similar happens with the terraces of Valencia during the Fallas, those of Vigo at Christmas or in other cities Spanish when celebrations are organized in the street, which includes, for example, the celebration of football titles. If there are balconies with good views there is guaranteed business. One that can bring in hundreds or even thousands of euros in a few days.
Are they that expensive? The data has been provided by the College of Property Administrators (CAF) of Seville. According to their estimates, enjoying a good balcony in the historic center to admire the images of El Silencio, El Gran Poder or La Macarena costs several thousand euros. To be more precise, 6,000 in exchange for a whole week. The data draws attention for two reasons. First because it is double than what was requested a few years ago (in 2023 the average was around €6,000). Second, because in cases in which a privileged location is combined with catering services, this cost can skyrocket until reaching €9,000.
Does it only happen in Seville? No. A few weeks ago the Andalusian press reported that in Malaga the rent for accommodation with the best views of the processions had also skyrocketed. In mid-March, 15 days before the start of Easter, Malaga Today assured that Airbnb was asking for 900 euros for a two-night stay in a studio on Larios Street. In Cisneros (also in the center) an apartment with windows facing the street was rented for €500 for two days, a figure that rose to €750 on Booking.
What exactly is paid? Basically two things. Dates. And location. Rents do not skyrocket just because. They do it mainly in accommodations with balconies located in strategic areas from which to admire the images of El Silencio, El Gran Poder or La Macarena (in the case of Seville) or El Cautivo, Cristo de la Buena Muerte or Los Estudiantes (Málaga). The height, the quality of the views or the specific day complete the rates and explain why there are cases in which €9,000 is requested for a week. Also that rentals have stopped being a private business and have become ‘professional’ hand in hand with companies.
Does it only happen with balconies? No. The subscriptions for chairs and boxes of the Official Race offered by the General Council of Brotherhoods and Brotherhoods of the City of Seville are not affordable for everyone. Especially after experiencing a 3% year-on-year increase. The price table published by the organization shows that rates range from €90.5 for a chair in Plaza Virgen de Los Reyes to 1,016 for the best boxes in Plaza San Francisco. Between both figures there are several options above €100. For example, on Avenida Constitución (Tribuna Faro) there are places available for €161.3.
It may seem like a lot, but a subscriber recently recognized to The Country who rents out the two chairs he has at the beginning of the Official Race for double what they cost him (170 each). And that’s because he gives them to a friend. “If it wasn’t him, I could ask for whatever I wanted, and even more so right now with the boom around Holy Week in Seville,” presume. The fertilizers represent the main source of financing for the brotherhoods that organize Holy Week in Seville.
Why is it so important? Beyond the interest aroused by the exorbitant prices that are asked (and paid) for the best balconies in Seville or Malaga to follow in the footsteps, the topic raises another interesting question: the debate on commodification of Holy Week, an event that (beyond tourism or the law of supply and demand) has a religious reason for being.
“We have become accustomed to the fact that there is no area of human activity that is not subject to commercialization, because the justification is that everything is subject to costs and the same thing you pay to go to the theater or football is paid to see Easter in the front row,” I was reflecting recently in The Country Alberto del Campo, professor of Social Anthropology at the Pablo de Olavide University.
Images | Jon Connell (Flickr) 1 and 2
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