Thank you - I think you nailed it with mostly traditional - most Christian festivals are pre existing pagan events - given a Christian veneer in the medieval period in Spain. Group ritual I think is also important - shared rites - to give cohesion to groups - particularly in times of stress - this predates Abrahamic religions - in my opinion - by quite some way. The guys carrying the Virgin in my pictures - they are all men - belong to fraternities - I think there are about a dozen of them in Malaga - membership tends to be handed down in families - so - tradition - it is considered an honour to be performing this in public - like you - I'm not convinced how much actual religiosity is there in these events? Despite the way they look. Tradition & public shared ritual - certainly.
Anyway - I share your interest in photographing stations - fertile ground indeed - all you need to do is stand back for a moment - and watch it going on. Get out of the flow - stand still - nobody sees you. So - this picture - Atocha station in Madrid - Yours - I.
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