Fieldwork Archive
La Procesión del Santo Entierro (the Procession of the Holy Burial) is traditionally marched on the evening of Good Friday in some Catholic communities worldwide.
Before the procession, members of this parish in León, Nicaragua take the image of Jesus down from its cross and place it into the sepulchre later carried in the procession.
The funeral march heard in this recording was composed by Alejandro Vega Matus.
Catholic processions have been largely banned or restricted in Nicaragua since 2023 under the Sandinista dictatorship, purportedly for public safety concerns, but the government has been known to arrest and exile Catholic clergy for their criticism of the regime.
The bishop of León is said to be more favorable in the eyes of the government; it is likely for this reason that the popular street processions in León for the feast days of St. Jerome and Virgen de la Merced (Virgin of Mercy) have yet to be banned, even though they are banned in other cities like Masaya.
With the exception of those two feast days, the few other processions allowed to take place in León are only allowed inside the church and within a small perimeter just outside the walls of the church.
