For thirty silver coins

According to the Gospels, Matthew 26:14-35: Then one of the twelve followers named Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and said to them, “What will you give me if I hand Jesus over to you? Then they offered him 30 silver coins. From that moment on, Judas began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

Holy Week is full of rituals, celebrations and traditional events in most of the towns of the Canary Islands. The most particular of the traditions preserved in Anaga is a celebration that takes place in Taganana. It is a brazen, insolent tradition that is represented against evil. Its first staging dates back to 1630, in the 17th century! In it, the people of Taganana and its visitors, burn a doll on Easter Sunday, to end the Holy Week.

The act consists of walking a doll representing Judas through the streets of the neighborhood before being burned. Previously, the Judas is made with dried banana tree leaves, reeds or straw and is dressed with any kind of clothing as well as a mask. A cigar is usually added to the clothing (as the equivalent of one who is unconcerned because he has done nothing wrong). At 00:00 hours on Easter Sunday this representation begins with “the fall of the mantle” which is an ancient tradition in which the mantle that covers the main altar of the church is removed. Until that moment, during Holy Week, recollection, prayer and expiation of sins have been practiced and at that moment, when the mantle falls, the celebration, the joy, begins.

At the end of the mass, the parranda del Judas (which is the name given to those who have made the doll) is heard in the streets and they walk it through the town during that night and until midday of the resurrection, which is when the burning takes place. This parranda, which will accompany him with popular songs to the sound of music, is responsible for executing the Judas and as heroes are treated by the people, invited to eat and drink during the festival.

After midday on Easter Sunday, after mass, the Judas is burned in a remote place where the surface is cleaned and security measures are taken, because in addition to the flames produced by its burning, inside it may contain some firecrackers and other pyrotechnic elements. It is the members of the parranda and those who have elaborated it, who are in charge of setting it on fire.

10With this ceremony, a liberation takes place. With the attack on evil, the Judas, the inhabitants of Taganana make a purge and show that they have done justice and that good has won against evil. With the end of the Judas, burned as a traitor, comes the end of the annual commemoration and it is when wine is toasted and sweets are tasted. One must wait a year to see again this particular representation, which is a living testimony of this religious tradition.