costaleros - hermandad de los servitas - semana santa en sevilla

Those guys are costaleros.­ Costaleros are those who carry the "pasos" in the processions The "pasos" are large and heavy floats with the life-size statues of the Christ, the Virgin Mary and other biblical characters.­

Costaleros go under the paso and carry its weight on the back of their neck, which is why they wear that particular headdress (called "costal").­ Each Costalero carries between 50 Kg and 70 Kg (about 100 lb) and they frequently switch teams.­ Each paso (float) weights 1 Ton or more, so they need about 20 to 40 Costaleros to carry it.­

For more information about the Costaleros, read: es.­wikipedia.­org/­wiki/­Costalero and es.­wikipedia.­org/­wiki/­Costal

Traditional processions during the Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Sevilla, Spain