Cartel de la Semana Santa de La Laguna 2025 por Davide Battaglia

The announcement poster for the 2025 Holy Week in La Laguna was officially presented this Wednesday, March 5, during an event held at the Cathedral. It is a piece of work by the Italian artist based in Tenerife, Davide Battaglia, created from an oil and acrylic painting on canvas titled ‘Sixth Hour’. The event also served to unveil details of this year’s program, which once again is the result of the work of the Board of Brotherhoods and Confraternities (JHC) in collaboration with the City Council of La Laguna.

At the presentation event, which coincided, as usual, with Ash Wednesday, the Mayor of La Laguna, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez; the President of the Board of Brotherhoods and Confraternities, Juan Antonio Pérez; the Dean of the Cathedral, Juan Pedro Rivero; and the author of this edition’s poster, Davide Battaglia, were present. Also in attendance were numerous members of the Corporation, members of the Canarian Parliament, and representatives of civil and military entities.

“The Holy Week in La Laguna is a living history of this city,” began the Mayor, emphasizing that “this massive event of faith, with 500 years of history, transcends the insular scope; that is why we work with the Bishopric, brotherhoods, and confraternities, through a monitoring committee, to have it recognized as a Cultural Heritage Site.”

The Mayor expressed gratitude for the work carried out by brotherhoods, confraternities, music bands, civil and religious entities, and “all those individuals who contribute to enhancing this celebration. From the various areas of the City Council, we continue working for our Holy Week to endure over time, and for the people of La Laguna to continue identifying with it and feeling proud,” he assured.

Juan Antonio Pérez from the Board of Brotherhoods and Confraternities described the Holy Week in La Laguna as “one of the most important in our islands due to its devotion, magnitude, beauty, history, artistic expression, and as a reference to the passion of a city that gathers annually to pay the spiritual tribute that our patrons and our faith deserve.”

The President of the JHC revealed some of the main events that will take place during the Lenten season that has just begun, including the proclamation of the Holy Week, which will be held on Thursday, April 3, at the Cathedral, delivered by journalist Roberto González. From April 1 to 23, the exhibition ‘Hours and Eternity’ by David Battaglia will be open for visitation at the Convent of Santo Domingo.

Other highlighted events by Juan Antonio Pérez will include a colloquium on organ donation and transplantation titled ‘Continuing together giving life’ on Thursday, March 13; a concert ‘Sounds of passion and faith’ on Saturday, March 22; a liturgical celebration of ‘Vía Matris’ on March 28, followed by a children’s ‘Vía Crucis’ on March 29, both at the Cathedral. Additionally, on April 12, the second solidarity race ‘The Brotherhoods for ALS’ will be held, organized by the JHC with the collaboration of the Autonomous Sports Organization of La Laguna.

During the event, Davide Battaglia explained the nature of his work, which can also be read in the program edited by the JHC. “I wanted to provide a representation of the crucifixion that was both personal and respectful of Christian iconography. The composition is based on an ‘X’ shape. The characters unfold from the top left to the bottom right,” he explained.

According to the author’s explanation, “St. John is the ‘narrator’ because he was the only one of the Apostles who stood by the Virgin Mary during the crucifixion; he looks directly at us and invites us to observe the scene. In the center is the ratchet from the old Convent of Santo Domingo, which represents Jesus Christ. The ratchet, that peculiar element of La Laguna and unfortunately little known, with its deep sound replaces the bells at the moment of death. At the bottom, the Virgin bears the weight of the composition with sorrow. On the other diagonal, from the top right to the bottom left, the setting, the scene unfolds. Above all is God, the lightning. If we follow the lightning to its fall on the earth, we come across the tower of the conception of La Laguna, a symbol of the birth of Jesus Christ.”

“It is not meant to be a pessimistic painting, but an invitation to reflect and feel involved. The respect for iconography that enhances each stroke, as well as the richness of details, represent hope for me because if tradition has survived to this day, it means that values can also survive,” the artist affirmed.

Finally, Juan Pedro Rivero highlighted the quality of the announcement poster and mentioned that this year’s Holy Week will have the theme ‘Anchored in hope’.

Davide Battaglia

Born in Genoa in 1982, Davide Battaglia studied at the Artistic Lyceum and graduated in 2006 from the Ligurian Academy of Fine Arts in his hometown. His work has been exhibited in cities such as Genoa, Milan, Rome, Venice, Paris, Hamburg, Barcelona, and Lisbon. Among his productions, a gallery of 32 oil portraits sponsored by the football club U.C. Sampdoria, called ‘SampGallery,’ stands out. Additionally, he regularly collaborates with the editorial world as an illustrator and in film productions as a scene painter, art director, and storyboard artist. Since 2016, he has resided in Tenerife, where he carries out his work as an artist and art teacher at his studio ‘EB-Estudio Battaglia’.

During his time on the island, he has undertaken numerous artistic commissions, including the work depicting the Virgin of the O, renamed the Virgin of the Pandemic in Buen Paso (Icod de los Vinos), or the large-format historical painting about the arrival of the Balmis Expedition to Tenerife, which is part of the artistic heritage of the Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country of Tenerife. Currently, he is a member of the Albazul Collective, where many of the most recognized contemporary artists in Tenerife converge.