History
It was founded in 1513 under the name of Confraternidad del Rosario [1], the year in which it was established as a Brotherhood of Glory; it has its headquarters in the Parish Church of Santa Catalina. At that time one of its main activities was based on the singing of the Santo Rosario in the streets of the city.
Years later, in 1581, there was a dispute between two brotherhoods, one made up of blacks and the other of whites, both of whom claimed to be under the patronage of the Rosary. The dispute ended with the whites taking ownership of the church of Santa Catalina. Subsequently, the brotherhood was recorded in the archives of the visitors of Santiago and there is documentary evidence of its presence, but the looting of 1710 by the Portuguese and the English probably had an influence on the lack of existing documentation from this period.
It was in 1749 that the gilding of the altarpiece of the Altar of the Rosary was completed, and in 1796 the Camarín was erected. In 1805 it underwent a major restoration following the institution of the Venerable Third Order of Saint Dominic and the approval of its statutes by Pope Pius VII and King Charles IV. However, the War of Independence, the expropriation of Mendizábal and the secularism of the 19th century marked a new period of darkness, until in 1861 it was restored and new statutes were drawn up.
Later, and with the unique purpose of differentiating the brotherhood from the already existing Brotherhood of Nuestra Señora del Rosario [2], the title of Santo Domingo de Guzmán was added. It was during this period when the procession began to take place on the afternoon of Palm Sunday with the incorporation of the Paso de la Borriquita accompanying the Virgen del Rosario. From 1891 onwards, the Brotherhood was also responsible for organizing the Easter Sunday procession.
In 1923 a new awakening began with the restoration of the paso de misterio and, after the parenthesis of the Second Republic and the Civil War; it entered as a progressive state of splendor and aggrandizement that continues to the present day.
Another of the attractions of this procession is ‘Banda de Ntra. Señora del Rosario’, the brotherhood’s band of cornets and drums that accompanies its processions. Thanks to the excellent work of its leaders and the enthusiasm of all its members to improve, this band has recently experienced promotion worthy of admiration that places it among the most outstanding in the region.
On Palm Sunday, the Nazarenes accompanying the Paso del Cristo wear a beige sackcloth and cloak, with a black capirote[3]. Meanwhile, for the paso del palio, both the skirt and the cape are white. Both will show on the left side the coat of arms of the brotherhood formed in a sable and silver field, with a cross with the shape of a flower. As an exterior ornament, a rosary forming a closed crown, a banner and a candle with a cross; at the bell, a royal crown.
Titles
Jesus in his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem (La Borriquita)
It is placed on polychrome wooden platforms in gold carved by José García Roldán and gilded by Herrera y Feria in 1942. It belongs to the Hermandad de la Estrella in Seville, the group of ‘Jesus in his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem’ known as the Borriquita was completely renovated by replacing its old carvings from 1875 with new ones from the gouge of Israel Cornejo Sánchez, a Vélez-Málaga sculptor, who knew how to give them a life of their own.
The mystery is accompanied by St. John, St. Peter, St. James, a Hebrew woman with two boys and a girl and by Zacchaeus on the palm tree, constituting the largest and heaviest paso of the Holy Week in Jerez, with about 40 costaleros[4].
Nuestra Señora del Rosario
Of unknown author, it was restored in 1955 by the Sevillian sculptor Sebastián Santos Rojas. The silver-plated paso de palio, the work of the masters Manuel de los Ríos and Antonio Santos, with embroidered scenery and ceiling made in the workshops of Benjamín Pérez, is carried by 36 costaleros. It is characterized by silver rosaries between the poles. Another significant symbolism that defines this float is that it is carried in procession with a canopy on Palm Sunday and without it on Easter Sunday.
Jesús Resucitado
It was carved in 1984 by the Ortega Bru brothers, this float is carried in procession every Easter Sunday along with San Pedro, San Juan, María Magdalena and the Virgen del Rosario. It was polychromed in 2017 by Rafael Martín Hernández, and the paso currently has 28 costaleros.
Events and celebrations.
Although in more than 500 years the brotherhood has suffered some periods of inactivity, every Palm Sunday morning the church is filled with brothers and sisters to attend the traditional ceremony of the blessing of the palms carried by the Nazarenes in the procession. In the meantime, the decorated floats wait patiently for the afternoon to arrive and for the appearance of the sunlight as the doors of the church open.
We cannot forget one of the biggest attractions that accompanies this brotherhood on Palm Sunday afternoon, the Legion parade. Since 1981 a representation of the Spanish Legion has participated in the processional route, giving it strength and impressiveness, as well as singularity. In the last few years it has been the band of ‘Cornetas y Tambores’[5] (cornets and drums), ‘Escuadra de Gastadores’, ‘Guiones’ and the ‘Piquete de Fusileros’ from the Headquarters of the Legion Brigade in Viator (Almeria). Before the procession they usually go to the Fuente Caballos to perform an exhibition for the young and the old.
As a final touch, this brotherhood is also in charge of organizing the Easter Sunday procession where the ceremony of the Holy Encounter between the Virgen del Rosario and Cristo Resucitado, a work of José Augusto Ortega Bru, takes place at 12.00 at the well-known Fuente de los Santos. For this act the participation of other «minor» images, San Juan, San Pedro y María Magdalena which are carried by children, is required.
For more than 30 years, this moment has culminated as one of the most colourful events. Thanks to the release of doves and hundreds of balloons, forming an authentic artificial rainbow in the Jerez sky that shows all the brotherhoods the way towards the Holy Week of the next year.
Brotherhood House.
Next to the tower of the Church of San Miguel Arcángel, as part of the building that housed the Casa de la Iglesia, the Brotherhood House of the Cofradía de Santo Domingo de Guzmán y Ntra. Sra. del Rosario was built in 1770 by D. Manuel Antonio de Figueroa y Fernández de Campanón. This house is owned by the Archbishopric of Mérida-Badajoz, and was ceded to the Brotherhood in 2000.
[1] Confraternity of the Rosary
[2] Our Lady of the Rosary
[3] Catholic conical hood
[4] Men who carry the weight of the procesional float
[5] Cornets and drums
