This article originally appeared on VICE España
It's that time of year again, when Spaniards flock to cities like Málaga, Córdoba, or Seville to enjoy their legendary Easter processions. Some people do it barefoot, others wearing "capirotes" (pointed hats) as a gesture of humility.
All told, thousands of Nazarene Christians watch people holding holy pictures, flowers, and crosiers pass them by in the procession, to the pace of beating drums. But the people I admire most are those who watch the holy spectacle from balconies turned into makeshift theater-like boxes. These are the clever ones: they can enjoy the best views and the best company. But some even know better than that.
Of course, I am talking about the owners of those balconies, who make the most of Easter goodwill to earn some good hard cash by renting their small spot of land in the sky. Seville, for example, is known to be the city housing some of Spain's poorest neighborhoods, although it probably also has the highest rent price per square meter over Easter. Fun fact: enjoying the best views of the processions can be as expensive as renting a whole apartment for two months.
That being said, Valencian architects Fran and José have decided to digitize the whole balcony-rental process, becoming Spain's first specialty balcony rent agents, a business they've been running for five years.
They came up with the idea during Italy's popular El Palio festival in Siena. "There were a lot of people, but the most privileged ones were those who saw everything from a balcony. We wondered how one could rent a balcony, and found no information about it on the internet. It was then that we decided we could launch a website to offer balcony rentals for special festivals and holidays, especially with the Fallas in mind for a few hours."
After talking to them, it was time to take a look at the most expensive balconies and see what exactly they had to offer, for people to be willing to pay so much.
First floor on Sierpes Street, Seville. A narrow strip of space. Price: £1,420 . RENTED OUT. Capacity for 12 people. Conditions: Occupants must be there one hour ahead of the first procession and leave the balcony 30 minutes after the last one.
I am fascinated by the idea of being able to filter the types of balconies by wifi availability or whether you can smoke, or bring pets.
Let's check another one: Granada Street, in Málaga. Balcony with a "food experience" included, on the first floor of a building strategically located at the very heart of the procession route. The price for renting it on the Thursday before Good Friday? About £160 per person. According to the internet ad, if you stretch out your arm from that balcony, you can even touch one of the holy figure's thrones.
There's another lower-class, although not necessarily cheaper, balcony in the same building. Both the second and the third floor cost about £950 in one night.
We find another gem in the city center. The ad says the balcony's equipped with heating. In the photo there's a woman looking down at the crowd under her feet. The image quality is so bad that we'll spare you having to look at it.
I wonder what the people who'd spend a fortune renting a balcony for such a brief moment would look like. Of course, everyone spends their money the way they please, but this feels particularly odd. Curiosity led me to dial one of the advertised numbers.
On the other side of the line I spoke to José Antonio, who hadn't managed to rent out his balcony yet, when the celebration was just two days away. He typically lets the balcony for a whole week of Catholic joy for about £5,530 . I asked him how big his balcony is and he replied that that's not the way it works: a balcony's importance is measured by its location. His is at the very heart of Seville and measures about 10 square meters. This is the first time he has decided to rent it out. His parents died, so now he's in the apartment on his own, but he said he's only letting it out for certain fairs and at Easter.
He made the decision following his neighbors' advice. According to José Antonio, tourists and families that come to Seville from all over Spain normally rent balconies to watch the processions. I hung up, daydreaming about what I would do if I suddenly found myself £5,500 richer, as if by a miracle. Which would be quite appropriate, given the time.
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