Paixão de Cristo is the reenactment of the Passion of Christ that takes place every Easter Week (Semana Santa, or Holy Week) in Nova Jerusalém, an open air theater-town in Fazenda Nova, a district of Brejo da Madre de Deus, in Pernambuco. The rock walls of Nova Jerusalém (New Jerusalem) enclose an area of about 38 square miles and 9 sets . As of Easter 2008, Nova Jerusalém is considered the largest open air theater in the world.
There is a total of 8 performances a year, every evening starting the Saturday before Easter, featuring about 50 actors and 500 extras. An average 8,000 spectators attend each performance. They stand or sit on the slopes and follow the cast along the various sets. The play covers the main events preceding Christ's death and resurrection and closes with the Ascension into Heaven.
Over the years, production of the Passion Play has displayed increasingly sophisticated pyrotechnics, special effects, lighting and sound systems. In the late 1990s, Rede Globo, the largest TV network in Brazil, became involved in the production and marketing of the event, and as part of the deal, actors and actresses from the network ranks, famous countrywide especilly due to their participation in soap operas (novelas), have been cast for the play's main roles.
The tradition started in 1951, when Epaminondas Mendonça, a resident of Fazenda Nova, read about the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany. He decided to create a similar event in his hometown, at first with the participation of his family members and friends. Scenes were initially performed in the village streets, and unlike the Passion Play in Oberammergau, which happens every 10 years, the budding event in Fazenda Nova became a yearly affair.
In 1956, Plínio Pacheco, the man who would catapult the Passion Play into a mega event, arrived in Fazenda Nova. He met and married Mendonça's daughter and as he became more involved in the production of the play, he dreamed up a replica of Jerusalem set in the Fazenda Nova area - a semi-arid, rock-strewn landscape enclosed by hills and reminiscent of Judea.
Performances were suspended during construction of Nova Jerusalém, which started in 1963. The new open air theater fist hosted the Passion Play in 1967. Plínio Pacheco also wrote Jesus, the text which, though edited, is still used for the Passion Play.
Planned to accommodate the cast and crew of the Passion Play, Pousada da Paixão (see link on Passion Play site) is an inn with 32 air-conditioned apartments that has been opened to the general public. Construction and decor follow the biblical theme: cars can be parked in the Lions' Arena and you can go for a stroll in the Gardens of Babylon. Prices range from about $700 for a double room to $1300 for a room for five (all meals included).
A special package brings guests into the Passion Play as extras. They attend a performance with a guide and the following morning, they are coached for that evening's performance.
Brejo da Madre de Deus is located 180 kilometers (about 111 miles) from Recife, the capital of Pernambuco. Many Brazilians who attend the Passion Play prefer to stay in Caruaru (pop. about 280,000), only 51 km (about 31 miles) away, where you can visit the permanent fair, the largest in northeast Brazil, and shop for folk crafts in the Alto do Moura district. Here's a list of Caruaru hotels.
On the official Paixão de Cristo site, click on Nova Jerusalém and then on Como Chegar for an overview of roads.
Tickets to Paixão de Cristo in Nova Jerusalém can be purchased online. Prices range between 30 and 40 reais ($17-$23).
One of the theater-city's 13 turnstiles is reserved for travelers who purchase tickets online. They must present a payment confirmation that is exchanged for a ticket.
