One of the most astonishing traditions during 'Semana Santa' in Spain

I can only imagine the pain one can suffer being an 'empalao' during the Via Crucis in Jerez de los Caballeros (Badajoz). An 'empalao' is a person who carries approximately  a 60 kg (about a 130 pounds) wooden post plus 60 m of a thick rope (covering the upper body and binding the arms to the wood to support the weight and ankle chains on their feet. 12 people carry that weight for 2 hours through the town barefoot in a complete and respectful silence where the only noise is the clanking of the ankle chains against the ground. Faith and a promise are the motivation that keeps them coming back year after year.