La Santa Compaña and O Apõstolo

I happen to live in the Netherlands. It happens to be a month where the animation movie O Apõstolo enters cinema's and theaters overhere.
So, this entry is about the Santa Compaña, the Holy Company. The pilgrimage of the dead.

(Source Wikimedia Lameiro)

This is the Santa Compaña, a procession of dead or lost souls wandering around the paths of a parish.
It's mission: to visit people who are going to die soon and claim their souls.
Santa Compaña is a mythical belief in parts of Spain, mainly in Galicia and Asturia. A living person leads the procession and it is often seen at crossroads.
Pilgrims, remember the howling dogs along the way? They herald the coming!

More info in the weblog My Galician garden.
More on Youtube in The Holy Company by Rafael Veiga Cid. (text like My Galician Garden!)
Also in the Youtube video Spooky camino of CaminoWays.com
Spanish spoken MISTERIO TV: La Santa Compaña

Now, towards O Apõstolo.

(Source: Artifilm)

This Spanish animation (stopmotion, 2012) is directed by Fernando Cortizo. The production took seven years, music composed by Philip Glass.

Ramón escapes prison and is heading for a small mountain village to find a buried treasure. he follows the Camino de Santiago and disguises himself as a pilgrim. The village is populated by just a few older people.
During the night he finds out there is a curse on the village: the Santa Compaña. 
The elderly are looking for new people to lead the procession of the ghosts, ghosts in eternal pain. Pilgrims passing by are a defenseless victims.
Together with the archbishop of Santiago de Compostela Ramón discovers the secret of Santa Compaña. Will they escape alive? 
(my translation of dutch synopsis)

Original trailer (Latin, Spanish):

Dutch subtitled trailer:

Official site here
Dutch site here
IMDB info here


See also: Elisardo Becoña Iglesias, La Santa Compaña, El Urco y Los Muertos