In modern musicological literature the saeta is considered to belong to the domain of cante flamenco. It is a kind of song that is performed in several cities and villages of Andalusia, the most southern province of Spain. The lyrics, a stanza generally made up of five lines, deal with the suffering of Christ or the grief of his mother Mary. The music of the saeta is a rhythmically free flamenco song containing many melismas and ornaments. It is performed without the accompaniment of instruments (a palo seco; literally, “with a dry stick”). The performance of saeta takes place in the religious processions that are held in town during Holy Week, before Easter, and are organized by the local religious brotherhoods, the cofradías. During these processions through the streets of the cities, huge images of Christ and the Virgin Mary, called pasos, are carried. When at specific times such a procession comes to a halt, a singer, who is generally hired for the occasion by one of the local brotherhoods, may take the opportunity to direct him or herself to the image and perform a saeta. The performance gives listeners the impression of a spontaneous and improvised outburst of a musically gifted worshipper, who expresses his grief and feelings of sorrow aroused by the image.