TRADITIONAL PARDON GRANTED TO ARGENTINEAN

In a tradition dating back to the 1700s, the El Rico brotherhood in Málaga grants a pardon to a prisoner being held in the city's jail just before Semana Santa every year. This year, the lucky man is a 40-year-old computer technician from Argentina who has already served two years of a six year sentence for drug trafficking. According to the story, in 1765 there was an outbreak of cholera which killed many citizens and that year, because of fear of infection, during Holy Week no men were willing to carry the statue for the El Rico brotherhood. When they heard this, the prisoners in the county jail escaped in order to carry their Christ. All of them returned to jail voluntarily after the procession and the epidemic subsided. For this reason, the King Carlos III ordered that a prisoner should be granted a pardon in order to lead the El Rico procession on the Wednesday of Holy Week, wearing a black mask. Identified only as F.D.T. and wearing the black mask, the Argentinean told a press conference last Friday he was overcome by the pardon and looked forward to telling his family all about it. It's the second time that the El Rico Brotherhood has released a foreigner. Last Friday's cabinet meeting in Madrid approved the pardon along with 14 others who are granted pardons in line with the traditions of other brotherhoods across the country.