A public display of penance and self-flagellation is the central idea behind the "Jesús del Gran Poder¨ procession which takes place every year, during holy week, in Quito, Ecuador. Whilst wearing purple robes and massive headgear devote Catholics march the city´s colonial center. Some of them perform the march barefoot, others carry a wooden cross or a spike crown on their heads, and part of them whip themselves all along the procession.