The Procession of Silence - Procesión del Silencio

 Just before sunset, on Good Friday, the 26th Annual Procesión del Silencio, made its way through the streets of Oaxaca.  It is a solemn and beautiful affair, one in which the statues from some of Oaxaca's churches are carried by parishioners over the cobblestoned streets in a large circle.  It begins at the  Templo Sangre de Cristo, goes up Macedonio Alcalá, cut over Xólotl, comes down García Vigil to  Independencia, and then back up Macedonio Alcalá to end where it started at Templo Sangre de Cristo.

 We arrived in late afternoon to watch the various groups assemble.

The crowds were large.   The figures that are carried out of the churches are beautiful and of museum quality.

They are securely placed on platforms often decorated with flowers.

Then led by flute and drum, the procession begins.

They are heavy, a burden willingly carried, often by barefoot supplicants.

One of the most dramatic groups are these hooded men who carry very heavy crosses the entire procession route.

I heard their rasping breathes as they passed by.

It is not just a one day affair.  They carry Christ all year long.

This beautiful woman has been one of the Brides of Christ the last six years.

Really, it is impossible to capture the beauty and ethereal quality of the event.  It a combination of the people, the icons and the silence that makes the whole thing otherworldly.  I will let the images speak for themselves.

More pictures to come.  And video in a couple of days.

Big Crowds for Semana Santa

Semana Santa is such a special time in Oaxaca and people from all over Mexico flock here to participate in the celebrations. 

Indeed, people from all over the world are here with lots of large groups from France and Germany in particular. 

Tourism is the mother's milk of this place and was up 10 percent from last year.  So where were you??? 

Much more on the Procesion de Silencio later today.  Please check back as there are too many photos for a single post, but here's a taste of things to come.

Lead in to the Procession of Silence

Last evening the Procesion de Silencio wound its way through the streets of Oaxaca.  Much more to come on that but for now..... 

We got there early to watch the set up and the gathering of the various participants.  The police always lead the way and their bikes were polished to a mighty fine shine.

If you look closely you can see one of the fun shots of the day.  That is Santo Domingo in the background.  ¡Viva Oaxaca!

They really liked the shot.

Ice Cream, Mezcal and Vinegar

OK, it is hot.  The sun is beating down.  What would be good now?  How about some ice cream?  Or Mezcal?  Or maybe even a taste of an unusual and rare fruit vinegar?  Well, today was the first day of the the first ever feria, fair, “La Feria de la nieve, del mezcal y el vinagre” in Tlacolula de Matamoros and what a treat it was.  Tlacolula is such a special place any time, the market a must visit, but today was off the charts good.

The streets near the church were lined with local vendors of these taste treats.  One could walk from stall to stall, sample and if something struck your fancy, you could buy it on the spot.  I just wanted to dive in.

Look at all these flavors!  I think we sampled most of them.

The vinegars were so flavorful you could drink them by the glassful, but instead they gave you a cup of the fruit to munch on.  I had mango with a little chili on top.  ¡Muy rico!

Here is Arecely handing me my cup of freeze-the-back-of-my-throat nieve de mezcal.  So good!

These folks were selling Agave syrup that was so sweet and natural it was the first thing we purchased.  You could buy a large bottle for less than $7 US.  Think about that the next time you are looking at those tiny bottles in Whole Foods.   And totally organic!

Of course, we took a side trip to the market to get barbacoa de chivo (goat) and to see the new statue that graces the center of the market.

And yes, we bought some special mezcals, although sampling numerous kinds on a hot day was risky, so we mostly stuck to the nieves.

Lunes Santos in Teotitlan del Valle

We were lucky to stop by Teotitlan del Valle on Holy Monday and once again, were captivated and charmed by another of the many traditions in this magical village.

Starting early in the morning, led by the priest and a band, the villagers carry the statues of Mary and Jesus from the church in a long procession, a pilgrimage, through the streets of the village.

At various points they stop and place the figures in stalls adorned with one family's rugs.

At each stop there were blessings, prayers and more adornment of the statues.

At at each stop, people came forward and kissed the robes of both statues.

Then the family whose stall it was, brought out food and drink enough to feed everyone.  I mean, for everyone and there were hundreds there.  This continued throughout the day.  I think there were fifteen stops and even though we were only there for four or five stops, we left completely stuffed with special tamales and various waters and drinks.  I can't imagine how full one would be at the end of the day, but several people joked about it.

However, it was mostly a solemn and respectful affair coupled with a sense of joy and renewal.

Many kids were dressed all in white, little angels complete with wings, representing innocence.  Other boys were dressed as Roman soldiers.

This little guy, who was masked beneath his helmet, rode a beautifully adorned horse with bells on its feet and carried a sign that read, "Crucify the false prophet, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.  Crucify him!"

Semana Santa continues with more to come.

Señor del Burrito - San Antonino

San Antonino is a village just outside Ocotlan, about 30 minutes south of Oaxaca.  For more reasons than I can go into now, it is one of my favorite places in the world.  Besides growing some of the most beautiful flowers in the area, it is known as San Antonino del Flores, it also has one of the most spectacular celebrations for Day of the Dead at the pantheon. 

On Palm Sunday the village has the most wonderful tradition in which they bring the best of the best fruits and vegetables to the pantheon to decorate a statue of Jesus riding on a burro, which they then carry through the street to the church.  Words fail.  Pictures fail.  You had to be there to feel the joy and magical energy.  This is what community spirit feels like only times ten.

We arrived early enough to watch them receive the various offerings brought by the villages which included cabbages as big as basketballs, boxes of mangos, goats, chickens, pigs, beets as big and beautiful as it possible to grow, corn, fruits too many to list, all of which would be sold after Mass to raise money for the church. 

Look at all this stuff and yes, it is all for sale at really good prices.

It was crazy, intense, uplifting, joyous, inspirational.

After a couple of hours of carefully assembling a massive pile of good stuff around Jesus,

front and back

finally draping strings of corn and bread, about twenty five men strain to lift El Señor del Burrito

and led by the priest and altar boys and girls,

roses are strewn and everyone picks up something

and carries it about a kilometer to the church.

I fully intended to buy numerous delicious looking foods, but the sale was not a mosh pit, but close and one definitely needed an attitude to even get near the place and exact change for sure. So we came away empty handed, but there was tons of good stuff to buy at the surrounding market stalls and delicious food to eat, which we of course we did. 

Be sure to check out sister blogger spixl's post.