Semana Santa

So, the week we get back from spring break is Semana Santa. Which is a really big deal in the Mexican culture. It's the week before Easter and everyday is a holiday! We came back to our town decked OUT. They are serious when it comes to celebrations. Especially one connected to their religion that is so deeply intigrated into their culture. Our Zocalo was even more crowded than usual. Apparently, Semana Santa is the Meixcan spring break, so they all either go to the beach, or come to Oaxaca. Oaxaca is known for its more indigenous population, and because of this they celebrate more 'authentically'. This really draws a large crowd or tourists, mostly Mexicans from other states. The main walking street to the Zocalo was lined with vendors who were here because of the tourism. People were selling everything from jewelery and shoes to popsicles and Jesus paintings. We had a lot of fun with all the new excitement around our city. [Lucky for us, the Zocalo is just a 30min walk away] The most memorable event that we attended during Semana Santa was a theatrical reinaction of Christ's crucifixtion. We traveled to a small pueblo near Oaxaca to watch this. It happens every good Friday all over Mexico. The men who are picked to play Jesus prepare themselves for a year. They live as Jesus would, meditate often and read the Bible. Though they go through an excruciating amount of pain, it is a great honor to play this role for their community (and they are not paid). When we arrive, the reinactment had already started. I thought I had mentally prepared myself to watch it, but the intial shock still got me. There were boys who played the Roman soldiers whipping "Jesus" forcefully. Thier whips were thankfully only made of leather, but none of them were holding back. I couldn't imagine playing such a role. When they were done with this they took him back to set him up with his cross. "Jesus" carried this through a sectioned off path. The crowd was imense! So, they had to section off parts just for the procession to walk through. "Jesus" and the "ladrones" treaded throughout the town, while people followed to watch them be whipped. Oddly enough, this was paired with a happy-go-lucky market with food and vendors everywhere. Our group chose to explore this while "Jesus" and the "ladrones" walked the streets of town before they were crucified. They were whipped as they walked for over an hour. People began to congregate to the gates that sectioned off the place with the crosses. We made sure to get there early to get a good spot. The crowd eventually packed in around us. Standing in the beating sun, there was no regard for personal space. I had a woman carrying a child pressed up against my back, an embracing couple pressed agaisnt my left arm, a teenage girl on my right, the gate at my front and someone's child had managed to squeeze through and press against my legs. I had other peoples hot sweaty bodies right against my own. This only intensified the throbbing heat. Everyone had to see. "Jesus" and the "ladrones" eventually made their way and their backs were swollen with red thrashes. It took quite a long time to get them up on the crosses. There were many actors, helpers and photographers crowding the space. They thankfully were not actually nailed to the cross (some pueblos still do this). Here they used leather straps instead. They were hooked up with microphones and the reinactment commenced. It proceeded slowly and it was hard to pay attention in the heat. It was obvious that the actors who played "Jesus" and the "ladrones" were struggling with their lines as their beat bodies hung from the crosses in the sun. After the reinactment was done, the crowd dispersed and the actors were let down. That night there was another procession in our city. Along the main walking road, a procession of church altars and banners were carried by people wearing purple and black hoods. It was very solemn. It was mourning the death of christ, and all the people wearing hoods represented sinners. Everyone was silent as this procession troded through the streets. This experience was definately eye opening. This culture put a lot of emphasis on the death of Christ, rather than the resurrection (like I feel we do in the U.S.). It revealed to me how their culture really is a reflection of how they view Christ and religion.