|
|
|
Hello From Taxco And Cuernavaca An Interview With A Penitente And My Final Day In Mexico
esterday I had spent my stamina to get up in the middle
day in Taxco for the famous of the night to watch what was
happenings of Semana Santa. going to be a rather eerie
I watched two religious performance involving pain and
processions: at noon time there suffering.
was the Las Tres Caídas
procession and at 5 pm I watched This morning I got up and sat a
El Santo Entierro (The Holy bit on my hotel's balcony and
Burial). just enjoyed the beautiful view
of Taxco, this old mining city
These processions in Taxco are that is patched up against the
famous for the penitentes - hillside. I enjoyed my breakfast
repenting sinners - who walk buffet in the restaurant at the
through town in black robes with Posada de la Mision, looking
their heads covered with black right at Taxco's panorama, and
hoods. The mostly female animas started strolling into town.
are shackled with chains at the
feet, carrying candles and have The town was alive again.
to walk in a bent over position Yesterday, on Good Friday, the
for a good portion of the town had this really somber
procession which lasts for hours. atmosphere, all the stores were
Men either carry heavy bundles of closed, there was no music,
thorny blackberry bush stalks traffic was shut down, hardly
(encrucijados) or they carry anybody spoke. Today, the town
heavy crosses and flagellate was back to normal. Stores were
themselves until their entire open for business, people were
back is bloody (flagelantes). out in full force, children were
Last night there was one more laughing and the VW Kombi busses
procession at midnight, but I and beetle taxis were back to
simply didn't have the emotional transporting locals to and from
their errands. The city was alive
again... With my shopping spree completed,
I headed back to the Posada and
After downloading my photos at a met Fabiola again who had shown
local Internet café I strolled me around town last week when I
through the markets to pick up a first visited Taxco. She asked me
couple of presents for my two how I enjoyed the processions and
local friends - Marta Elena and I told her that I found them
Roxana who had been so kind to me extremely interesting but rather
during the last couple of weeks eerie. She commented that for a
and we had developed a real local person from Taxco these
closeness. processions are just a normal
part of their lives, they grow up
Taxco is a great place for with them and the locals are not
shopping. Being a silver city it affected by them emotionally as I
is of course most well known for was yesterday.
its handcrafted silver jewellery
that can be bought in what seems She said that she knows someone
like hundreds of retail stores or who actually participates in the
street market stalls. But procession every year and she was
jewellery is always a question of wondering if I would want to
personal taste, so instead I interview this person to get a
decided to pick up two beautiful better understanding of this
very large painted ceramic plates unique Tasqueñan ritual. Of
with a design of the Aztec course I said yes, so she made a
calendar which I thought would be phone call and said I would be
a beautiful addition in a living able to meet this person at the
room or even on an outside wall hotel at about 1 pm. I was really
in one of Cuernavaca's beautiful excited about her suggestion,
tropical gardens. because this would allow me to
find out more about this unusual (brotherhoods) do not use their
tradition. real names since they have to
preserve anonymity.
With a couple more hours to spare
I went into downtown Taxco again So Lauro started educating me
and took one of the VW Kombi about the ritual of the
buses up to the top of the penitentes in Taxco. He mentioned
mountain to enjoy the wonderful that you can enter one of the
panoramic vista over this hermandades at age 18, and
beautiful city one last time. I reaching full membership takes a
hadn't counted on traffic though, multitude of steps. Of course you
which was really bad, especially have to be Roman-Catholic, pay an
since Saturday is market day. The initiation fee and perform
city was just hustling and various community duties and
bustling with merchants, shoppers fulfill particular educational
and general onlookers. obligations, including bible
study. You must also agree to
What had taken me 15 minutes in a adhere to a certain honourable
VW Kombi bus last week took me 45 code of conduct.
minutes today with the enormous
traffic jam that had unfolded all Lauro went on to explain the
throughout the city of Taxco. I different types of penitentes
got back to the Posada 15 minutes that appear during Taxco's Semana
late and my interview partner, Santa processions. He mentioned
"Lauro Castillo" was already that animas can be male or
waiting for me. He told me that female, while encrucijados and
this was not his real name, and flagelantes are exclusively male.
that the participants in the Lauro has participated in the
processions, which are all part processions over the last 20
of Roman-Catholic "hermandades" years and has covered all 3
versions of penitentes. He said I asked him what people do after
that when he participated for the they participate as flagellants,
first time as an encrucijado, and he said they clean the wounds
when his helpers lowered the very carefully and sleep on their
heavy roll of thorny blackberry stomach for several days. He also
stalks on his back and it touched explained that the animas, the
his skin, a sharp pain radiated men and women who walk the
throughout his entire body, but procession in shackles, have to
his body actually became numb to walk bent over most of the way.
the pain after a while. The thorn When they finally stand up
bundle itself weighs between 50 straight again, the spine
and 70 kg, so it is indeed actually makes cracking sounds
extremely heavy. since it has gotten used to that
bent-over position. Afterwards
As our conversation continued, the animas have to get massages
Lauro also told me about his to placate their back muscles to
first time participating as a get back to normal again.
flagelante. He said that the
first time he participated, He explained that not all the
flagellating himself every time participants of the procession
the procession stopped, he felt actually finish it, they may
nothing, no pain whatsoever. He actually disappear in one of the
figures it was the adrenaline and churches along the route and be
nervousness that prevented him replaced by another penitent who
from feeling any painful continues to carry the thorn
sensations. Every year since bundle or the heavy cross. And
then, however, he says that every since everybody is wearing hoods
strike of the nail-studded whip and there are hundreds of
actually hurts. participants, the audience never
actually knows that a participant
has been replaced. He said that some people
participate because they might
Lauro continued that there are have a sick family member and
about 12 brotherhoods in Taxco they consider their role as
and that there are several penitent an offering to god.
hundred members. According to Others might have committed acts
him, membership in these that they regret and they are
hermandades and participation in literally trying to repent for
the processions is actually their bad deeds. Lauro also
growing. During Easter Week there explained that the traditions of
are numerous processions, some as pain, physical suffering and
short as one hour, and some religious offerings pre-date the
lasting up to five or six hours. Spanish era all the way back to
Participating as a penitent in the ancient Indian tribes of
Taxco's Easter processions is Mexico who also practiced human
considered a great honour, and he sacrifices.
said people from all walks of
life participate, from peasants In his case he explained that he
to senior city officials. But the was always impressed with the
key is that everyone remains strong men who carry the thorn
anonymous. bundles or the heavy crosses. And
their psychological ability to
When I asked him what motivated handle pain was another factor
people to participate in these that made them almost seem like
somewhat masochistic traditions super-heros, and that's why he
he explained that when you grow decided to join one of the
up in Taxco, it is just part of brotherhoods himself and become a
your surroundings and you are penitent. Even last night Lauro
exposed to these processions participated in the Santo
every year since you are a child. Entierro (Holy Burial) procession
as an encrucijado, carrying the Well, my time in Taxco had come
heavy bundle of thorns, and today to an end, as was the case with
he was back to work and you would my time in Mexico in general. I
never even know. He said you can was waiting for my bus back to
participate in up to 2 Easter Cuernavaca which ended up being
week processions every year, and delayed by 45 minutes because of
this year he has also the heavy traffic in the city. I
participated in two different arrived about 40 minutes late in
ones. With around 20 years of the Cuernavaca bus station and I
experience as a member of one of already saw Marta Elena's jeep in
the brotherhoods, Lauro has the parking lot. She had come to
participated actively in about 40 pick me up which was such a nice
different processions and he is gesture.
now a very respected senior
member of his hermandad. We spent a couple of hours in the
garden of her lovely B&B and we
I felt very privileged to caught up on everything that has
actually be able to talk to one been going on. She was very
of the participants in these interested in hearing about my
processions. These Semana Santa experiences in Taxco and I think
rituals in Taxco are a very she appreciated the ceramic plate
mysterious and time-honoured with the Aztec calendar that I
tradition and the religous had brought for her.
brotherhoods are almost like
secret societies, so I considered Marta Elena had invited me to
myself very lucky to have had a spend my last night at her
chance to find out more from one beautiful house and I said that
of the actual participants in it would be my pleasure to invite
these unique rituals. her out for a nice dinner and it
would be her pick. So Marta Elena
chose one of the well-known Cuernavaca craft market) and had
restaurants in Cuernavaca, called one last look at the local
"La Gaia", just minutes from the Mexican crafts and I purchased a
Palacio de Cortés. few more small ceramic souvenirs
for my friends back home. I was
"La Gaia" is an upscale just slightly sentimental at the
restaurant that is located in an thought that my wonderful time in
antique villa with an interior Cuernavaca and Mexico in general
courtyard that is centered around had come to an end. On the other
a pool. The architecture features hand I had already started to
rounded arches, stuccoed walls look forward to my life back in
and columns and the restaurant is Toronto.
decorated with beautiful
paintings by local artists. The Well, it's time to head to bed,
atmosphere was wonderful. I'll be up tomorrow morning at
4:30 am, bright and early to
Both Marta Elena and I chose the catch my Pullman de Morelos bus
ravioli with portobello mushrooms back to Mexico city for my flight
as the main course which ended up home. Marta Elena, being the ever
being delicious. I also had a gracious hostess that she is,
house salad with Roquefort, pears offered to drive me to the bus
and walnuts to start and we terminal early in the morning and
capped our dinner off with a two new friends will have to say
dessert sampler which included a goodbye. (But we promised to
variety of tasty treats. reunite when Marta Elena travels
up to Toronto in September to
After our noble dinner we visit her son. Then I will have a
strolled across the street to the chance to show her through my
mercado de artesanía (the city...).
About the Author:
Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions (http://www.travelandtransitions.com). Find unconventional travel information, cross-cultural experiences, interviews with travellers and other inspiring people. Submit your own travel stories & win an exciting Amazon River cruise! "Life is a Journey - Explore New Horizons”
Read more articles by: Susanne Pacher
Article Source: www.iSnare.com |
|
