Good Friday in Oaxaca, Mexico: Procession of Silence
Holy Week or Semana Santa in Oaxaca, Mexico, is coming to a close for 2016. On Good Friday, the Procession of Silence that re-enacts the trial, crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus (14 Stations of the Cross) starts around sunset and winds through the main streets of the historic center. Leading the procession is Archbishop Jose Luis […]
Maundy Thursday in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca: Cena de los Apostales or The Last Supper
Welcome to Holy Week — Semana Santa in Mexico, a mysterious and magical experience for anyone who is religious or not. Today is Maundy Thursday in the Zapotec village of Teotitlan del Valle about 40 minutes outside Oaxaca city off the road to Tlacolula de Matamoros. Catholic and indigenous beliefs merge here into what cultural anthropologists refer […]
Semana Santa–Easter Holy Week in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca
As I write, someone is in the bell tower pulling the rope that rings the campana — a clarion call to gathering. Today is El Lunes Santo in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca. You still have time to catch a taxi or colectivo from Oaxaca to arrive for the 9 a.m. mass in the Preciosa Sangre de […]
Easter Week Begins: Lunes Santo or Holy Monday in Oaxaca
Lunes Santo or Easter Monday is celebrated with reverence in the Oaxaca village of Teotitlan del Valle where I am living. This is a day of prayers and offerings, of procession and peace. The week before Easter, known as Semana Santa in Mexico, begins on Palm Sunday. After a 7:30 a.m. mass, the volunteer church […]