TomG
Apr 3, 2004, 3:02 PM
Post #1 of 5
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My wife writes this report:
We had a very interesting experience last night. We were invited to a Rosario in honor of Our Lady of the Sorrows at the home of a woman lawyer. They were an upper middle class family, and so the altar was very elaborate, and occupied a space of about 8x8 feet. The background consisted of green herbs. The only one I recognized was rosemary, which is a symbol of remembrance. In front of the green background was a free-standing crucifix about 3 feet high elevated above and to the side of the Virgin of Sorrows clad in black. Surrounding all were large vases of flowers: the traditional Mexican Alcatraz (lily) for purity; red roses for the blood of Christ; and at floor level beautiful bouquets of white and purple flowers, the purple symbolizing sorrow. It also contained the ghia, or sage seeds sprouting green shoots from clay pots.
The Rosario began with an exquisite musical group consisting of two violins, a bass, a flute, a keyboard and four classical vocalists who were obviously highly trained. The leader of the group had a doctorate in music from Germany and accomplished a great blend of voices and instruments. The musical group alternated verses of the hymn with the recitation of the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, led at the altar by a man we assumed to be a priest, based on his knowledge and comfort with the liturgy and not needing to read the recitation of the litany after the rosary. Civilian clothes on priests makes it tough for us, even after a lifetime of being around Catholic clergy in the USA.
It seemed to me that the women were all very devout and moved by the ritual, but the men seemed to fade off onto the sidelines with a more casual attitude.
When the praying was over, guests were invited to partake of a buffet consisting of the traditional fare: a bolillo topped by non-meat filling like beans, vegetable in a very hot salsa and tostados spread with avocado sauce and cheese. A main feature was the aguas made from rice, chilacayote, and jamaica. The aguas symbolize the tears of the virgin as she watched her Son suffer and die on the cross.
During the refreshment time, another musical group played. This one was all-instrumental, consisting of an oboe, a piano and a flute playing a classical repertoire.
The evening was an interesting contrast to an earlier commemoration of the tradition in our barrio. Here the emphasis was on bread and circus with the agua and the food and a tropical band in the street. We were unaware of any prayer in the barrio, although that could have occurred earlier at the neighborhood church. What I saw at the top of our street was a number of families were giving out aguas and food to a very large group of people, some of whom brought buckets and totes to carry it home – and returned to refill buckets again.
(This post was edited by TomG on Apr 3, 2004, 3:05 PM)
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