Silver, Saints, & Sinners™
Semana Santa in Taxco, Mexico
© 2002 By Jim Allen and Jan McHargue
COMPLETE ARTICLE
Concepts:
procession, penitentes, Taxco, streets, church, Mexico, candles, crucifixion, Christs, silver, statues, Santa Prisca, palm, suffering, cross, bundle, chains, barefoot, Borda, cobblestone streets, arms, city, brotherhoods, attendants, canes, Encruzados, bent, eyes, support, colorful, resurrection, McHargue, rebirth, Santa, recovery, LLC, Singular Journey, Semana Santa, tour, Central America, cultures, anthropologist specializing, Photos, saints reside, closed doors, sins, picturesque, calm, silver crafts, normalcy, returning.
Summary:
If you have heard of the picturesque, old colonial Mexican town of Taxco at all, you probably associate it with that precious metal so characteristic of Mexico -- silver.
The first sign that the procession is entering the city is a flood of kids on bicycles, each with a palm attached to the front, screeching their brakes on the hilly streets of Taxco.
For the nighttime processions, many of the statues are fixed with battery or generator driven lights that cast eerie shadows over the features of the carvings.
Then there are the penitent ones or penitentes -- the men and women who show their faith and penitence by inflicting pain on themselves during this most holy week -- an ancient tradition dating to the middle ages and introduced to Mexico from Spain almost 500 years ago.
Late in the night, there is the marvelous, somber procession of the Christs, where over 40 representations of Christ on the cross are processed through the streets, accompanied by that haunting, rhythmic music, in an event that lasts into the next morning.
During the "crucifixion" the penitentes move inside the church.
The crucifixion is followed by the very solemn procession of the "sacred interment" where the representations of the crucified Christ are carried through the streets accompanied by all of the penitentes who are now very actively fulfilling their vows to suffer.
Saturday is hauntingly quiet as people await the resurrection.
Taxco, once again, returns to being the town where you can buy wonderful silver crafts, a place that is calm and picturesque.
COMPLETE ARTICLE
Text and Photos © 2002 Jim Allen & Jan McHargue
Jan McHargue, Ph.D. is an anthropologist specializing in the cultures of Mexico and Central America.
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