Holy Friday evening, Los Varones carry the coffin through the village. The procession walks on tapetes de aserrín. © Joseph Sorrentino, 2023

Holy Week in San Gregorio Atlapulco, Xochimilco, Mexico City

Like virtually every pueblo in Mexico, residents of San Gregorio Atlapulco (in Xochimilco, Mexico City) celebrate Semana Santa (Holy Week) with processions, extra masses and a depiction of Christ’s crucifixion. But one thing sets San Gregorio apart from other pueblos: Holy Week is run by fourteen young men known as Los Varones. There’s no group […]

Continue Reading
Encruzados Processing

Silver, saints, and sinners™: Semana Santa in Taxco, Mexico

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. If you had asked Cortés about Taxco almost 500 years ago, he would have made the same association. In fact, the silver and other minerals from […]

Continue Reading

Semana Santa Holy Week in San Miguel de Allende

(The following account represents my personal feelings and subjective impressions as I experienced Semana Santa last year. Since I am neither Catholic nor Mexican, I don’t fully understand all the religious significance of the processions and pageantry. Although Holy Week is celebrated throughout Mexico, the colonial mountain town of San Miguel de Allende is famous […]

Continue Reading
Children frolic on th beach of Mexico's beautiful Jaltemba Bay. © Christina Stobbs, 2011

Easter in Jaltemba Bay, Mexico: Semana Santa is a family affair

Semana Santa is a significant Christian holiday in Mexico, celebrating the last week of Christ’s life before his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. However, here in Jaltemba Bay, the celebration of the holiday is akin to a family-friendly Mardi Gras. Jaltemba Bay includes the small, friendly and delightful beach towns […]

Continue Reading
Children lead the Procession of Our Lord of the Column in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico © Edythe Anstey Hanen, 2013

Easter in San Miguel de Allende: Our Lord of the Column

The church bells have been tolling most of the night, interrupted only intermittently by the blast of rockets soaring into the night sky. One resounding boom echoes throughout the city at midnight. This is when thousands of pilgrims will join the Processión del Señor de la Columna (Procession of Our Lord of the Column — so named for […]

Continue Reading
The Passion of Christ: Easter in Ixtapalapa, a Mexico City neighborhood

Easter in Mexico, Semana Santa and Pascua: a Mexican holiday resource page

For Mexico, the Easter holidays are a combination of Semana Santa (Holy Week — Palm Sunday to Easter Saturday) and Pascua (Resurrection Sunday until the following Saturday). For most Mexicans, this 2 week period is the time of year for holiday vacations (good time to not be on the highways — just stay put and […]

Continue Reading