Procession February 21, 2015
BOOM-step-BOOM-step-BOOM, the large "float" swayed to the beat of the music as the cadre of healthy men shouldered it down the center aisle of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic church in Panajachel last evening. Adding a bit of melody were a small band of trumpeters and clarinetists who accompanied the drummer. A few indigenous women carried large candles. Clouds of white smoke, wafting from pots being swung by two young men, filled the air in front of the float, obscuring our view. The object of this solemn pageantry was a lifelike Jesus mannequin, dressed in an ornate red velvet robe, bent under his own burden of a heavy cross and riding atop the float. All around the church, lavish amounts of purple satin, edged in gold, hung in gentle folds.
A priest had started things off with a short homily from the pulpit. Looking down on the massive float in front of him, he led the small congregation in prayer. While he spoke, short-sleeved church members got on with the practical matters of getting a generator fired up to keep the electric lights lit around Jesus. One of them would have to push the generator, tethered to the float by a cord.
Ana had led us to the front of the church so that we newbies - Bruce and I and our young Japanese housemate, Natsumi - could have a good look at it all. When things got moving, we followed along on the outside aisle. I was emboldened to take pictures since natives were doing the same.
Visibility lessened as the smokey incense created a mystical atmosphere.
A low part of the church ceiling required a choreographed response by the float bearors. In unison, they lowered the load off their shoulders just long enough to get by the barrier and then hoisted it again.
Outside in the night air, the men melted into the darkness, giving the impression that Jesus was indeed floating across the wide plaza. A murmuring crowd of onlookers followed along. Glancing back, the church was lit up like a starship.
Bruce in front of St. Francis of Assisi church in Pana
A priest had started things off with a short homily from the pulpit. Looking down on the massive float in front of him, he led the small congregation in prayer. While he spoke, short-sleeved church members got on with the practical matters of getting a generator fired up to keep the electric lights lit around Jesus. One of them would have to push the generator, tethered to the float by a cord.
Ana had led us to the front of the church so that we newbies - Bruce and I and our young Japanese housemate, Natsumi - could have a good look at it all. When things got moving, we followed along on the outside aisle. I was emboldened to take pictures since natives were doing the same.
A low part of the church ceiling required a choreographed response by the float bearors. In unison, they lowered the load off their shoulders just long enough to get by the barrier and then hoisted it again.
Outside in the night air, the men melted into the darkness, giving the impression that Jesus was indeed floating across the wide plaza. A murmuring crowd of onlookers followed along. Glancing back, the church was lit up like a starship.
This was the first Friday of Lent. In Latin America, Roman Catholic tradition calls for a series of "procesiones" (religious parades) throughout Lent, ending with an all-out, over-the-top
extravaganza of procesiones during Semana Santa (Holy Week). Antigua, Guatemala, has become the world's most popular destination for Semana Santa, topping even Seville, Spain, which originated the tradition. Hotels in Antigua are booked for a year in advance for that week. We knew most of this, but we didn't know that processions would take place this far in advance of Easter.
As we turned to go back to Ana's home, the streets were lined with people waiting in the warm evening to see the parade. An altar had been set up on the sidewalk in the front of one business. The family bustled around, arranging flowers, candles, and a framed picture of Jesus.
The Catholic church in Latin America may have lost many of its members with the proliferation of evangelical churches. But the tradition of Lenten processions seems to hold on strongly.
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