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The holy week in Mexico is quite a sight. Most of the small villages and towns have a procession or two in which the whole town turns out. It has been my pleasure to witness several of these on my journeys through the outlying areas of Mexico while
gathering minerals.
While this topic seemingly has nothing to do with minerals, it has to do with mineral collecting in Mexico. Let me explain a bit.
Collecting minerals in Mexico is not just about gathering stones in some field or crystals in an old mine. It is a unique cultural experience. If you, as I have, have been going to the same villages for many years, one gets to know just about everyone
there. Also, you are someone who comes and brings with him others who are interested in what is there in that town. Many of the people in these small towns have become very good friends of mine and in turn become friends of those whom I take with me.
When we get into the towns we are treated like relatives from a distant city rather than "the gringo rock collector."
The small towns are a mixture of the profane and religious. Almost everyone goes to mass on Sunday. Some are very weary from a night of partying and drinking but they go at least to be seen. While there may seem to be a certain casual approach to
religion, almost every home has at least one religious icon in each room. However, there are certain times of the year when almost everyone in the small villages gets the fervor to participate. These times are the saint's day of the village and Easter
time. While this is not meant to be a commentary on the religious life of the Mexican pueblo dweller, it is something that we have a chance to observe as we collect minerals in the towns and countryside.
Therefore, when there is something unusual going on in the village while you are there, you may be invited. We have seen demonstrations, parades, religious processions, weddings and their travel around the town with horns blowing and paper flowers
waving, and even a funeral or two of some of our older friends.
In Santa Eulalia, Chihuahua we witnessed a procession of the school kids. They had bright costumes made by parents. Some were ducks, some bunnies, and others were something out of a story book. They and their teachers walked from the school on the edge
of town to the plaza in front of the church, circled it twice and stopped on the steps of the old church for the priest's blessings. They were accompanied by brightly dressed caballeros and damas on horses which were decked out brightly as well.
The gentlemen and ladies on horses remained at the rear of the crowd while the priest blessed the children who were gathered there. The children then proceeded back to the school in an orderly fashion where they were given candy.
I nearly caused a riot later that day giving out, not candy, but pencils, pens, notebooks and paper. It seems that these items are in short supply in most Mexican schools. It is also true that the kids supply their own. I have seen homework on the back
of letters, and letters on the back of homework. When I go, I usually bring lots of pencils and things like that. The teachers appreciate the chalk we bring down. The near riot we had was actually more rowdy for the pencils and things than when we gave
out candy later in the day.
We also discovered in Santa Eulalia a fantastic restaurant. It is located in an old mansion with large dark rooms which are cool in the heat of the day. It is a surprise to find, in a dusty little village, a wonderfully clean restaurant with exotic
meals. We had cream of black bean soup, corn fungus soup, chipotle chili soup, squash blossom quesedillas, along with the usual Mexican fare. We were all well fed when the kids (I had arranged this with them earlier) burst into the court yard shouting,
"Pablo, Pablo, Pablo, Pablo,Pablo, Pablo,Pablo, Pablo." Pablo was, of course, our very own Paul Nolan from Santa Barbara. Paul is confined to a wheelchair and the kids loved him. They tagged along with him and really had a good time teasing and
kidding with him. He speaks pretty good Spanish, so there was no problem. He went everywhere we went, even down into the mines. But, that is another story.
Traveling farther south to the town of San Martin, Zacatecas we came across another procession.
Some of these processions are amazingly garbed and realistic. The young man who portrays the Christ in these is usually chosen the year before and spends the year preparing for this job. It is considered quite an honor.
Here we were, buying minerals from one of the local sources when we heard the blare of trumpets. They sounded a bit like bull fight music but not quite. They were mysterious and eerie and at the same time very pretty. We finished our business, went on
down to the center of the village, and encountered the procession.
The person who played the Christ had a headdress representing the crown of thorns which was made of metal. This was placed none too gently into his hair. In this case it actually drew blood. The spikes were at least one inch long and looked as though
they would really do a job on one's head. The task master who followed behind him whipped him with a length of rope. These lashes appeared to be the "real thing" as they caused clouds of dust to rise from the garments of the central figure and on at
least one occasion caused him to drop to his knees.
It did not appear that he was having an easy time of it. From time to time a person in the crowd, a male, would run up and assume the cross for a short distance. I do not know if this had any special significance or not. It does follow the biblical
tale pretty close though.
Many of the town followed this procession for about 2 hours through the town. After traversing many of the streets, they ended back at the church where the whole group was blessed again by the priest. Most of them went into the church to hear the mass
that was said for the special day that it was here in town.
It is not often that outsiders get to witness the types of pageants and processions we get to see from time to time on our trips. It is in many cases serendipity, being there when it happened. Other times I have timed my visits to be there when
something happened.
Just a bit of what we have seen on our trips would include many different things. Veta Grande's saint's day procession. The Independence Day celebration with all the school kids with painted-on beards carrying the banners of the victorious rebels. A
spring time parade of the school kids all dressed up like animals with a preponderance of bunnies and butterflies. The children dressed as Indians in their bright costumes dancing, at Mapimi, Durango, to celebrate the appearance of the Virgin of
Guadalupe. The parade of the local soccer heroes.
Of course, there was one sad note. One of the old miners, the brother of a friend, was killed in an accident. His service was held in the church, his casket, a simple stained wooden box, was carried out of the church into a wagon drawn by a mule and the
cortege followed behind to the cemetery.
OH, YES, we did collect many nice minerals on the way too. But that is another story!
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Copyright, 1997 by Walt Bowser
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Walt Bowser is a high school computer science teacher in the Los Angeles area. He has been collecting since he was quite young. He had collections of "pretty rocks" in a play room in a barn on his grandmother's property. He found his first fossil
when he was 6 and has been collecting one thing or another ever since.
Walt has a B.S. in Sociology/Anthropology and a M.S. in Environmental Studies with a concentration in the Earth Sciences. His Master's thesis was done on the geothermal fields of the Imperial Valley.
For the last 10 years Walt has been leading groups to Mexico twice a year to collect minerals. He heads a company called Geological Artifacts. Walt can be reached at geologo@earthlink.net.
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