Thursday, February 01, 2007

The Pilgrimage

While driving back from the beach (Melaque north of Manzanillo) on the 22nd of January, I noticed many people walking on the side of the toll road in the middle of nowhere. Villages are far, far apart in many parts of Mexico but these walkers were different, many had backpacks which is not typical.
I had forgotten it is the time of year for the walk to the village of San Juan de los Lagos which is the home of the statue of the Virgin of San Juan de Los Lagos. She is the second most venerated religion symbol in Mexico. Several MILLION worshippers walk from all over Mexico on this pilgrimage!
Once I saw the pilgrims until I arrived in San Miguel took driving 3 hours at 65 mph........so you figure out how long it would take to walk! Many thousands of Mexicans make this pilgrimage every year taking time off from work (mostly without pay) to pay homage to this Virgin.
I am always awed by their fervor and the fact that the people of Mexico LIVE their religion, and not just on Sunday!

1 comment:

Billie Mercer said...

Some of my neighbors who went on the walk returned home yesterday. A friend described to me being at the church and just looking across the country side at masses of people who quietly filed through the tiny church. Amazing.