It seems every year this tradition slips up on me until I'm walking down a street, see a courtyard door open, peek in and voila! An amazing altar in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows. This tradition is the beginning of the festivities for Holy Week.Each and every item on the altars, fountains and on the ground is symbolic of various things. Purple and white symbolize Lent.
Chamomile and fennel represent humility. Wheat grass represents Christ or new beginnings. The one item that takes my breath away are the scenes done on the ground using colored sawdust! Not only are they talented artists, but the amount of work is staggering for each and every altar or decoration.
This altar and art in sawdust was in a home on Mesones as I was walking into Centro yesterday morning. What a treat to see.
As the day wore on there were more and more altars EVERYWHERE! Even this tiny one next to the entrance to a restaurant on Ancho de San Antonio. The smallness of it made it a treasure.Familys were out walking all over town. Being welcomed into homes for paletas (popsickles). Groups standing in front of decorated fountains. Police directing traffic. What a magical night! Even the sky cooperated with a clear, bright star-filled sky.
As I was going around a corner, this altar was so magnificent. Not only was it covered with fresh flowers, wheat grass and candles. It also had music playing which was a children's choir singing music from a Passion Play.I don't know who is in charge of all the colonias decorating for honoring Our Lady, but it was the most beautiful and prolific ever last evening.
Just another beautiful surprise of living in San Miguel de Allende.
3 comments:
Last night at dinner we were discussing why Melaque seems to be devoid of any of these traditions -- Spanish or Indian. There are probably a lot of reasons. But they simply do not exist here. Instead, we have carnival rides and pastry tables.
In my opinion, you're missing a lot.
What a fascinating tradition! Thanks for sharing it.
Post a Comment