At exactly midnight of the fifth Sunday of Lent, a solemn lamp and torch-lit procession leaves the town of Atotonilco and makes a 7 mile journey bearing the statue of Nuestro Señor de la Columna, shrouded in multiple layers of beautiful scarves, into San Miguel de Allende. I know it is midnight because we can hear the first of the fireworks which accompany the procession in the distance.
This morning, amid even more fireworks, we arrived at Ave. Independencia before light to meet the crowds streaming into town. Many residents of the neighborhoods had been up all night spreading fragrant sprays of fennel and chamomile on the streets and decorating the walls, trees and street with multi-colored fresh and paper flowers, purple and white balloons and crepe paper streamers.
Detailed religious images were created with colored sawdust in the middle of the street for the procession to walk on.
These beautiful columns, erected by one neighborhood, were made of stiffened cheesecloth with wood frames.
Arriving at the outskirts of town, the statue of the suffering Jesus and the accompanying statues of St. John and the Virgen of Dolores (Sorrowful Virgin Mary) are carefully unwrapped from their protective shrouds and carried through the streets, accompanied by Roman Centurions.
The pole on the right in the photo is actually a paint roller rod with an extension used to raise any low-strung streamers so the statures can pass underneath. 
They end up at the church of San Juan de Dios where the statues remain until Easter Wednesday when another procession returns them to their glass cases in the Shrine of Atotonilco.
This procession began in 1812 in an effort to stop a plague that threatened San Miguel's population. In 1823, the statue of Nuestro Señor de la Columna was commissioned to request a miracle and has been carried nearly every year since.
This morning, amid even more fireworks, we arrived at Ave. Independencia before light to meet the crowds streaming into town. Many residents of the neighborhoods had been up all night spreading fragrant sprays of fennel and chamomile on the streets and decorating the walls, trees and street with multi-colored fresh and paper flowers, purple and white balloons and crepe paper streamers.
Detailed religious images were created with colored sawdust in the middle of the street for the procession to walk on.
These beautiful columns, erected by one neighborhood, were made of stiffened cheesecloth with wood frames.
Arriving at the outskirts of town, the statue of the suffering Jesus and the accompanying statues of St. John and the Virgen of Dolores (Sorrowful Virgin Mary) are carefully unwrapped from their protective shrouds and carried through the streets, accompanied by Roman Centurions.
The pole on the right in the photo is actually a paint roller rod with an extension used to raise any low-strung streamers so the statures can pass underneath. 
They end up at the church of San Juan de Dios where the statues remain until Easter Wednesday when another procession returns them to their glass cases in the Shrine of Atotonilco.
This procession began in 1812 in an effort to stop a plague that threatened San Miguel's population. In 1823, the statue of Nuestro Señor de la Columna was commissioned to request a miracle and has been carried nearly every year since.
No comments:
Post a Comment