Zinapécuaro, Mexico
In Mexico, life begins and ends with the Catholic church and it seemed fitting to have the first photo be of the church that was responsible for me being there. It is the church of San Pedro y San Pablo. If you click the link, there is a video on YouTube. There is a celebration on the Wednesday and Thursday preceeding Palm Sunday. They lower their image of Jesus on the cross into a golden box and slowly haul "El Señor de Araro" around the town. Everywhere they go, they are followed by loud firecrackers, balloons, and confetti. The central part of the town was closed off to automobiles and there were roadblocks manned by soldiers with automatic weapons. I never felt threatened, just that they meant business keeping the town safe and that made me feel comfortable.
 Food was the first thing on my mind. On the airplanes, I had not had a lot of water to drink or real food. I think I had 3 bisteck tacos con una botella de agua pura. They were worried if his salsa verde was too hot for me. It wasn't and they tasted really good. |
 I had seen a video of the 2005 celebration. I did not truly understand how much work was involved. After seeing the town, I could see why the men carrying the box rested every 10 meters. |
View inside San Juan. |
This is a large fireworks tower. |
Thursday is really the big day in the celebration. I was supposed to be in the sun for a long time and I needed a hat (sombrerero) but it had to be similar to our cowboy hats. The mariachi hats were too much for me. I found only one that didn't sit on my head like a beanie cap and that was what I bought. Later, I saw one that Rodolfo bought that had ventilation holes cut in the top, which I liked better, but for $25 pesos, I did ok. A $2.50 US hat that looks ok is a good deal.
There are a lot of people moving around very slowly. There are some sidewalks that with one shoulder brushing the side of the building, my other arm was hanging over the curb. You had to be there very early to be close to the start. We tried to walk in the shade (la sombra) but most of the people wanted to do that also. It was also very warm for me. I went from 50oF to 85oF.
 Each section of pavement is a real construction effort. What is missing is coloring the sawdust material. That is a major effort just to get it mixed evenly. Then, you have to try and apply it evenly on the street. |
 Then, you have to brush it out until you have it perfect. The people go to a lot of work creating their section of the street. |
 I call these 2 photos "Construction Hazards". You have moments with a lot of people walking by and then they clear off. |
 Hanging a string of material is much easier when you don't have to worry about people walking into your line. |
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Eventually, we found a quiet spot and I sat down to rest. The altitude was taking its toll. While the main streets were full of people, some of the back streets were almost deserted.
Just to prove I was there, Lorena took my picture. |
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Just before I left, I purchased 2 - DVDs of the celebration.
