Semana Santa

This is when I wish I was really eloquent. I just witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus. Sounds intense, I know. It was intense.
Comayagua is known for its Good Friday processions. Knowing this I figured it to be the best place to really experience Semana Santa (Holy Week). Here in Honduras Semana Santa is not Spring Break for any reason other than Jesus. With its intensity, I understand why one needs the whole week off of work or school.
Thursday Dan and I left Siguatepeque for Comayagua. First we went to the Rapidito stand to look for the mini buses headed to Comayagua only to find that there was no Rapidito service. So we taxied ourselves to the highway were we waited for almost an hour for a bus. When we got on the bus we had to squish in like I had yet to do in Honduras. There were little Mayan sized women feeling up my pockets in search of my money, and my head conveniently blocked the movie showing of Casper (in Spanish, of course) so everyone on the bus was staring at me the whole ride.
We made it safe and sound to Comayagua where we checked into our hotel and then found ourselves a bar for an afternoon cocktail. We got talking to the woman behind the bar and it turns out that her husband is from Beaverton, Oregon. It is still such a small world. She was excited to hear that I will be working in Comayagua next year and said anyone from Beaverton, Oregon that happens to be in Comayagua is family of hers.
Dan and I met up with Mel, Tobi and Oscar in one fell swoop. We sat at the bar for a bit and Oscar impressed Mel and Tobi with his knowledge of Australian bands. Charming, as always. Roger, Oscar’s friend that looks like PeeWee Herman met up with us and we went to the vendors in the parquet for some delicious Honduran cuisine. It was great catching up with Mel and Tobi, who I hadn’t seen since Thanksgiving.
After our super, we watched a drama of the Last Super (for Jesus that is) in front of the Cathedral. Oscar whispered bible stories to me as we watched in awe the betrayal of Judas. After the super we waited on the road behind the cathedral to watch the first procession: Peter and John tell Mary Magdalene of the betrayal and Mary Magdalene says goodbye to Jesus. It was quite the procession. After something that resembled a dance (Mary Magdalene passes Peter and John, sees Jesus, kneels to kiss him, marches back and the whole thing repeats again and again) the procession left the street and took off for a night long procession through the town. Following them were men with chains hitting them to the ground. These people began the procession around 10pm and would proceed through the town until 4am.
I should explain how these processions work. There are statues on chariot type things that men and women carry through the town and over the crowds. There is also a slew of alter boys waving incense, a handful of nuns, women in black shrouds singing and praying, a few priests and the bishop. Following behind is a small marching band that plays unnaturally cheery music when hymns aren’t being sung.
After the Mary Magdalene procession we went to Sangrias for another couple of drinks and then met up with Chino Jesus Pong who was making a sawdust carpet for the main procession the following morning. By this time it was just past midnight and they had just poured the first layer of sawdust onto the road. Mel, Tobi, Dan and I helped by sweeping the sawdust so it was evenly spread across the road. We helped for about 40 minutes and then called it a night.
The next morning Dan and I walked all through town as people put the finishing touches on the carpets. They worked all through the night to perfect them, and they were all gorgeous. At 9am we went to one of the churches in town and saw the start of the Good Friday procession. The procession followed the road and would eventually tred over all of the carpets that had been made the night before. Jesus led the procession carrying his cross to the place where he was to be crucified. Along the way he made 12 stops. The procession was moving Good Friday mass. I followed the procession to the first 2 stops on the cross and then met up with Oscar and we went looking at all the carpets that had yet to be trampled.
At 4pm the procession finally made its way over top of all the carpets and into the cathedral where Jesus was finally crucified. They nailed a statue to an enormous cross and raised the cross. Of course they forgot to put on the crown of thorns, so one of the firemen that had helped to raise the cross, climbed up a ladder and laid the thorny crown upon Jesus’ head. It was all quite moving. Jesus had just walked for 7 hours carrying a heavy cross, looking beaten and worn, and finally was put to rest. While Jesus in the procession was a real person and the Jesus on the cross was a statue, he looked so peaceful and at rest.
After Jesus’ crucifixion there was yet another procession. The same people who had been making carpets all night, who had marched through the town all day, now had the task of carrying Jesus’ embalmment display through the town along with little girls dressed as angles, the Virgin Mary, Joseph, Mary Magdalene and Veronika. The young men and women that were carrying these displays and statues looked absolutely exhausted and I am sure where even more so at 5:30 the next morning when they passed our hotel.
What amazed me the most about this whole event was the dedication and diligence that went into everything. People stayed up all night making these beautiful carpets that would be trampled in a matter of minutes. As Oscar said: ‘they aren’t built to last’. These men and women that took part in the processions went on and on with infinite strength. And they did this all in the name of Jesus. I was not raised with much religion, so it always catches me off guard to see the amount of faith people have in Jesus and Christianity. Jesus worked so hard to spread his faith and within a matter of hours he was betrayed and killed. Just like the carpets. Gone within a matter of hours.
My Semana Santa was extremely educational as well as profound. I was moved by these people’s dedication to something. Not only that, but my sense were put on high alert. The smell of the alter boy’s incense, the color of the carpets, the lights of the cathedral, the sounds of chanting, moaning, singing, praying. I must say this was the coolest thing I have witnessed in Honduras and defiantly the most profound Easter celebration I have been to.
My time in Comayagua was ended on a sad chord. Oscar broke the news that he was moving to Canada. He left this early this morning for Vancouver B.C. by way of Seattle. I will miss him more than he’ll ever know and I can only thank him for the kindness he expelled upon me every single moment we spent together. I hope I’ll see him again one day, maybe even in Portland. I wish him love, I wish him all the best.