02/18/24 La Festividad del Señor del Sacromonte

February 18, 2024

Not being religious and not being Catholic in particular, I’ve been oblivious to the fact that this is the beginning of Lent. So it was a bit of a surprise to me when I wandered down to the market this morning, hoping to find juice and instead finding a full blown festival taking place. I spent most of the day immersed in the crowd and soaking up the energy. It was basically a huge market, rides, crowded churches and a lot of Aztec dancing. The latter was confusing to me but it’s apparently a fusion of sorts between preconquest and catholic rituals, the church on the top of the hill being built on top of an old temple. I wasn’t the only one confused, most people I spoke to were out of towners a well.

The market covered several streets and went on forever

All sorts of food being prepared and sold

The smell of grilled meat was everywhere

Stacks and stacks of cecina, thin sheets of meat

I joined the crowd walking up to the church at the top of the hill

With good views at the top. Here’s Iztaccíhuatl again

Cell phone panorama in an attempt to get both volcanoes in the same shot

I was there. I was able to see a line of cars heading up to the pass (next to my head), making me glad I’d decided to wait another day. They were going to play in the fresh snow

Blessing of offerings outside the Santuario del Señor del Sacromonte Amecameca, the church at the top

There was this long ritual involving incense and bowing to each other

All accompanied by drums and singing and this fellow blowing a conch

The crowd making the trek to the top had grown considerably by the time I made my way down

I paid 40 pesos for a ride back to my hotel. It was a kidney crushing experience going over the many speed bumps. When I went back for dinner later I opted to walk home

I’d have been in my lowest gear, but not my driver

A car back from a day trip up Pasó del Cortes

Building a snowman on your hood is a thing here

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