The Easter pageant in Montes de Loreto
By Edward Swift March 14, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Easter pageant 
Fri, Mar 21, 9am
Colonia San Luis Rey church

One of the best kept secretes in San Miguel is the Easter pageant, a reenactment of the crucifixion, in the colonia of Montes de Loreto.

Around 9am on Good Friday, a procession representing the stations of the cross leaves the church in Colonia San Luis Rey and proceeds through the narrow, dusty streets and up the hill to Montes de Loreto, usually arriving by 10 or 10:30am. 

We who live in this small colonia arise at dawn to decorate the last leg of the procession route (Calles Faisanes and Canarios) with purple and white streamers, flowers and manzanilla.

The actors who portray Jesus, the two thieves, Pontius Pilate and the Roman soldiers brandishing whips are well prepared for their roles and if last year’s pageant is any indication, the acting will be realistic and thrilling. 

The day is usually very hot and dusty so all the tienditas along the procession route will be open for business.

It is no accident, or so I’m told, that the owner of one of the tiendas arranges for Jesus to stumble and fall in front of his store so everyone can take a break to buy water and soda before moving on to the crucifixion which takes place on a hill in front of the only church in our colonia. All the spectators, who seem to be part of the pageant, gather around the acting area; some stand, others sit on the ground or on rocks. Then three crosses with Jesus and the thieves strapped to them are lifted with ropes and firmly planted in the ground. At this point the drama rapidly accelerates. From one of the crosses Barabas screams to the Son of God, “Who will save you now?” Jesus cries out, “Father why have you forsaken me?” Mary Magdelene and the Virgin weep and wail, while Pontius Pilate and the Roman soldiers thrash madly about and Judas is hanged by the neck from a tree. Last year during a moment of 
high drama an elderly lady enjoying her ice cream nonchalantly wandered into the acting area and sat down in the middle of the action. That’s the kind of pageant it is. Everyone participates in some way. 

Usually no more than a half dozen foreigners attend this pageant. This year the members of the church at Montes are hoping for more visitors. The church is a makeshift structure covered with corrugated plastic and tarpaulins. We’re trying to construct a better church on this hill and if you attend the pageant we hope you will consider making a contribution of any size to the building fund. If you wish to help decorate the procession route, you’re more than welcome to do so. Please bring flowers, purple and white streamers, and pesos for the new church. 

Directions to the pageant: Proceed down Calzada de la Presa which becomes Calzada de Obraje. Keep going. The street becomes a dirt road and passes through a green area. Montes de Loreto is the next colonia on the right. 

Edward Swift is a resident of Montes de Loreto and a gallery owner at Fábrica la Aurora.

Easter Schedule

March 20, Thursday of Holy Week: Jueves Santo (Holy Thursday, or Maundy Thursday). Several Biblical events play an important role in this solemn celebration, including The Last Supper, the Washing of the Feet of the 12 Disciples and the Arrest of Jesus. The altars of most churches are decorated, especially at La Iglesia de San Francisco. At La Iglesia de Santa Ana, the public touches and prays to a crucifix of Christ. Most shops close and do not open until after Easter. The faithful try to visit Las Siete Casas (or temples) comprising the town's main churches. La Santa Casa de Loreto (inside El Oratorio de San Felipe Neri) opens to the public.

March 21, Friday of Holy Week: Viernes Santo (Good Friday). The most solemn day in San Miguel de Allende, when church bells are silent and mournful processions wind through town. Early in the morning, parishioners march from Atotonilco carrying the cross once borne annually by Padre Luis Felipe Neri de Alfaro (who founded the Santuario there). Later, El Señor de la Columna departs El Templo de San Juan de Dios and is taken to La Parroquia where it is displayed through Easter. Towards noon, a court is convened in front of La Iglesia de San Rafael (also known as La Santa Escuela de Cristo, next to La Parroquia) where Jesus is tried and consigned to his fate. The following procession, La Via Dolorosa (the Way of the Cross), leads to each of the Fourteen Stations (marked by plaques on streets in El Centro) before ending at La Capilla del Calvario. The events move to El Oratorio de San Felipe Neri where, around 5 p.m., the procession of the Holy Burial leaves with the body of Christ, the most profound spectacle of the year. Except for the brightly clad Roman Centurions, all adults dress in black: men in suits wearing gloves and purple sashes, women in veils. Little girls, garbed in white dresses with purple belts, tote baskets of rose petals. The mourners act as pallbearers for icons removed from local churches and draped in crimson. The cortege winds through the streets, paced by a repetitious drum beat and frequently halting for prayer. Shortly after dusk, the pageant files up Mesones street, its entire length illuminated by the soft glow of candles.

March 22, Saturday of Holy Week: Sábado de Gloria (Holy Saturday). Sábado Santo (as it also is called) remains quiet until early evening when the candle light procession of La Virgen de la Soledad leaves El Oratorio de San Felipe Neri. An image of the Virgin, dressed in black, is borne by a file of women (likewise dressed in black, their faces hidden by veils) who carry it around La Plaza Cívica Ignacio Allende before returning to the church.

March 23, Domingo de Pascua (Easter Sunday). Mass is said, and the Resurrection glorified, at churches around town. Towards noon, the excitement moves towards the six-foot-tall papier mâché and crepe paper Judas figures strung between the Presidencia Municipal and El Jardín. The Easter tradition originated in colonial times and has been kept alive here for the last sixty years by a local craftsman. Representing hated politicians, persons in authority, even a cartoonish witch in a conical hat, the effigies hang throughout the morning. Around noon, small rockets are lit and, one by one, each figure twists and turns until a loud explosion shreds it into bits of paper and cane. Other communities in Guanajuato state also carry out the tradition.

March 26, Wednesday after Easter: El Señor de la Columna is shrouded and a procession leaves El Templo de San Juan de Dios early that evening to carry the statue back to the Santuario in Atotonilco.

Don Felix Luna Romero
By Marcela Andre Lopez

Don Félix Luna Romero, historian, specialist and guardian of San Miguel traditions and artisan, passed away on Thursday, March 6, 2008. Rest in peace, Don Félix Luna.

Don Felix Luna Romero remains hospitalized and on life support after being taken ill last October. He is a national and international authority on San Miguel de Allende traditions, ceremonies and oral histories. He also is a heredero—a descendant of the Chichimeca royalty who, with Fray Juan de San Miguel, founded the city of San Miguel el Grande almost 500 years ago.

Like his father before him, Don Felix Luna has been consulted on San Miguel by countless journals, photographers, international scholars, dancers, choreographers, musicians, mystics, Native American scholars, doctoral candidates and city mayors and administrators for many, many years.

The Luna Romero family has relics, letters and sacred objects from the colonial era sent by the king of Spain to confer certain privileges on founding native families, enabling them to perform their traditional celebrations honoring the seasons of the pre-Columbian calendar without being disturbed by the ruling Spaniards. This made them herederos, a term recognized to this day by the local Catholic Church as having certain ceremonial privileges and authority in San Miguel. All these ceremonies require the creation of sacred regalia, a service the Luna Romero family has been carrying out for a very long time.

Don Felix Luna Romero was the keeper of the most important ceremonies in San Miguel until he suddenly fell ill. The following seven examples include some events unique to the city.

El Sr. de la Conquista

This logistically ambitious procession commemorates the end of fighting and the peaceful conquest of San Miguel’s indigenous population at the time of the Conquest. The ceremony was led by Don Felix Luna and the current Conchero Chief General Don Monico Ramirez, also a member of an old founding family. It opens with a procession of sacred relics that have been passed down from generation to generation since the founding of San Miguel.

Santo Entierro

For the sacred funeral procession of Jesus during Easter Holy Week, the Luna family creates many of the decorative arrangements and works countless hours with hundreds of people and the administrative officers of the city government.

Jueves de Corpus

Many beautiful altars are constructed in special niches in the center of San Miguel, sometimes inside large entranceways. People and businesses set up elaborate abstract representations of Christ as a brilliant burst of light upon a chalice, with many flowers, prayers and symbols.

La Resena

This ancient ceremony, still relatively unknown in its details, is held in the middle of August with a procession that includes a decorated cow and blessings at ancient sacred sites. This begins the preparation for the Procession of San Miguel Archangel. 

These ceremonies are tied to the pre-Columbian calendar and its assimilation into the liturgical calendar of colonial Catholicism. This uniting of indigenous and Spanish traditions has its fullest expression in the artwork of the Luna family, who has the oldest working traditional artisan studio in San Miguel de Allende.

Don Felix’s oldest son is a Franciscan priest, Fr. Octavio Luna. As devout Catholics, the Luna family is expert in the liturgy and the Mestizaje combination of cultures. The great golden mirror made by Don Felix is an exuberant part of the Baroque extravaganza that is the Chapel of Loreto in San Miguel, said to be the most ornate in Latin America. The mirror, an irreplaceable piece of the city’s history, won first prize in the state artisan show and other national accolades recognizing the preservation of traditional Mexico. Don Felix’s artwork may be purchased at Creacion Marcela Andre, San Francisco 7. Information and appointments, cell: 044 415 102-2108.

Procession of San Miguel Archangel 

The patron saint’s image is brought down from the high altar in the Parroquia and taken to visit the Centro churches amidst great pomp and celebration. This procession involves great protocol and exacting details in the care of the image itself, with its silver wings and gorgeous brocade garments and flower-bedecked dais. The angel is carried by 18 people in the procession, whose organization includes other descendants of the founding native families of San Miguel.

Dia de los Muertos

The principal installations at the Museo de Allende are on a grand scale and summarize all the grand ofrendas made in ancient times after the harvest. Photographers from all over the world flock to the city’s official ofrenda, usually installed by Don Felix in recent times. He is the principal authority on the oldest customs, ornaments, fiestas and ceremonies of San Miguel, along with Maistro Almanza.

Danzantes y Concheros

Don Felix is an expert on the conchero tradition and is revered and respected throughout Mesoamerica and Mexico’s danzante community, in part for his great power of convocatoria— his ability to draw enthusiastic virtuoso danzante participants to the San Miguel events.

Don Felix traveled tirelessly throughout Mexico to rally the dancers, Danzantes y Concheros, who converge on San Miguel in their hundreds. The prestigious Conchero groups have their choice of invitations, but because of Don Felix’s great esteem, many traditional groups choose to visit San Miguel. The whole family, including his sons Beto and Alejandro, rallies round to help on fiesta days, when the telephone starts ringing at 2am.

Once a traditional duty, more often than not there is no remuneration for this work on processions and fiestas which have become a tremendous tourist attraction for San Miguel. The loss of Don Felix is deeply felt.

The shock of Don Felix’s illness was compounded for the family by the death last month of Don Felix’s mother. At her funeral, Fr. Octavio Luna said that Don Felix is “in his last moments of life.”

The family has received prayers from innumerable sanmiguelenses and their thanks for his many years of tireless devotion to the sacred traditions that keep the heart and spirit of San Miguel alive.

Sr. de La Conquista, held March 7, 2008

The Conchero group that has inherited the ceremonial area in front of the Parroquia inside the gate by the atrium cross is that of Don Monico Ramirez Concheros. This is an unpaid ceremonial duty that is an inherited “responsibility” of the Ramirez family. As the members carry a great deal of the responsibility for all the celebration, volunteers to help deliver drinking water are needed. 

For more information or to help with the danzantes during Sr. de la Conquista, call Marcela Andre Lopez at 154-9868.

Unitarian Fellowship welcomes Jovenes Adelante scholarship recipients
By Keith Wall

On Sunday, February 17, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship’s service featured the Jovenes Adelante scholarship program. Seven years ago such a program had been the dream of a handful of the congregation’s members. That dream has now been realized beyond anyone’s expectations and continues to expand, drawing in volunteer officers, members, mentors, teachers and sponsors from the breadth of the San Miguel community and from the US.

President Amanda Ruiz presided, thanking the congregation for its continuing interest and support, and outlining Jovenes Adelante’s remarkable growth. Seven years ago a handful of people collaborated to send one student to university for one year. Almost immediately the founders realized they could not give a student a peep at a new world and then bar him or her from further knowledge of it for lack of funds. Therefore, they chose to make five-year commitments and determined to take on five students and find financing to support them. 

Jovenes Adelante has now seen 10 students graduate and find jobs in their fields in Mexico. At present, 42 students are being supported and are studying in 16 universities within a 120-mile radius of San Miguel. All students have mentors and many are studying English with tutors, mentors, or sponsors. Many have computers through the joint efforts of Jovenes Adelante and Computadores Pro Jovenes. A working relationship has developed with Mujeres en Cambio and the Biblioteca to send young women from the campo to university. Jovenes Adelante’s present fundraising efforts are dedicated to awarding 25 additional scholarships this summer. With four anticipated graduations, the achievement of this goal would bring the total of current, fully supported university students to 63. 

Past President Virginia Wheelwright spoke proudly and lovingly of her participation in the program, its growth, and of the dedication of the students. Most of them work jobs, spend hours traveling by bus from work to school and home, carry full academic loads, attend extra English classes, meet with mentors, and still find time to put in the hours of study required to maintain the high grades necessary to qualify for their scholarships. Wheelwright’s husband Farley rose to speak, describing himself as a “widower” to this program to which his wife has been so committed. He noted that there could be no more worthy effort and that he is as proud as his wife of Jovenes Adelante’s success, and that they are fully sponsoring two scholarship recipients.

Ruiz then introduced three current scholarship recipients and invited Remedios Hernandez Mancilla to the podium. Remedios’s application had emphasized her desire to help poor Mexicans who seldom have access to legal help. She is now in her fourth year of law at the University of León and in excellent English she described having initiated a free clinic to help local citizens maneuver through the legal bureaucracy. She expressed her gratitude to Jovenes Adelante for its support and encouragement. Next to speak was Emmanuel Macias Yanez, a second-year technical student studying electricity at the Universidad Tecnico del Norte de Guanajuato in Dolores Hidalgo. Emmanuel thanked Jovenes Adelante for selecting him for a scholarship and said he always tries his best. Even though he broke his leg in a soccer game in November and had to miss several weeks of classes, he studied hard at home and his excellent scores fell only “a little bit.” Last to speak was Christian Negrete Cisneros, who is a third-year student stud
ying tourism at the University of Guanajuato. Christian enthused about his recent on-the-job work experience in Playa del Carmen and Cozumel, where he had the opportunity to experience a very different aspect of Mexican life and culture, socialize with other tourism students and meet and guide visitors from many other countries. He expressed his gratitude for the Jovenes Adelante sponsorship which allows him to study and travel in pursuit of an exciting career in tourism. 

Following the conclusion of the services, congregation members, guests and the young speakers gathered at the Aldea restaurant for breakfast and continued conversations about the students’ personal experiences with the program and in their university careers.

Bilingual burros
By Sheryl MacDonald

Best of Burro Festival
Sat, Mar 15, 12:30pm
Village of Jalpa
395 pesos adults, 200 pesos children 12–18, under 12 free 
www.forgottenchild.org 

The social event of the season is fast approaching and we encourage you to get your tickets as soon as possible. It will be one of your most memorable experiences of San Miguel.

We have 22 students in Jalpa busily planning wardrobes for their burros. These avid couturiers are in the Leading with English program and are assisting their burros to understand English as well.

You may have seen one of the handsome burros in the Jardín the past two Saturdays promoting the event. There will be 21 others decked out in their finest attire hoping to win the title of “Best of Burro.” With various categories of competition such as the burro with the biggest teeth, longest ears, or best dressed, each student entering will receive a prize. Time will be allotted for a photo-shoot, so bring your camera, your sense of humor and goodwill—as well as your appetite for a fabulous comida prepared by the women of the village.

Any unsold tickets can be purchased at the bus (12:30pm from St. Paul’s Church) or in Jalpa if you plan to drive. 

To reserve tickets by phone, call Pat Miller (154-9741), Sheryl MacDonald (154-7747) or Sara Tylosky (154-4675). This event is organized under the auspices of FINO, 

Carol Teldon

The Board and staff of the Biblioteca Pública offer our deepest condolences to Gerald Teldon for the passing of his beloved wife, Carol.

We offer our gratitude and acknowledgement of the Teldon’s continued generously to the Biblioteca Pública and the community in general.

Democrats host dinner
By Gunnar Erickson

Jefferson Jackson Day
Sat, Mar 29, 7pm
Real de Minas Hotel
450 pesos

The Jefferson Jackson Day dinner traditionally kicks off the Democratic Party’s presidential year campaigning. This year, the local chapter of Democrats Abroad will host their own Jefferson Jackson Day dinner featuring a keynote address by Ana Maria Salazar Slack.

Salazar served in the first Clinton White House and now anchors two popular nationwide radio news programs in English: “Living in Mexico” and “Imagen News.” The latter can be heard in San Miguel on Saturday and Sunday mornings on FM 105.9. She is a recognized international law and national security expert on Latin America and writes weekly columns for El Universal, El Informador and El Imparcial in Mexico and La Opinión in California.

She was a policy advisor for President Clinton’s Special Envoy for the Americas in 1998 and from March 1995 to June 1997, she served in the US State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. Between June 1998 and January 2001, Salazar served at the Pentagon as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Drug Enforcement Policy and Support. As a result of her efforts at the Pentagon, Salazar was recognized by Hispanic Business magazine as one of the 100 most influential Hispanic Americans in the United States.

She is the author of three books: Las Guerras que Vienen, the bestseller Seguridad Nacional Hoy: El Reto de las Democracias and El Enemigo en Casa. In addition she serves as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

The dinner will incorporate the annual meeting of Democrats Abroad Mexico where Howard Feldstein, national chair, will preside. The goal of the dinner, aside from uniting and energizing the local Democratic community, is to raise funds for a voter outreach program aiming at the over one million US citizens and dual citizens in Mexico, helping them exercise their right to vote in the fall US elections.

The price of the dinner includes sparkling wine and canapés at the 7pm reception and dinner with wine at the 8pm sit-down dinner. There also will be a cash bar. Lest Democrats be thought of as scruffy, dressy attire is requested with black tie optional.

All Democrats, both visitors and members of the local chapter of Democrats Abroad, are welcome but no tickets will be available at the door. They can be purchased in advance at Border Crossings, La Conexión and Solutions.

Gunnar Erickson is the Parliamentarian and Media Contact for the San Miguel Chapter of Democrats Abroad.

Voices from El Charco
By Martin Smith 

Pereskiopsis: a stage in the evolution of cacti

El Charco is currently working on an exchange of plant material with UNAM in Mexico City. We will provide cuttings and floral material for use in various research projects at UNAM, and, in return, will receive cuttings from their extensive collection of the cactus genus Pereskiopsis.

Pereskiopsis are interesting plants, which at first sight do not resemble cacti. They have thin, barely succulent stems and quite large, persistent leaves. Look more closely, however, and you will notice the spines, set in little woolly cushions (called areoles) which are characteristic of cacti. Also, the flowers have the distinctive features found in that family of spiny plants, leaving us in no doubt as to their affiliation.

What these plants represent is a stage in the evolution of cacti. As deserts started to form around 65 millon years ago, the plants growing in those areas had to either adapt or die. Some adapted by becoming annuals, growing only when conditions were good and passing the dry season as seeds in the soil. Others, like many trees and shrubs, developed deep root systems, able to reach down to where there was permanent soil moisture. Others, like the cacti, adapted by developing bodies that store water and reduced their leaves to avoid water loss. 

In the most evolved forms, we see cacti that are spherical, or that grow as thick columns, but some, which grow in less arid areas were able to survive with less extreme adaptations. So we find plants like Pereskiopsis, which have retained what are thought of as primitive features for a cactus. Therefore they have relatively large leaves and not very juicy stems, but also show some of the most sophisticated features of the family such as areoles which are in fact highly reduced branches, and spines which are modified leaves on those branches.

If you want to see a cactus that is a step further along the evolutionary road, look at a young prickly pear pad. As it grows, each areole is protected by a small, scale-like leaf. These leaves soon dry and fall away, in order to conserve water, but show us that these plants, too, had leafy ancestors.

Martin Smith is Curator of Plants at the Botanical Garden.

White-tailed kite sightings
By Walter L. Meagher

Photo Credit Wayne Colony

Some birds dare us to find them, their habitats being inaccessible or their habits secretive. White-tailed kites are raptors that take pleasure in hovering and in making themselves visible: they hover near the Visitors Center in El Charco. Like the kestrel, kites fly low and remain stationary for a few seconds before plunging to seize a small snake, a vole or a grasshopper. The bird is not named after the child’s kite, quite the reverse! On other days the white-tailed kite will prowl the scrublands of San Miguel, looking for carrion, without damaging its reputation for being a raptor. Unusually for raptors, of whom we expect a solitary lifestyle as we do for most hunters, kites are collegial; they sit together in small groups, on bare branches, often in Parque Landeta, their white feathers as bright as sunshine on snowdrifts. Large red eyes contrast alarmingly with the black shoulder and white breast and belly. The good news is that while white-tailed kites were an endangered species 100 years ago, they have 
made a comeback and are common now, proving that conservation works. 

Walter Meagher is a board member of Audubon Mexico, which is based in San Miguel. For more information, visit www.audubonmex.org.