The festivity of the Holy Cross in San Miguel
By Jesús Ibarra

Since the cross was also a religious symbol for the pre-Hispanic civilizations (as the cross of Palenque proves), the Holy Cross (Santa Cruz) is the main reason why the natives adopted the Catholic religion, and it symbolizes the conquest of faith. The cross is a part of the syncretism (the combination of indigenous and Catholic religions) which was a response to the Spanish domination.

It represents a dual conception of the universe and the center of the world, which is formed by God’s line, from east to west, crossing man’s line, which goes from south to north. 


San Miguel is one of the places considered as a center of veneration of the cross. When founding a town, the friars used to mark it with a cross and throw a bunch of soil to the four winds (the four cardinal points), and the town was declared founded in the name of God and of the King of Spain.

Natives first rejected the crosses made of wood. They accepted only the crosses made of stone—like the one in Puerto de Calderón (on the road to Celaya)—since their own idols were made of stone. As time passed, they added their own designs to the crosses—such as the moon and the sun—which appeared on the arms of some, or the mirror—which symbolized Tezcatilipoca’s smoking mirror, through which one could see the universe. In this way, the crosses became adapted to the indigenous conception.

Natives had to attend the chapel for the doctrine, but soon they began to have their own crosses at home.

In San Miguel, the main celebration of the Holy Cross is in Puerto de Calderón, on May 3, and during May, the four oldest neighborhoods each have their own celebrations: the first Sunday of May in Guadiana, the second in Ojo de Agua, the third in La Palmita and the fourth in Valle del Maíz.

Puerto de Calderón is the place where the statue of the Lord of the Conquest is supposed to have been found. The Holy Cross is made of stone and it is a meter and a half high. Brown in color, it’s covered with paintings and Catholic symbols related to the death of Christ.

The celebrations in the neighborhoods begin in Guadiana, because it was the first neighborhood to be founded when the population moved from its original settlement in San Miguel Viejo. The word “Guadiana”, of Arabic origin, means “river that runs down,” referring to the stream coming down from El Chorro. Ojo de Agua is named so because when it was founded, there was a spring in the place where the chapel and the cross were built.

The festivities of the Holy Cross end in Valle del Maíz, with pre-Hispanic dances by groups of the same neighborhood, theater performances (coloquios) and elaboration of xúchiles (offerings made of a wild local plant called “cucharilla”).

The festival honors a Catholic symbol but also features indigenous dances and rituals, such as the blessing to the four winds—part of the Chichimeca culture that withstood Spanish domination. The main objective of the festival is to give thanks for all the blessings received during the past year and to ask for a good rainy season and a bountiful harvest.

Some rural communities also celebrate the Santa Cruz, such as Guerrero and Atotonilco, which honors La Cruz del Perdón. The Holy Cross in the Parroquia esplanade is also celebrated on May 3.

May 3 is also a celebration day for construction workers, who stop working that day and build altars to honor the Holy Cross, adorned with flowers, candles and paper. Some of them build a cross, made with construction scraps. At noon they have a great meal with mole, tacos and other Mexican dishes. 


(Source: Fiesta y Tradición en San Miguel de Allende (Memoria de Don Félix Luna), by Beatriz Cervantes Jáuregui y Ana María Crespo)

Juan Pablo Gómez, sculptor of crosses Juan Pablo Gómez is a Mexican sculptor who created the crosses in Parque Juárez and Plazuela San Felipe. “I have always felt an attraction to Jesus and spiritual issues,” said Gómez. “For me, the cross is a very strong link between spiritualism and worldly things.

I identify with crosses, but not with the cross where Jesus died as a symbol of death, but as a symbol of life. Every one of us has a cross to carry in his or her life. But we ourselves build that cross, and we stamp on it whatever we want. The first cross I made was a thin one that read “Te toca” (“It is your turn”), meaning it is your turn to take control of your own life, and to build it as you want.”