View From Casita Colibrí

To borrow from Russian actor and director, Konstantin Stanislavsky, “there are no small parts, only [very] small actors.”  And the children of  Teotitlán del Valle begin learning their lines at a very young age.

They were in full view Friday night as the convite (parade) of unmarried young women and girls opened the multi-day Fiesta de la Virgen del Rosario.

Young boys, carrying marmotas led off the parade, that began at the pueblo’s Sangre de Cristo church.

They were followed by traditional indigenous drums and a band.

Then the stars of the evening took center stage.  From the oldest to the youngest, all were wearing the traditional red woolen skirt (woven in the village, of course!) and blouses painstakingly and lovingly hand embroidered.

Arms above head, balancing their canastas, they wound their way through the slick (it was drizzling) cobblestone streets of the village for an hour, before eventually returning to the church.

I don’t know how they did it; even the dogs were in awe!

Sunday’s events to follow…