As far as I’m concerned, Señor de la Humildad y Paciencia was the patron saint of Friday’s, Procession of Silence. He waited for hours inside the Templo de la Preciosa Sangre de Cristo, while we waited for hours outside, for the procession to begin.
At least he was sitting down. For the penitents, their lot was a lot of standing around.
Some of the participants passed the time joking around (and occasionally teasing this gringa blogger), others looked incredibly bored, but all remained patiently stationed in place. After all, in the words of one guy’s t-shirt, “don’t panic,” it will eventually start.
Then, there is always one’s cell phone to provide a bit of distraction.
The 6 PM start time for the procession came and went, as did the daylight and my hope for taking any decent photographs of the actual procession. (One of these days, I will master night photography of moving objects, she says, hopefully!) It looked like even San Pedro was looking to the heavens for divine intervention to get the show on the road.
About 6:45 PM, with lights flashing, a small phalanx of motorcycle police signaled our prayers had been answered and a hush fell over the multitudes lining the sidewalks, streets, and balconies — the Procesión del Silencío had finally begun.
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View From Casita Colibrí 
I just want to tell you how much I enjoy and appreciate your blogs. They help me keep in touch with Oaxaca. I believe I met you one day in January when you were with Ken and Jane (our neighbors on M. Bravo). Thanks for the great work!
Mary Pat
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Mary Pat, yes I think we met on a street corner. Thank you for reading my blog and for your very kind words!
Or, until you get that night time photography together, you can always hope for a late Easter. Last year, the parade was in daylight!
If only daylight savings time began Friday morning, instead of tomorrow (Sunday) morning. Oh well, in the words of the Rolling Stones, ya can’t always get what ya want!