Late afternoon on Good Friday (Viernes Santo), the people began gathering along the sidewalks of the Andador Turístico (aka, the Alcalá), Allende, and Garcia Vigil, staking out a favored spot to watch the Procession of Silence. Not to worry, the Girl and Boy Scouts were there to keep everything and everybody in order and to remind one and all to “please, keep silent.”
And, lest you misbehave, there were a couple of drones hovering above the fray to record the action, both good and bad, and offering an interesting juxtaposition against Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán’s colonial architecture — the old and new of Oaxaca.
Daylight Savings Time hasn’t yet begun in Mexico and the setting sun offered dramatic light as Señor de La Columna emerged from Santo Domingo to take his place in the procession.
However, the light was fading fast as the high-pitched tones of the chirimía and the rhythmic beat of the tambor at last heralded the start of the procession and Señor de la Humildad y Paciencia made his way from Templo de la Preciosa Sangre de Cristo.
As darkness fell, the street lights proved challenging and my photos of the 50+ religious banners, as they slowly passed my vantage point on Allende, left a lot to be desired, except for this littlest of standard bearers.
This year the faces of Jesús and María seemed to be lit from underneath and that helped a bit.
However, perhaps the darkness was whispering to me to stop making photos and just “be” with the experience.
This was the thirtieth year of Oaxaca’s Procesión del Silencio and so I suspect there will many more to come.
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Lovely words, lovely photos
¡Muchisimas gracias, Mary!
It is such a delight to get your love of photography almost daily. I have a question about Oaxaca. Knowing what you now know about Oaxaca city life, where would you look to live within the city, or for that matter would you choose another community in the central valley region. I know that relative quiet may be an oxymoron in the Latin culture, but that would matter to us.
Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words! As for where to live… As I don’t have a car here (and have no desire to have one), living in el centro puts me within walking distance of most activities in the city.
Oaxaca is not a quiet place — church bells ring, rockets explode at the crack of dawn on feast days, horns honk, dogs bark, megaphones announce “gas de Oaxaca,” and buses grind their gears. However, to tell the truth, I don’t even hear them anymore.
Outside the city, there are also bells, rockets, more dogs, and bandas playing for neighbor fiestas, not to mention early morning roosters crowing and donkeys braying. They are all reminders that life is happening. 😉
I always love your photos and your comments, but these are especially nice. Thank you for being in one of my favorite places and recording it so beautifully.
Thank you so much for reading and taking the time to comment. Oaxaca is incredibly inspiring and speaks for itself!
I have taken part in two “Processions of Silence”…… a very profound experience, even for a non religious person. You find yourself ‘lost’ in contemplation, in a wellspring of peace and remembrance.
I love the silence. 🙂