Day of the Holy Cross

Posts Tagged ‘Day of the Holy Cross’

Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged carrizo cross, cohetes, Day of the Holy Cross, Día de la Santa Cruz, Día del Albañil, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, rockets on May 3, 2020| 2 Comments »

Since early this morning, rocket explosions, up close and in the distance, have been breaking the Sunday silence. That’s odd, I thought. While in normal times, the jarring sound of cohetes is a frequent player in the soundtrack of life in Oaxaca, these days, like clanging church bells, their booms and bangs have been absent from the orchestra. So, why today? I wondered. It wasn’t until I downloaded this photo from this morning’s walk, that it dawned on me.

Looking south from Panorámica del Fortín, Oaxaca de Juárez

May 3rd in Mexico is Día de la Santa Cruz (Day of the Holy Cross) and Día del Abañil (Day of the mason/stonemason/bricklayer). Tradition calls for construction workers to erect crosses festooned with flowers at the highest point on building sites — but construction in Oaxaca, in this time of Covid-19, has been at a standstill for several weeks. I guess the building trades’ workers aren’t going to let a lethal virus interfere with their “macho rivalry” tradition. From an article in Mexconnect:

The first dramatic volley of thousands of joyful cohetes (sky rockets) begins at midnight as each crew attempts to be the first to announce the celebration of the Day of the Holy Cross. This macho rivalry between workers continues sporadically all night and for the entire 24 hours of May 3 with each crew hoping to set off more sky rockets than their competitors to remind one and all that this is a special day.

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Blessed construction!

Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Culture, tagged building construction, construction, Day of the Holy Cross, Día de la Santa Cruz, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, rebar on August 28, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Construction is going on all over the city. A blessing or a curse?

The cross was probably put up on May 3, Día de la Santa Cruz (Day of the Holy Cross) — which also happens to be Día del Abañil (Day of the mason/stonemason/bricklayer). It is tradition for workers to erect crosses festooned with flowers at the highest point on construction sites.

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¡Que milagro!

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged construction workers, Day of the Holy Cross, Día de la Santa Cruz, Día del Albañil, labor, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, sidewalks, stonemasons on May 3, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Today is Día de la Santa Cruz (Day of the Holy Cross). Lest anyone forget, there have been booms and bangs throughout the day to remind one and all! And, most years, the day finds me huffing and puffing my way up to the top of Picacho, the sacred mountain that looms above Teotitlán del Valle — joining the Zapotec villagers in a Prehispanic ritual asking for rain.

It is also the Día del Abañil (Day of the mason/stonemason/bricklayer) and it is tradition for workers to erect crosses festooned with flowers at the highest point on construction sites. According to Mexconnect, in 1960, Pope John XXIII removed Día de la Santa Cruz from the liturgical calendar, but Mexico being Mexico and construction workers being construction workers, they ignored the Pope. Eventually, understanding the relationship of forces, he gave Mexico a special dispensation to celebrate this day.

For me, today the city brought a much welcomed surprise. As anyone who has traversed the first block of Garcia Vigil (between Independencia and Morelos) during the past nine months can attest, it has been a challenge not to slip, trip, or fall thanks to the warped “temporary” plywood laid down over what used to be a solid, if not smooth, sidewalk. However, on this day celebrating abañiles, they were hard at work on a new “real” sidewalk!

No cross on the worksite, but definitely a Día de la Santa Cruz/Día del Albañil miracle!

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Inviting the rain atop Picacho

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, People, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged Cerro Picacho, Day of the Holy Cross, Día de la Santa Cruz, El Picacho, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Procopio Contreras, Teotitlán del Valle on May 4, 2017| 7 Comments »

Yesterday, I did it again! After a year’s hiatus, on Día de la Santa Cruz I returned for the ritual pilgrimage to the top of El Picacho, the sacred mountain that watches over Teotitlán del Valle. To avoid hiking in the worst of May’s high temperatures, our ascent began at 5:30 in the morning. Yes, it was dark, with not even moonlight to guide our way. Thank goodness for the flashlight app on my smart phone. However, by 6:30 AM dawn was breaking and our artificial lights were extinguished. Our hardy band arrived at the summit about 7:30 AM to the ritual round of handshaking that accompanies greetings and farewells in the village.

The three crosses mark the summit

Pilgrims perched on the rocky outcroppings that make up the peak.

The views were spectacular no matter which way one chose to look.

An altar greeted pilgrims at the peak.

At 8:30 AM, an hour-long mass was celebrated and, perhaps a first, some of it was in Zapoteco.

As the mass began, the cicadas (cigarras or chicharras, en español) began their song — one even perched on the fabric swag festooning the crosses.

Mass over, Procopio Contreras, the young priest (first from Teotitlán) took off his vestments and posed for photos.

Mountain top delivery of tamales de mole amarillo followed the mass.

Along with a cup of agua de jamaica, we took our tamales into the shade, where bromeliads clung to tree branches.

After a lazy comida filled with conversation between new friends and with our strength renewed, we (3 Teotitecos, 1 Belgian, and me) descended the mountain.

While the day may be designated Día de la Santa Cruz and a mass said on top of Picacho, this day has pre-Hispanic roots in ceremonies related to the sowing season. In the early days of May (by our calendar), prayers and rituals were dedicated to Cosijo, the Zapotec god of lightening, thunder, and rain — later to Tláloc, the Aztec god of rain — thus fertility and water for the growing of crops. Hmmm… On May 2, lightening flashed and thunder roared, but Mother Nature only delivered a few drops in the village. However, on May 3, once the daylong festivities atop the mountain concluded, three hours of a good hard rain fell in Teotitlán del Valle. The gods must have heard the prayers.

h/t Zeferino Mendoza

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Día de la Santa Cruz pilgrimage

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged Cerro Picacho, Day of the Holy Cross, Día de la Santa Cruz, El Picacho, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, Quie Guia Betz, Teotitlán del Valle on May 8, 2015| 6 Comments »

The sunburned shoulders have turned brown and the leg muscles are no longer sore. I’ve fully recovered from last Sunday’s annual Día de la Santa Cruz (Day of the Holy Cross) hike up Cerro Picacho (in zapoteco, Quie Guia Betz), the sacred mountain in Teotitlán del Valle.

All that remains, are memories and photographs from another lovely, if strenuous, day. The cicadas (cigarras or chicharras, en español) again provided the soundtrack, as we wound our way up the trail from the presa (dam). The climb begins rather benignly but rapidly gets steeper and steeper. That little speck in the lower right of the photo below is the car — and this was less than a tenth of the way to the summit!

At 10 AM, when we began our ascent, it was already hot and experience told us shade trees were few and far between. We were the only extranjeros (foreigners) on the trail and were frequently passed by Teotitecos (people from Teotitlán) going up and coming down and never failing to greet us with “buenos días.” After several rest and water sipping breaks, we eventually reached our destination.

This 2.9 mile (4.7 km) hike took us from 5,750 feet (1,752 meters) to 6,830 feet (2,082 meters). However, once we arrived, we were immediately offered much-needed and appreciated cups of agua de jamaica (hibiscus water) and later we were fed amarillo tamales pulled from steaming pots in the makeshift kitchen. No doubt, the gals in this alfresco cocina appreciated the newly constructed shade structure and counter that had been bolted into the side of the mountain, as I’m sure did the young man who sat down to serenade us.

However, the best was yet to come — the spectacular views of the village and the mountains beyond that unfold when one reaches the summit.

Even more overwhelming is the sense of oneness with the natural world and with generations of Zapotecos who have been climbing and honoring El Picacho for thousands of years.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, May 3 is Día de la Santa Cruz. The committee members who organize Teotitlán’s celebration change from year to year, so each year takes on a slightly different character. This year brought the newly built kitchen space and, unlike last year, no foot race up the mountain and the absence of massive speakers blasting music — for which we were grateful!

Three permanent crosses can be found atop Picacho and for Día de la Santa Cruz, all were decorated with fragrant garlands of frangipani blossoms. A cross of concrete and stone crowns an altar and two wooden crosses, which I’ve been told were carved in Chiapas, preside above the altar and look out over the valley.

Teotitlán (Teocaltitlán, in náhuatl) means “land of the gods.” Sitting on top of Cerro Picacho, it certainly felt as if I was indeed gazing out at the land of the gods.

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View From Casita Colibrí

gringa musings from a rooftop terrace in Oaxaca

Posts Tagged ‘Day of the Holy Cross’