As promised, the fireworks on Sunday night at Templo del Carmen Alto celebrating Señor de Esquipulas were, indeed, espectacular! But, you may be asking, “Who is he and why does he deserve such celebration and veneration?”
Esquipulas refers to a town in Guatemala where, prior to the arrival of the Spanish, the peoples of Mesoamerica worshiped the god Ek Chua. After the Conquest, in 1594, Quirio Cataño was commissioned to carve a sculpture of Jesus on the cross for Esquipulas. Legend has it that Cataño used dark wood so that it looked more like the indigenous residents of the area. Another version of the story has the sculpture turning dark overnight to “please the children from the village of Esquipulas.” However, during a recent restoration of the image it was determined that it was centuries of smoke from candles and being touched by the faithful that turned the original light wood, dark.
Señor de Esquipulas from Templo Carmen Alto, Oaxaca — Procession of Silence, Good Friday 2013
Various miracles have been attributed to Señor de Esquipulas and pilgrims descend on the small Guatemalan village from Central America and Mexico to venerate the Black Christ. He has a long reach and replicas have been commissioned in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, and even as far away as Venezuela for the faithful to worship.
I’m not sure how Carmen Alto in Oaxaca came to house a Señor de Esquipulas, but it does and they go all out celebrating. Processions and special masses have been held during the week. However, the big festival day is January 19 and it began with early morning rockets at 6 AM — Alegres mañanitas in honor of the Señor de Esquipulas. The eucharist was celebrated at 7 AM, 8 AM, and 12 PM — the latter “For the peace of the world and for all the infirmed.” Cultural events were held during the day and there was another eucharist at 7 PM. Following the evening eucharist, Señor de Esquipulas was carried through the streets of the parish, accompanied by a band, monos, and believers.
Once they returned to Carmen Alto’s courtyard, it was “torito” time. The little bull holding up part of the castillo-under-construction in my last blog post, was ready to take center stage. Encircled by a brave crowd, for twenty to thirty minutes he danced and ran around the plaza spewing sparks at those in the line of fire.
Next up was two castillos, multi-story structures wired for a major sensory experience — light, sound, and much welcome heat, on a chilly night. Peace seemed to be a theme this year, with wheel appendages spelling out, “Violence no more” and “All united for peace.” This year there was even a prerecorded soundtrack. A young couple, on a cycling trip from Vancouver to Argentina, recognized it as music from a movie that I hadn’t heard of — however, they seemed quite surprised and delighted.
The flaming tops of each castillo eventually spun off into the night, as a fabulous fireworks display lit up the sky.
The show put on for Señor de Esquipulas was spectacular!
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