… and fish and turtles and ducks. On August 31, as the rain fell, all of the above and more, assembled at Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Merced for the annual Bendición de los Animales. Animals and their human keepers were there to celebrate the feast day of San Ramón de Nonato, patron saint of women in labor, persons falsely accused, and keeper of animals.
There were some familiar faces, both human and animal, from last year’s blessing. However, this year the dogs were extremely vocal and, on occasion, tested the strength of the human at the other end of their leash — perhaps it was in anticipation of the evening’s “blue moon” or maybe being restrained and made to just sit or stand in the rain made them grouchy.
This morning’s article in Noticias covering the blessing, led off with this quote from Benito Juárez García:
La protección de los animales forma parte esencial de la moral y de la cultura de los pueblos civilizados. (The protection of animals is an essential part of morality and culture of civilized people.)
For more on this year’s Blessing of the Animals, head over to Oaxaca-The Year After.
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