Yesterday Friday of Sorrows ushered in Semana Santa, the Holy Week preceding Easter, with a focus on Our Lady of Sorrows. Over the past week Patzcuarenses were busy preparing altars venerating this manifestation of the Virgin Mary. One can see that the faithful suffer strong mental and emotional anguish, to them real and part of their living present, as they condole with the grief of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores for the pending crucifixion of her Son. This is a time of dolorous observance.
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You've really sparked my curiosity. Never having ventured into a Mexican Catholic church at Easter time, I was so glad I could click on your photos and see them much larger. They're really spectacular. The balloons with the nets are interesting, I wonder if they represent eggs. Is the carpet in front of the Virgen's altar really made of flowers?
Re-commenting, hopefully with typos corrected: The top 2 photos were taken at the library on Plaza Chica as they were decorating for Friday. To my knowledge, the balloons just support the purple and white decorations and don't represent eggs (but I will ask). The library was a church long ago. The third photo from the top is in front of the Presidencia or Town Hall. The bottom photo is in an alcove of a private home on Plaza Grande that the owners open for viewing for special observances. The flowers in the bottom photo are made of cut crepe paper and which is formed into blossoms with paste-coated fingers and then allowed to dry. Laborious and time-consuming as is much of Mexican folk art. So none of these photos were taken inside a church. These altars pervade lay Pátcuaro. PS - I am glad you liked the photos!
(And no, I did not get my copy corrected.)
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