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Published: April 25th 2009
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Palm Sunday
Outside the Church in Iquitos with my palm Hey Everybody!!!
I have to apologize for slacking on my blog entries it has been a crazy few weeks. I know this is now 2 weeks old but it was a pretty important expereince and better late than never!
Semana Santa, or as we call it Holy Week, was great and full of religious processionals and lots and lots of food. The most memorable and unique aspects were the Procession del Señor de los Temblores, the Procession de Good Friday, and the 12 plates of the Apostles. I spent Palm Sunday in Iquitos and was nearly suffocated in the church because there were so many people in the sanctuary even though there were at least 3 other services throughout the day. The palms were much more elaborate than the plain Jane ones we use back home; in fact, palms are used throughout the whole week and sold outside of every church and at every procession.
The Monday after Palm Sunday is dedicated to El Señor de los Temblores who is the patron saint of Cusco. We had flown back into Cusco just in time to witness one of the biggest celebrations in this Andean town. The statue representing
El Senor de Los Temblores
Those are Nukchu flowers around him El Señor is a crucified Christ clad in red. A noticeable difference between this Christ figure and other ones commonly found in churches had to do with his physical features. As opposed to a creamy white, his skin was a light, chocolate brown only slightly darker than many of the Peruvians I know. His hair was long and pitch black, darker than I had ever seen represented before. Hanging from his cross was light up hearts and people were throwing a special red flower over him as he passed under balconies called Nukchu.
My host mom and I had somehow managed to get thrown into the procession, as we had apparently got in a little too close to the statue. We got smashed up against the military band and one trombone player in particular was not happy about it. There was nothing we could do. We were centered behind the glorious statue only about 30 ft behind surrounded and being pushed by literally hundreds of thousands of people. I can now say that I was nearly trampled while following a Jesus statue. My host mom was not having a very good experience so I managed to throw a few
elbows and get us to the side of the procession, it was unbelievable. It took two hours for El Señor to travel ¼ mile or less. When he finally made it to the other cathedral a massive blessing was said over the crowd in the presence of an eerie silence. After that, the crowds disbursed.
This tradition started in the early 1600’s with a huge earthquake. El Señor represents both Jesus Christ and Cusco’s patron saint of temblores or earthquakes. I don’t understand entirely how that works except that it is a fantastic example of mixing both Andean and Christian belief systems. When I asked Elida my host mom to explain what it meant to her, she couldn’t. To her it has always just been a tradition important to her identity and will always be that way. She could only say that without El Señor de los Temblores, her religion would be incomplete.
Maundy Thursday brought food, lots of food, 12 plates to be exact. The 12 Plates of the Apostles is a meal held in remembrance of the Last Supper and the followers of Christ. One type of food or dish is prepared for each apostle and served at the lunch time meal traditionally 6 main plates and 6 desserts. Most families these days are not able to choke down all 12 meals and so they cheat slightly by including beverages as part of the 12 and separating out the dishes between lunch and dinner. We had nine plates for lunch and three for dinner. Red meat is not allowed in the mix so soups and fish are common dishes all served with rice and potatoes. For desserts we had arroz con leche (rice in sweet milk), sweet cornbread, pudding, poached apples and peaches, ginger cookies, and empanadas de Semana Santa. The last one tastes exactly like a Christmas sugar cookie topped in cinnamon and are nationally famous as part of Cusco culture. Delicious but too much food for me.
Good Friday was deeply emotional. At approximately 4 in the afternoon we went to the center for yet another procession. We waited for quite a long time in the cathedral as a small choir sang and people silently prayed. I didn’t really understand what we were doing there but suddenly everyone was standing. As I looked behind me down the aisle, I saw several men in robes carrying incense lanterns and candles. Behind them I was finally able to make out a glass coffin being carried by several men. The inside was light up by a soft red light illuminating a life-sized body of Christ. It was so real complete with realistically painted drops of blood on His skin. I would say that one of the only things telling my mind that the body wasn’t real was the fact that the skin was just a little too shiny.
After a short ceremony we processed out of the cathedral behind the casket. I felt like I was at the funeral of a loved one and I guess in many ways I was. It was so powerful and somber. We walked behind him for several blocks which again went in super slow motion. There was another statue behind us of the Virgin Mary sitting dressed like a Queen on a throne. An equally large and emotional group was following her. Unbelievable and unforgettable.
The events leading up to Easter were deeply moving and really made the story of the Passion come to a new meaning. Easter in itself was a bit of a letdown for me. I went to early church as I do back home but it wasn’t what I had expected. My favorite part of Easter back home is going to the early service and seeing the front of the church that was last covered in black and despair adorned with gloriously white Easter lilies whose aroma fills the entire sanctuary. Not the case in Cusco. In fact, there was nothing special about the service at all and when I came home there was no chocolate waiting for me to break my Lenten fast. Bummer.
We did have a wonderful dinner of lamb and potatoes but it only made me miss home more. It was my first Easter away from home and it was pretty difficult for me. That was a turning point in the trip for me as I realized that maybe I am getting ready to go home. Now I’m only 3 weeks away from the end and I don’t know where the time has gone. I’m glad I was here to experience the celebration that is Semana Santa here in Peru but I definitely missed my family and wished we could have experienced it together.
My pictures did not come out so well so I thought I would show you these to get an idea!
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