Passion Play Schedule 2012
Ajijic’s Passion Play has evolved over 3 decades.
This colorful spectacle drawn primarily from Biblical accounts of the teaching of Jesus, his Crucifixion and Resurrection and go to the core of the Christian Faith, arising from methods of evangelization introduced by Spanish missionaries who arrived in Mexico nearly 500 years ago.
The following is the schedule for Ajijic starting with Maundy Thursday, April 5th. Information and schedules for Chapala and San Antonio Tlayacapan are available in the Guadalajara Reporter March 31st. Maundy Thursday, April 5th – Celebration of the Last Supper 6:00 pm followed by Mass 7:00 pm at San Andres. Passion Play sequences begin with Prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane. Christ’s final teaching to his Disciples and Kiss of Judas, staged on the mountainside at the top of Calle Juarez, 9:00 pm. Torch bearing Pharisees and soldiers arrive to apprehend Jesus, leading him away in shackles in a torch-light march to the plaza via Colon, continuing with scenes of Judgment before the Sanhedrin represented in front of the Rosario Chapel.
Good Friday, April 6th – Sequences of Christ’s trial before Herod and condemnation by Pontius Pilate, 11:00 am are played out on a stunning scenic backdrop in the San Andres atrium. The Via Crucis follows, with performers and spectators accompanying Jesus as he bears a heavy wooden cross to the Crucifixion site, taking Calle Parroquia and Juarez to the same mountainside spot of Thursday night. The Disciples carry Christ back to the center of town to a burial scene inside the church. Lecture of the Passion of Christ and Rosary of Condolences devotions at San Andres begin at 8:00 pm, followed by the Marcha de Silencia though the heart of the village.
Holy Saturday, April 7th – Easter Vigil, 8:00 – 10:00 pm at San Andres, with the Passion Play cast appearing to portray the Resurrection. The Quema de Judas is held afterwards at the plaza.
Easter Sunday, April 8th – As a day of Holy obligation for the faithful, all local churches schedule services throughout the day. San Antonio celebrates the holiday with Marche de Alegria lively parade around the village, departing from the parish at 8:30 pm.
A schedule of the Lakeside congregations observances of Holy Week are also listed in the Guadalajara Reporter March 31st.
The Passion Play in Ajijic is a wonderful spectacle regardless of one’s religious beliefs.
Happy Easter!