The Passion Play

Christmas is a very big holiday here in Ajijic, Lake Chapala and it is celebrated with much pomp and ceremony and wonderfully exotic and beautiful rituals.

As we are in a largely Roman Catholic community Easter outshines Christmas and is celebrated by solemn rites and age-old customs that will be observed from this week-end through Sunday, April 20th.  One of the most wonderful rites is the Passion Play which is a dramatic representation of the Pssion of Christ and is staged by amateur theater groups in cooperation with local churches.

Traditional processions and pageants bring the Easter story to life, heightening personal identification with core values of the Christian faith. These colorful public spectacles , drawn from Biblical account of the last teachings, cruxifixion ad resurrection of Jesus Christ, have evolved from methods of evangelization introduced by Spanish missionionaries who arrived in Mexico nearly 500 years ago.

Dramatic representations f the Passion of Christ, commonly referred to at the Via Crusis or Judea Viviente, are staged by amateur groups in cooperation with local churches

You can get a full listing of the events in Chapala, San Antonio and Ajijic  for April 13 – Pam Sunday, April 17th – Maundy Thursday,April 18th – Good Friday, April 19th – Holy Saturday and April 20th- Easter Sunday from this week’s (April 12th) Guadalajara Reporter.

There is also a listing of all Easter church services and times.

Local Mexicans work on fund-raising events and activities for months before the events of Semana Santa (Holy Week) and preparations, props and costumes also take months and no detail is spared for the reenactment of The Passion Play.

This is a must see event for all.

Please keep your cars off the streets during these processions and park a decent distance away from the processions as well.

Happy Easter to all!