The Passion Play (Pasion de Cristo)
The Easter season in lakeside’s predominantly Roman Catholic communities will be framed by solemn rites and age-old customs that will be observed this past week-end through Sunday April 20th.
Traditional procession and pageants bring the Easter story to life, heightening personal identification with core values of the Christian faith. These colourful public spectacles drawn from Biblical accounts of the last teachings, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, have evolved from methods of evangelization introduced by Spanish missionaries who arrived in Mexico nearly 500 years ago.
Dramatic representations of the Passion of Christ commonly referred to as the Via Crucis or Judea Viviente are staged by amateur theater groups in cooperation with local churches. Program formats vary from place to place, each reflecting the hard work, creative talents and profound religious devotion of hundreds of volunteers who participate as actors, set builders, costume makers, make-up artists, stage hands, technicions and support teams.
This is the schedule for Friday, April 3rd in Ajijic.
Friday April 3rd is Good Friday and the Passion Play starts again at san Andreas atrium at 11:00 am with scenes of Christ facing judment and condemnation before Pontius Pilate and Herod, and flagellation by Roman soldiers, played out on rotating scenic backdrops.
The Via Crucis follows, with performers and spectators accompanying Jesue as he bears a heavy wooden cross to the Crucifixion site, taking Calles Parroquia Hidalgo, Juarez, Angel Flores and Tempisque to the same spot of Thursday night’s episode. (The top of Emiliano Zapato and Colon.)
Afterward the disciples carry Christ’s body back to the center of town for a burial scene inside the church. Liturgical celebration of the Lord’s Passion and the Rosary of Sorrows devotions at the San Andreas atrium begin at 7:00 pm.
The Marcha de Silencio leaves the church at 9:00 pm, travelling along Marcos Castellanos, Constiticion-Ocampo to Seis Esquinas, returning to San Andreas via Hidalgo-Parroquia.
Anyone who has attended all or part of the Easter Passion Play say that it is a spectacle not to me missed.
Happy Easter to all!
Full schedules for Ajijic, Chapala and San Antonio Tlayacapan can be found in the Guadalajara Reporter March 28th – April 3rd issue Page 13.