Palm Sunday April 17th

Palm Sunday we went to church and used our spanish missals we brought from home. They helped but the mexican spanish of course was somewhat different from the Castillian spanish. Also, we could not read and speak as fast as they were speaking but it was a beautiful mass anyway. That night we went to our first procession of Semana Santa (Holy Week). The procession is known as "stations of penance". It started at the Basilica de San Miguel at 7:15. We arrived around 6:30 and there was already a crowd but we got good spots to stand. The crowd was anxiously anticipating the start of the procession out of the church. When it finally started, there were dressed in black with black hoods, some other groups and then the great cross (so called Cruz de Guia - Guiding Cross). It's kind of like a float in a parade but it is carried on the shoulders of men underneath it who can't see anything. They are guided by a man on the outside. Turning is very difficult and comes in baby steps. Once a turn is made, the crowd erupts in applause. As the cross makes its way slowly down the street, more and more groups are following behind. There was even a cardinal in the procession. At the end of the procession is another large float of the Blessed Mother. This one was followed by a band that started playing once they exited the church. There must have been 300 people in the procession and it goes for a long way down the streets and ends up hours later back at the church.
This experience was unlike anything Robyn or I had ever experienced before. It was so beautiful and moving to the spirit. We were in awe of the whole experience.
There are more processions during the week and we go to Barcelona on Thursday night so we will see even more there. We are very excited and can't wait. This is going to be the best Holy Week ever.