In Belize, Easter isn't just a supersized Sunday church service, eggs, fancy dresses and a big feast for lunch or dinner. The "Easter" celebration and commemoration is a week long beginning with Palm Sunday, then several days of preparations for Holy Friday, Holy Saturday, Holy Sunday and Holy Monday - thus Semana Santa - Holy Week. Eric was in town for the events going on in Benque and while we considered traveling to Guatemala for some site seeing and adventure several factors led to us staying cozy in Benque. It was a very enjoyable several days, mainly because of Eric's lovely presence in my life, but also to witness the cultural events happening in my community. Throughout all of Holy Week there were processions leaving from the Catholic Church which included large "floats" (which were made out of wood and such and therefore didn't float but were carried by a group of people) and a large procession of people. Actually, I saw more people out during the past week for religious events than I even knew existed in Benque. The crowds hit the streets in remarkable numbers. It was astounding to see because I've been to fairly important town meetings where if you get 25-35 people you've done well. Yet, hundreds and hundreds of people come to walk the street and follow the priests and the alter boys and the replicas of Jesus and Mary. It was remarkable.
On Good Friday, Eric and I woke up, made breakfast and then headed out into a scorching hot day to witness the crowds that were artistically constructing sawdust carpets in the roads. These are approx. 4x6' "carpets" that are made in the streets out of sawdust of many different colors. Some contained images of churches, crosses, the face of Jesus, flowers, and other intricate designs. We watched as people worked in the blazing hot sun. Eric went to find shade while I chatted with my coworker about the days events. She requested that I go find the procession of the Passion of the Christ - a reenactment of Jesus' persecution, walking the streets with the cross and crucifiction - to take pictures and document.
It didn't take us long to find it. As we approached the boulevard, a main road in town, there were hundreds more people following the actors - Jesus, the other two guys that were crucified with him, Caesar and his wife, the guards - all dressed up with makeup and other theatrical touches. While I was impressed with the organization and the dedication of these people to putting on this spectacle for the 19th year in a row (!) I was also not really fond of being shoved around within the crowd or watching someone get whipped and yelled at even though it was a dramatization. I stopped somewhere to take a picture and unknowingly stopped right on top of a fireant hill. Immediately my feet were on fire as the buggers bit and bit and bit, swarming up my feet and legs and all over my flip flops. I sat down on a stoop and began beating at my feet and shoes to get the fire ants off. After this point I was done. Hot, stung, turned off by the violence and sadness of the performance - Eric and I decided to head back to the house for cold drinks, cold showers and a siesta.
Later that night we were watching people from my patio walk towards the main road. Most were well dressed and I began to wonder where they were going. In a bit of time we got ready and went out as well to walk around and see what was going on. In perfect timing we reached the boulevard and saw another large procession moving towards us. We crossed the street to have a good view and watched all the people, the 'floats' and the solemness of the procession as they passed. It was a great way to see all the town and be seen because EVERYONE was out. As the procession reached the corner road near the cemetery, I realized that they were about to walk the road where all the sawdust carpets were made. People had been working on these carpets from 5am until probably 6pm. It was only 8pm and the this holy procession was about to walk all over the carpets. This is what they're made for! Hours and hours and hours of work so that these artistic creations can then be walked on the same day. I was horrified and then hurried to get ahead of the procession so that we could go see all the carpets. We rushed up a street, cut off the crowds and walked ahead a ways to look at all the carpets. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera so I didn't get many pictures but some will be posted shortly.
We reached the end of the carpet route, circled back around and watched the procession once again, enjoying the sounds of a horn band playing their instruments. At about 10pm we wandered back to my house discussing the cultural experience we just witnessed, the mass involvement of the community and how that could be replicated for issues such as community clean up, town meetings, etc. And while some of the experiences baffled me, I also had to realize that in the states some people die boiled eggs, play hide and seek and tell kids that the Easter bunny delivered their candy baskets. Every culture has its oddities and I guess its ok if they don't really make sense. It is a treat to experience and seek to understand them though, or at least try.
Next year I think I'll head to Mexico or Guatemala for a different experience away from this current 'home' of mine.
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