Alfombras

Thursday evening at five PM, sixty to seventy people gathered at one of the streets alongside the central park to begin the creation of the Semana Santa alfombras (carpets). The first procedure was to take all of the bags of uncolored sawdust that were distributed along the block and empty them on top of the cobblestone.
After we emptied the bags, people took rakes and brooms to the sawdust to spread it out. Next, we took long boards to use as screeds (similar to spreading out concrete) to level out the sawdust, making several passes, pulling the boards over the sawdust to get out any humps and swales. After the sawdust was fairly level, we placed cardboard on the sawdust and "danced" on it to tamp the sawdust down. Each person used two pieces of cardboard,  placing one in front of the other to travel the full length of the street, pressing the sawdust down. After this was done, string lines were placed to ensure the proper spacing of the alfombras, then out came the sawdust that I helped color last week. We found out when it was time to place the image on the flattened sawdust that we teachers from Escuela Mayatan would have our own alfombra.

Each alfombra had a square center and an outer border with one color used for the center and another for the border. Each alfombra had its own image, and ours was Jesus portrayed as a Sheppard with His sheep. We had different colors of sawdust to choose from for Jesus' ropa (clothes), and we were all barefoot as we had to be careful on the sawdust. As a result, we all went home with colored feet and hands. We were also allowed to create a design for decorating the border. Many onlookers were lining the street all through the night along with the occasional stray dog prancing unaware across the length of the alfombras. The damage was very minimal until someone would shew the dog and it bolted away only to do more damage. As we were getting close to finishing the alfombra we let some "stray" kids help with the finishing touches and they were very excited. Our alfombra was finally finished and it only took seven hours. We took a break, walked over to a small pickup truck and grabbed some empanadas for a midnight snack. Amy was tired and went home to be, but I decided to stay for a spell to guard our alfombra and help with the cleanup. After about another hour I turned down a cup of coffee with rum and stumbled home on tired piernas (legs) and the next morning I learned that some people stayed all night to guard the alfombras and evidently were nipping at the rum I turned down.

On Good Friday morning we arrived in central park at nine to join the procession of the Stations of the Cross. As always, events very seldom start on time here, you might be told nine AM and nothing will happen until one or two hours later. Or you won’t get the necessary details you need to be in the right place at the right time, this time it was only about forty five minutes. Finally the church doors opened and out came the priest with people carrying a platform with a statue of Jesus carrying the cross. Jesus was about two thirds the size of a real adult with a wig for hair. Other places in Central America have real life reenactments, which was done last year here in Copan. Behind Jesus were statues of two women and a man, presumably the people who helped Him on His walk. The statues of the two women were half the size of Jesus and the man was a bit taller than the two women, and they also had wigs on. The wigs on the women were very long full wigs that looked as if they had been permed. I have to admit it was a bit freaky When the procession reached the fourth station, another small procession came down the hill from the opposite direction. Behold it was a statue of Mother Mary coming to reenact the meeting between her and Jesus. When Mary arrived, she leaned over and kissed Jesus and then  joined the procession. The procession paused for a time for prayers at each station. It was hot outside and one lady who looked like she was in her sixties passed out in the street. She was carried to the side where people started flicking water on her with their fingers until the medics took over. She was ok. We reached the last station at the satellite church at the top of the hill three hours later where they stored the statues until the next procession later that night. By this time we were exhausted and ready for a nap.

During the procession of the Stations of the Cross, Amy saw one of her students and he told her that, “tonight is really cool because He comes out in a coffin”, and sure enough.

We were told that the Friday night procession would commence at seven PM, and it did but from the small church up on the hill. We arrived downtown at 6:30PM and sat down beside our alfombra and waited under intermittent showers with crowds who would come and go, and yes the random stray dog pawing its signature across the alfombras. Just when some of our group was getting impatient, there, there was a glimpse of the parade .It’s coming, they will be here soon. Another half hour later at ten PM from around the corner appeared the procession with Jesus in a coffin. The procession paused at the one end of the alfombras for a prayer and then proceeded over the alfombras. As they walked down the length of the alfombras with music songs and prayers emitting from a bull horn, they paused frequently for prayers as children began filing in behind them to finally get the chance to play on the colored and trampled sawdust. Behind the procession the images became a swirling mix of color that was just as beautiful as the images before and as the procession entered the church as it started to rain.

Saturday was a day of rest. We were invited to our Spanish teacher Nellies’ property for lunch and visiting. Oh, and a good opportunity to practice our Spanish. We sat outside under a large covered area and enjoyed soup and grilled chicken. There were three couples from Escuela Mayatan who attended. After our meal and some good conversation we were just getting ready to go across the street to the river when it started to rain so we opted to sit down for a few games of uno. As the rain began it came down harder and harder. When it rains here it rains . I looked at everyone and said, “Now I know where all the stray cats and dogs come from.” The rain lasted for a while so we just enjoyed our time with Nellie’s family. We strolled around and looked at the different fruit trees, plants and herbs they have growing. Nellie pulled up some basil and mint plants for us to take home to plant .She had an oregano plant growing that looked like a small tree, and very aromatic. Nellies brother in law is building a beautiful house next door so they took us to see it. They have a finish carpenter working full time on site milling all of the finish work and building doors, cabinetry, windows, furniture etc. I noted some good ideas for furniture. It was a very nice afternoon, and before we left Nellie told us we were welcome to go there any time to sit and study our Spanish and do our homework. We will have to consider that as it is a very nice setting.

Sunday morning we asked what time Easter service started. We were told it started at ten AM. We walked down to the church at ten and the doors were closed but there were people sitting outside in there nice cloths looking as if they were waiting for the service. We sat and waited a few minutes and saw some friends who were waiting also so we walked over to talk with them about the possibility of the service not happening for a while. We decided that we did not feel like waiting around all morning so we went home, giving up on Easter Mass. After I changed into cooler clothing I strolled to the market for some fruits and veggies and other household items. As I was walking back home through the park I spotted a procession coming down the hill carrying a three foot tall statue of Jesus with outstretched arms, this time with no wig They turned to the right at the corner of the street so I knew I had time to get back home to tell Amy. I began jogging with my bags in hand. I hurried to opened, the gate and ran down the porch to our door. Entering the apartment I yelled, “Amy, c-mon, hurry we have to go, Jesus has risen,” the procession is coming to the church.” We hurried out the door and closed it behind us not realizing I didn’t have my keys until I went to lock the gate.” Oh well, we’ll have to deal with it when we get back”. When we arrived downtown we only had to wait about ten minutes before the outstretched arms of the tiny Jesus appeared around the corner. The procession being led by a police truck was moving at a steady pace with triumphant music and prayers coming forth from the bullhorn. Reaching the church, the procession disappeared inside. Thus the culmination of Semana Santa was finally at hand. We strolled back home feeling satisfied that we didn’t miss any of the events. We approached our door wondering how we were going to get inside, knowing full well that our landlord most likely didn’t have a spare key when Amy decided to put her shoulder to the door. Giving the knob a turn and thrusting her wait into the door, the door flew open. With her mouth open, she began to laugh with a look of disbelief. Miracles do happen.