Fireworks!

Castillo fireworks in front of the church

It is not exaggerating one bit to say that there is a larger than life fascination with fireworks here in Mexico. At three A.M. on almost any day of the week, you are likely to be woken up with a loud kaboom! followed by about six more.  If it’s close enough, it rattles the house. Often, you will never know what it’s for but it certainly gets your attention.  For festival days (or weeks) you’ll have rockets and church bells for an hour at about six in the morning, followed by rockets throughout the day. Sometimes it is from one church, other times they are scattered around town.

 

 

 

 

 

Senor de las Columnas

Two weeks before Easter
for the arrival of Senor de las Columnas, the rockets and churchbells begin at 3 A.M. from the top of Avenida Independencia.  They are waiting for the procession from Atotonilco, an all night pilgrimage carrying statues of saints that will be paraded around town each day leading up to and including good Friday. The street has been decorated for almost a mile to the church, people are already on the street.  There are non-stop rockets going off, waiting for the moment that the statues reach the top of the street where their silk and ribbon coverings are unwound. It is so loud and so long that you have to give up trying to sleep and go outside to watch. Everything is preceded and ended with fireworks.  It is usually about 4 A.M that I give up trying to sleep and go outside.

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Buenos días, Paloma Blanca

Click on the photo to view the slideshow and fireworks movie

Thursday night, near the mercado Ignacio Ramirez, the final event of the celebration of the Virgen de Guadalupe was held. Vendors food booths and people filled the streets. The Virgin’s altar was in full bloom, the procession of women carrying a wood nicho on a litter of flowers, and singing Buenos días, Paloma Blanca, had just arrived, followed by a lineup of followers who are served tamales and atole. (Movie of the fireworks here)

Castillo fireworks, which in this case include the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe who will be burned up in flames at the end of the evening, are being assembled in the street, roped to the surrounding buildings. It is a raggedy but self assured group of men from Guanajuato climbing around these towers, tying rockets, whistlers and vueltas. Grupo La Tuna Provinciana de San Miguel de Allende, dressed in black velvet shakespearan costume continue on from the women carrying the litter with Buenos días, Paloma Blanca, one of the many songs written for the Virgin of Guadalupe. It is song you would probably recognize, widely sung by mariachis, norteno bands, school children and women carrying statues, whenever the Virgin is present.

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