Jueves Santo- Holy Thursday

The main festivities for Holy Week began on Thursday night. We went into town in the evening to see the alfombras and the processional. The alfombras are rugs they make in the street with colored sawdust and other materials depicting scenes that relate to holy week. The procession is a series of figures, like John the Baptist, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and Christ, representing events leading up to Christ's death, burial and resurrection. The figures are set on large platforms which are carried by Catholic church members. I've been told they have to pay to have the privilege to carry these. The procession on Thursday night went all over town. They stopped at the houses where alfombras had been made to bless those houses. There were lines of people carrying candles, little boys and men in purple robes and incense. The square was filled with people waiting for the procession, long before it started. The procession goes right over the alfombras and the next morning people get up early to make new ones for the next procession, which was late Friday morning until almost one o'clock.