Holy Friday in Puebla.

When the Celebration starts.

In 1857 the reform laws promulgated in México said that religious manifestations were prohibited, and the procession stopped. In 1861 it was fully suspended by governor Juan Bautista Traconis, with the promise of jail to anyone who participated in any religious manifestation.

The parade resumed 27 years ago; it started again in 1991 by members of the Autonomous University of Puebla (Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, UPAEP). The most important religious images preserved this tradition because they have the highest number of congregations and are one of the essential processions in Latin America, with 150 thousand people participating.

How the parade starts.

There are different types of a celebration of Easter time around Mexico. It is a way to know the different ways people celebrate Easter worldwide and learn more about a city. The Via Crucis is a festivity that only happens on the Holy Friday and represents the Passion of Jesus. The celebration starts with ash Wednesday at the beginning of lent in Mexico.

The spectators waited patiently for the Holy Friday festivities to begin, the people who were present shared their joy, and you could tell by the tone in their voices the happiness they had at the moment. They shared memories of their devotion when the religious image passed years ago or what they felt for the first time they saw it.

Around 11 am, the images leave the temple escorted by the people who participated in the procession. Others join because they ask for favors to the idea as a way to pay their debt and show devotion to the image.

Each image arrives at the cathedral of Puebla, and when it enters, the sound of the bells and prayers.

The sculptures wait inside the cathedral courtyard for the rest to arrive. They leave the cathedral at 12:30 pm when all five images are inside.

The Via Crucis or “Via de la Cruz”

It represents the steps of Jesus’ passion when apprehended until his crucifixion. The images that participate are five, two of the Virgin Mary and three of Jesus Christ carrying the cross; these images have the most significant number of a congregation and are the most important in Puebla. There are many other religious images, but these five are the most important in the Puebla capital.

The “Virgen Dolorosa del Carmen”

The sorrowful Virgin of Carmen is said to be from the eighteenth century; the features and expressions are so detailed for a religious image that many people love the idea. It is the only one that women carry; some men are there to support if something goes wrong, and women hold the image as a part to pay for a favor they had to ask or only for devotion.

“Nuestra Señora de la Soledad”

The sculpture is called “Our Lady of Solitude,” created in Seville, Spain, in the seventeenth century. When it arrived in the city, the people dedicated a temple and the creation of the convent of the “Carmelitas Descalzas” (Barefoot Carmelitas).

 “Jesus de las Tres Caídas”

Jesus of the three falls, the legend of the sculpture started when it started with the elaboration many years ago. The sculptor only allowed the presence of a blind man so that no one could steal his process or how he built the image.

When the sculptor finished the statue, the blind man allowed to work with him asked to touch the face so he could identify the creation; when he felt it, he recovered his vision; this was the first miracle of the religious image that people registered from the statue.

Jesús Nazareno de San José

Created at the end of the XVI century, the sculptor was detained and apprehended by the Inquisition. The image was transferred to the parish of San José, generating the Brotherhood of the Nazarenes, one of the oldest still exists, which continues until this day.

“Señor de las Maravillas”

Lord of Wonders is one of the most revered images and one of the most important in the capital. When the people watched the image pass by, they cried with joy, shouted cheers, raised their hands, and asked for health for themselves and their families.

People’s love and is devoted to the sculpture that participates in the Via Crucis are essential, bringing together around one hundred fifty thousand people.

The participants carry and bear the weight of the image through the twenty streets of the city others escort them in silence. People allowed to participate need requirements to do it; they do it for devotion or as a way to pay for their dedication.

The congregation that participates in the procession does this because of requests they made during the year and fulfilled way of paying off the favors they received from the images. The participants prepared six months ahead with talks that take place in their respective churches that they are going to carry.

Children and teenagers participate. Children dressed like angels and others carry objects or rattles. They used respective outfits for the procession; to participate in the parade is required to receive talks; the talks include why they are doing the motivation and how they will prepare for the last six months before the procession.