Week 11: Holy Week Festivities (Plus Easter)

The Judases Shall Burn (3/22/08)

            There were a series of events during Holy Week, which takes place between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. I went to few due to various illnesses sustained since a rafting trip in La Selva Lacandón weeks earlier. On the Saturday before Easter, Aakash and I went to a square near the Cathedral of San Cristóbal to look at the various piñatas labeled Judases that would be set ablaze during the night. The piñatas depicted sources of controversy in Mexico and the world. The first one was of Hugo Chávez in military apparel and bearing a rifle with an autographed photo of former Cuban President Fidel Castro (why would that surprise you?). I figured it would have been President Bush in that position, and that there would be more sympathy for Chávez in San Cristóbal due to the left-wing atmosphere in the city. However, Chávez has angered a fair share of people and his law reforms (especially one that allows him to rule indefinitely) make his presidency look like a dictatorship. Another set of piñatas included one of Mexican President Felipe Calderón and a tank of Pemex gas, showing outrage with Calderón’s privatization of the gas and oil reserves in Mexico which does not benefit everyone in the country. Next to that Judas was one with an environmental perspective. There was a skeleton next to a doctor holding a small globe next to a patient, indicating a bleak future for humanity as people come up with technological innovations at the expense of the planet’s limited resources. On the left of these figures was a globe with multiple knives stabbing it, each one representing environmental issues including overpopulation, toxic gases, deforestation (especially attributed to slash-and-burn practices), and improper garbage disposal. The other half of the globe was covered in skull and crossbones and looked like a bomb ready to explode at any moment. Additionally, there was a set of piñatas representing conflicts with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) aka Tratado de Libre Comercio (TLC). One set depicted a local farmer and his cow being crushed by the initials TLC above an ear of corn, showing how the local farming communities suffer from competition with cheaper agricultural exports (which form 40% of agricultural products in Mexico). The other set showed a truck representing TLC and a foreign farmer riding a wagon to meet the truck. The text below mentioned how the poor farming communities of Chiapas suffer in response to TLC, and as many as 17 million out of 24.5 million in the rural areas live in extreme poverty without a future provided by TLC. At approximately 10:00 PM, crowds gathered to watch individuals set the manifestations of controversy on fire. All except for the Chávez piñata exploded with incredible displays of fireworks, which caused ashes to fly and generated an incredible amount of heat and smoke. At certain points, I ducked or people backed away due to the fireworks shooting in random directions or the sheer noise. It almost felt like the Apocalypse was near. After the sparks flew and the fires settled down, we all went our own ways. They did set the piñatas representing polemics ablaze, but when will the real Judases be successfully confronted?

Easter Sunday Parade (3/23/08)

            Easter in San Cristóbal did not consist of egg hunts and baskets of candy commonplace in my early childhood. Today, Aakash and I went with our host family to watch a parade coming down the street of the Instituto Jovel (where we take our Evolution class). Many residents gathered along the sidewalks to observe the festivities. We first saw mariachis walking together and playing guitars and an accordion. Various groups danced or played drums and brass instruments in the street and there were individuals walking on stilts, which must have been difficult on the uneven roads. Floats passed by with beauty pageant contestants who threw candy and toys into the crowd. Commercialism was evident, especially with a float representing the beer company Sol and Volkswagen cars advertising the latest Fast and the Furious film. I never saw a parade for Easter back in the States, but this one reminded me of the Thanksgiving parades in New York City shown on television. The Easter parade of course was less crowded than the Turkey Day Festivity in NYC, but both bore elements of the respective holidays as well as material aspects in their respective cultures.

Bullfighting: An Unsettling Spectacle (3/23/08)

            After watching the Easter parade and sitting down to lunch, I watched a bullfight with Aakash, Caitlin and Ashley as well as other classmates. We were in a decent mood prior to the match, but that changed halfway through observing the fights. I remember Hugo mentioning in Tecoh that Mexican and Spanish bullfighting were controversial due to accusations of animal abuse, while Portuguese bullfighters on the other hand did not kill the bulls. By 4:30, the stadium was packed with enthusiastic viewers. The bullfighters all wore elaborate clothes, and two of the three horsemen wore protective padding and wielded long spears. Their horses were also well padded, with blinds over their eyes to keep from panicking upon the sight of a raging bull. They clearly had the advantage over the bull facing certain death. In the hour we stayed, there were three bulls that each faced 20 minutes of hell. After the third match, we decided to leave halfway through the event.

            The first match consisted of a lone horseman (lacking padding) facing a bull with additional bullfighters with red or pink flags for support. The bull had a ribbon marking its heart, where the fighter tried to aim his spear. The bull was continually stabbed by small decorated spears over the next 20 minutes, accumulating as many as five or six while bleeding and having men with flags trying to draw its attention. At one point, the bullfighter forced two weapons into the back of the bull, though he tried to aim for the heart. Eventually, the wounds inflicted upon the bull were two much and the animal flopped to the side. A man with a knife arrived to the dying creature and fatally stabbed it in the neck. A truck dragged the bull by rope out of the ring, and several men shoveled up the blood from the dirt. Some of my friends couldn’t bear to watch, and I couldn’t blame them. The next two fights were no easier to watch. Both bulls were double-teamed by the padded horsemen in their respective matches and were stabbed by multiple spears. The blood ran all over the shoulders and dripped down to the hooves of the bulls, which then faced a bullfighter wielding a red flag and a rapier-like weapon. These fighters displayed much finesse as they managed to spin and dodge the bull at the last minute, making it look easy. Later on, the fighters tried to aim for the heart as they forced the rapier into the body of the animals. After chasing pink flags and bleeding from the attacks, the bulls stumbled and fell to their sides and kept squirming until a man finally stabbed them in the neck as spectators cried in Spanish “Kill it!” We heard that there were three more matches, but my three friends and I felt that we saw enough.

            Bullfighting is definitely an acquired taste not for the faint of heart. This sport is a mix of finesse as well as bloodshed. If I grew up watching such an event or was a hunter, I probably would have been desensitized to what unfamiliar spectators may see as gruesome. I’ve seen fish hacked and gutted in the past, but that was tame compared to what happened in the ring. While not traumatizing, it was still difficult to watch.