4:30 am is the perfect time to resume fireworks to celebrate a religious feast, in case you were wondering. We thought we had seen the grand finale last night, but celebratory pyrotechnics began again early this morning. Fortunately they spaced out the blasts so that there was just enough time to fall asleep between each one – only to be awoken again. It was a noisy night, to say the least.
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| Example of the equipment used for the fireworks display |
We attended la misa at the local iglesia in the neighborhood this morning. The church itself was beautiful, with simple white-washed walls, bright stained glass windows, cool tile floors, dark wooden pews, and blue and white cloth draped from the ceiling for a lovely effect with all of the light coming in from the high windows. It was very fitting decoration for a feast day celebrating Nuestra Senora de la Luz (Our Lady of the Light). The most outstanding portion of the Mass was the traditional Mariachi band that played fantastic music throughout the service, followed by a powerful rendition of “Time to Say Goodbye,” in Spanish (one of my all-time favorite songs). Following the service, a procession of people clad in traditional feathered headdresses and costumes came out and danced in front of the church, toting a banner of Jesus, burning incense, and playing drums and guitars. It was quite an interesting mix of a few familiar Catholic elements, and the traditions of the area. We also noted that they had the next firework display set up in the square – which looks like it will be featuring a fiery outline of the Virgin Mary at some point… well, when in Mexico…!
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| I tried to highlight Mary's outline in this picture of the fireworks for tonight using the technology of Microsoft Paint - now imagine this on fire, sputtering sparks into the crowd - looks like it's sure to be quite the display? |
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