Can you hear the bombas?
Tomorrow is the culmination of a celebration that really began on the 3rd of December. Things really got going on the 8th, when our landlord informed us there was a big party at the church down the street (the Catholic church down the hill is unusually active, they tell me – many Mexicans rarely make it to a church at all these days). Tomales, special drinks and everything you need to have a good time. That was the religious holiday of Immaculate Conception, celebrated in many parts of the world.
But tomorrow is really the big day – in some places the biggest holiday of the year. It’s the DÃa de la Virgen de Guadalupe, or the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe. This is a particularly significant year – 475 years after Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin claimed he first saw his vision on the Hill of Tepeyac of the Virgin Mary.
Tonight the bombas can be heard all around (rockets/noisemakers). Tomorrow there will be tens of thousands of people who have travelled to the Basillica in Mexico City to honour the virgin, or to ask for miracles. Some will be crawling on their knees across the cobblestones and up stairs in hopes that a petition will be granted.
If you want to see a video of some of the bombas being set off, check out this view of the Guadalupe Fiesta in San Cristobal. Also, read some thoughts from our friends down the street, the Harers.