Good Friday in Latin America: Santo Entierro

Santo Entierro, Leon Nicaragua

Santo Entierro, Mani, Yucatan MX

Santo Entierro borne in procession, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

In Spain and the Latin American world, Good Friday is a different story.  Celebrations in the US and the larger part of Western Europe follow the biblical narrative where Jesus for the time being disappears after his crucifixion and death.  In Latin America, this is far from the case. After his death, a statue of Jesus is put into a glass coffin, (as shown in above images), left there for believers to mourn, and later carried around town in a solemn procession. This image of Jesus in a coffin has a name, Cristo Entierro or Señor Sepultado.  

To many believers, this death and entombment of Jesus is a reality, not just an enactment.   In some churches, where the service includes an actual crucifixion (with the statue being put on a cross), people will afterwards get up and take pictures of Jesus being moved into the coffin.  The line between person and image is blurred.

On Good Friday evening, there is often a procession with floats bearing images of the grieving Mary and the coffin of Jesus.  People in the crowd will weep. Below is an excerpt from a Good Friday procession in Leon, Nicaragua.

                                         


The Jesus of Holy Week is much more complexly imagined in Latin America (and Spain).   There are several different images of Jesus that figure in Holy Week observances. Here is a link to a post describing these:
https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2013/03/jesus-of-mexican-holy-week.html

Below is an excerpt from a Good Friday mid-day procession in Leon, Nicaragua, showing the image of Jesus on the way to his crucifixion.

Good Friday Procession: An Invisible Participant

Semana Santa, Holy Week, is the final week of the church's observance of Lent, the 

40 day (more or less) penitential period of the church leading up to Easter.  In Mexico and all of Latin America, Semana Santa is a major event, marked by religious processions and ritual.  The Holy Week processions of certain places are famous, particularly the world-famous processions of Antigua, Guatemala.  Please follow the links below to see previous posts and videos of some of these:
https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2015/04/video-holy-saturday-procession.html   
https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2015/04/videos-of-holy-week-in-latin-america.html

As you can see from the videos, processional figures and floats are elaborate and their imagery rich.  The major actors from the biblical accounts of the last week of Jesus' earthly life are represented in beautiful and costly images, as in this float bearing Jesus carrying his cross    

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However there is one curious exception you will see on Holy Friday in Antigua. In the photos below we see a procession forming at the magnificent early 18th century church of San Francisco el Grande.  There are the incense and standard bearers and some of the clergy in front of the church's magnificent baroque façade.

Good Friday procession, San Francisco church, Antigua Guatemala

Good Friday procession, San Francisco church, Antigua Guatemala

A red velvet canopy emerges carried by four men in the traditional hoods that conceal their faces and identities.  There is no image visible under this canopy and it remains empty to our eyes throughout the long procession.  Yet, it leads the procession.

Good Friday procession, San Francisco Church, Antigua Guatemala

The Holy Spirit in procession,  Good Friday procession, Antigua Guatemala

Although the canopy looks empty, to the eyes of faithful believers it is not.
The occupant is the Holy Spirit, the spiritual force that breathed life into being and continues to support creation.  In Christian theology, the Holy Spirit, along with God the Father and Jesus, is one part of the Trinity, a concept that was the end of long theological debate centuries ago. 

In Latin American religious art, the Holy Spirit is typically represented as a bird. This can be seen in both Mexican depictions of the Trinity below.

Holy Trinity, Merida Cathedral, Merida MX

Trinity, Itzimna Church, Merida MX

Another typical Latin American representation of the Trinity is as one of three actual persons, as in this New Mexican santo.

Santo of Holy Trinity by Jose Maria Benavides, New Mexico

Yet, in the Antigua procession, there is no image.  This representation of the Holy Spirit without any image is not seen in many (if any other) Holy Week processions where the focus is on Jesus, Mary, St. John and other central participants in the biblical accounts of the final week of Jesus' earthly life.  It is something unique in the Latin American world, although perhaps there are precedents in Spain where the processions have a longer history, stemming from medieval times.

Videos of Holy Week in Latin America

 Jesus in procession, Holy Thursday, Merida, MX

Virgen de Dolores in procession, Holy Thursday, Merida, MX

Holy Week, the period of time from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday and when the central story of Christianity culminates, is observed with greater intensity in Latin America than elsewhere.  Celebrations there are on a grand scale and the story of Jesus' Passion unfolds in processions and pageantry.  What the outside world only hears in readings of the Gospel there can be seen in vivid color.  Here are a few videos links which will offer you a look into  Holy Week observances in Latin America.

Attend a very unique Holy Saturday religious service in Merida, Mexico in which Jesus  is resurrected in light.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMzCIxbLHWA

Participate in a Holy Wednesday Procession in rural San Mateo Milpas Altas, Guatemala.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIT5Wg5JNZE

Witness a Good Friday re-enactment of Jesus' Crucifixion in front of a Mayan pyramid in Acanceh, MX.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCVbI_aww6s

The Anatomy of a Sawdust Carpet: Lent in Antigua, Guatemala (includes video link)

Carpet in progress,  Antigua Guatemala

The sawdust carpets that grace the streets and churches of Antigua during the season of Lent (Ash Wednesday-Easter Day) are as beautiful as any valuable oriental rug that you can find.  But these magnificent carpets have a very short life-span, sometimes only a few hours, although those created in churches for the vigils of the season are on display longer. The carpets in Antigua's streets are created by the residents and businesses; if a procession passes by your home or business, you have the option of creating a carpet in honor of it. Sometimes these carpets involve months and months or planning while others are created much more spontaneously.  Holy Week ( Palm Sunday-Easter Day) is the time when there are the most processions and greatest number of carpets.

Sawdust Carpet detail, Antigua Guatemala

As exquisite as these carpets are, they are not meant to be decorations and exist for one reason only: to be walked on by the feet of those bearing holy images in procession. All processions start in a church and then follow an hours-long route throughout the city's streets, often late into the night.  In the course of its route each of the processions you see below walked over many carpets that were created specifically for it. The act of the float-carriers walking over the carpet is considered to bless the carpet and the whole making of carpets is, at heart, a sacrificial act offered to God.

Holy Saturday Procession, San Felipe de Jesus Church, Antigua Guatemala

Holy Week Procession, Antigua Guatemala

Holy Week Procession, Antigua Guatemala

All of the carpets begin with an empty space either on the street or a church floor.  A rectangle of sand is spread on the surface to provide a base for the carpet.  The designs that will be laid on top of it are intricate and precision is essential. 

Sawdust Carpet under construction, Antigua Guatemala

Designs are not done freehand, but use pre-cut stencils of heavy cardboard that are used in various combinations to create the intricate geometry of the carpets. The stencils are quite costly and good quality ones are cut by hand, not machine and are meant to be used year after year.

Stencil for Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Stencil for Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Stencil for Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Making Stencils for Sawdust Carpets, Antigua Guatemala

The stencils are laid on the sawdust base and colored sawdust is applied to form intricate designs that in many cases look like actual oriental carpets.

Sawdust Carpet under construction, Antigua Guatemala

Sawdust Carpet under construction, Antigua Guatemala

Eventually the carpet you see under construction will have a very densely patterned surface and look something like the carpet below.  After the sawdust is laid the carpets are sprayed with water to set the design.

Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Carpets are created within churches during the time of the vigils which are held to honor the statues that will be used in procession. These carpets range from the relatively simple to the very complex as seen in the photo below in Antigua's La Merced Church.  This carpet was created for a velacion, a vigil, and remains up for a period of time, perhaps a week or two.  The scene in front of the religious figures are made to resemble a garden, huerto in Spanish.
The fruits, vegetables and candles are brought to the church as an offering before the scene is created.

Sawdust Carpet and Huerto for vigil, La Merced Church, Antigua  Guatemala

All of the carpets will be destroyed the instant the feet of those in the procession hit it and there is no sense that these carpets are meant to be preserved.  A carpet is made to be walked on by a processions and the holy images that are carried in it.   

Sawdust Carpet after procession, San Felipe de Jesus Church, Antigua Guatemala

Sawdust Carpet after procession, San Felipe de Jesus Church, Antigua Guatemala

I invite you to view my video of these carpets at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbXvvBSCvSA

Not all of Antigua's carpets are made of sawdust; some are made of plant materials
and this type pre-dates the Spanish conquest.  You can still see sacramental ground-coverings of pine needles in small, isolated Mayan villages.  The fourth carpet down combines colored sawdust and flowers.

Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Sawdust and Flower Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Sawdust Carpet detail, Antigua Guatemala

Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

The Resurrection of Jesus on Good Friday Night in Mexico (includes Video)

Processional figure of the tortured Christ,  Merida, MX

The following video shows a very dramatic Good Friday night service that I filmed in Merida, Mexico.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMzCIxbLHWA  (this is a clickable link).  It is best to watch it after reading the information in this post.                                                       ------------------------------------
This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday, the day, according to the New Testament, that Jesus made his entry into Jerusalem.  It is the beginning of Holy Week, a time that is celebrated with much ritual and many processions throughout the Latin American world.
Holy Week, there, is very different from the observance in mainstream U.S. religion, in which Easter Day itself is the main event.  In Mexico, Easter Day is just another Sunday, with church services; the drama is what comes before.

Although the parades and processions that are at the heart of Holy Week in Mexico are fascinating to view, a unique celebration is the one held on the night of Good Friday which symbolizes the Resurrection of Jesus.  During this celebration the crucified Jesus is transformed into the resurrected, victorious Christ.  There is a special figure of this Christ,  Cristo Resucitado,  that appears in all churches after Good Friday and remains during the church season of Easter. 

Cristo Resucitado, Merida, MX

Cristo Resucitado

The religious service in which Jesus is symbolically resurrected occurs on the night of Good Friday, about 9:30 pm.  Different churches perform this service differently, but the resurrection of Jesus is always accompanied by light of some sort, as can be seen in the video. 

Jesus of Mexican Holy Week

NOT MEXICAN JESUS

The middle-American Protestant Jesus is a generic image-  a nice, kind man perhaps surrounded by children or holding a lamb.  There are also images of the crucified Jesus with details spared and the resurrected Jesus clothed in light. However, the in-between Jesus- tried, beaten and tortured and then crucified is typically left to the imagination, apart from a few cinematic departures. 

The Mexican iconography of Jesus, particularly in the statues that are present in all churches, is very specific. - There are several "types" of Jesus that are related to different episodes in Holy Week, the days before Easter in which the story of the Passion unfolds.
These images are as follows:

• Jesus Nazareno
• Jesus whipped and tortured
• Jesus Crucified
• Santo Entierro 
• Jesus waking
• Cristo Resucitado

Jesus Nazareno, in English, Jesus of Nazareth is the living Jesus who has been arrested by the Romans, tried, beaten and later crucified.  As described in Scripture he is dressed in a purple robe with a crown of thorns on his head.  Some statues of this type have Jesus wearing a purple cape instead and show him seated after he has been scourged by the Romans.  Here are two examples:

Okutzcab, Yucatan, MX

San Bernardino de Siena Church, Xochimilco, MX

 In the figure of Jesus as the Man of Sorrows, He is portrayed in wearing a purple cape, rather than a robe:

San Bernardino de Siena Church, Xochimilco, MX

There is another variation, Christ at the Pillar, which shows him standing by a pillar during his scourging:

Mision San Francisco de la Espada, San Antonio, Texas

Campeche, MX

Jesus Crucified is the Jesus on the Cross after He has been executed:

Valladolid Cathedral, Valladolid, Yucatan, MX

Santo Entierrro, or Christ buried is present in all the Mexican churches that I have seen and is on view throughout the year, but actively used in Good Friday liturgies.  This is a representation of Christ in the Tomb that is also used in Spain in the Good Friday processions.  It is not seen in the US except in churches of Mexican heritage, such as in the missions of San Antonio and similar places.  The "tombs" are generally glass coffins of varying styles and complexity.  Here is my very favorite:

San Miguel Arcangel Church, Mani, Yucatan, MX

At 9:30 pm Good Friday night the Santo Entierro you see above is carried in procession to the cemetery in the town.  All of the Santo Entierros are carried in some sort of procession on Good Friday, although the times and routes of the processions differ. Here are a few more examples:

Cathedral, Valladolid, MX

Cathedral, Puebla, MX

There is a very interesting variant of Santo Entierro that I have seen only in New Mexico; 

this is Santo Entierro waking, as seen below.  If you look closely at this photo  (it is clickable), you can see Jesus' eyes are opening and that his hand has moved slightly. 

Santa Cruz, New Mexico

There is another representation of Jesus that will be  new for visitors from the US.
This is Cristo Resucitado, or Christ after the Resurrection.  Whereas in this country and most of Western Europe, the Risen Christ is show as a luminous human being, in Mexican iconography, there is a very specific representation of the Risen Christ that, historically, is derived from the Roman statue of the Apollo Belvedere. In the photo directly below, Cristo Resucitado is seen standing on top of his empty tomb. Notice the raised arm position of this representation of Christ.

Las Monjas, Merida, Yucatan

Itzimina Church, Merida, MX

The photo directly above was taken during a wonderful Good Friday Night service during which Christ is actually "resurrected" in a burst of light (strobe lights in this case).  This liturgy is done all over Mexico and is amazing to witness.  The Cristo Resucitado statue which you see in the lower right hand of the photo was rushed to the front altar area during the time when the church courtyard, where the service was held, went from total darkness to the burst of light which I described.  

There are other images of Jesus such as the  miracle-working Black Christs. However, these are not directly connected to Holy Week and will explored in a future post.