Semana Santa

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I LOVE that we get to travel around to different parts of Peru while we are here. Especially because in Peru each district, each town has its own traditions and specialties. So as I mentioned in my last blog, I left last Friday for Lima where I got to spend the weekend with a few of the other YAV volunteers. I was able to see The Hunger Games, spend an afternoon by the pool, take a bike tour along the coast, window shop, and eat really good food including sushi, salads, and kebobs! I even found out how to maneuver some of the Lima buses, which as a small town girl, is a big deal…. and yes I was scared out of my mind.

                                               My first salad in 7 months!

Then, Tuesday night the Lima YAVs and I took the overnight bus to Ayacucho for Semana Santa (Holy Week). Now Ayacucho is an incredible place for many reasons, but here is two; 1) the district of Ayacucho is where the 20 years of violence started (1980-200), and it was also hit the hardest. I believe the stats say that 4 out of 10 people killed during the years of violence came from the Ayacucho district. These years of violence are a primary reason we are all in Peru, so it always tugs a bit at our heartstrings to hear the history and stories. 2) Ayacucho, the city, has around 33 Catholic Churches, which means that Holy Week in Ayacucho looks a lot like Spring Break on Florida beaches.

                                         The main square in Ayacucho

*This photo is of Mother Angelica. Her son was taken in the middle of the night during the years of violence. She began to fight back by looking for answers, starting a soup kitchen for orphans, and finding donations for a museum and a memorial for the victims and families. 

While we did have devotionals and vocational discernments, we spend most of our time wandering around Ayacucho or sitting in the main square, watching the events of the week unfold. I’m going to break down the processions by days because it’s just easier to follow:

Wednesday: By late morning groups were forming in the main plaza to make flower carpets for the parade that night. These carpets are INCREDIBLE! They have so much detail and color. It was a lot of fun to just sit and watch the process of how they are made. Most of the carpets have a chalk outline, but the majority of the detail is just done free hand. That night around 9, the procession started in which a float of Jesus carrying the cross was met by Saint John and La Victoria (we aren’t quite sure who she is considering we aren’t Catholic.) Each of them are on their own handmade float carried by men on their shoulders. Jesus was then carried to meet the float of Mary. The whole process took around 3 hours, and the place was packed!

Thursday: There wasn’t a procession Thursday night, so no carpets were made, but there was a church parade in which people walked from church to church. We didn’t participate in the entire walk, but we did get to see that each church has one alter streamed in white gauze. The significance of this is unknown to me, but if was beautiful to see!

Friday: There was another procession, carpets included, in which Jesus came through the square in a coffin full of flowers and Mary met him. It was quite beautiful and felt like Christmas because almost everyone in the crowd had a candle.

Saturday: There was no procession Saturday, but there was a bull run. Three of my fellow YAVs decided to participate. It wasn’t quite as exciting as the bull runs you see on TV, but they all had fun. We ended up heading back to Lima Saturday night because we all had to work Monday, but Sunday morning around 4 am is the last procession in which a HUGE float around 25 meters high parades around the square signifying the resurrection. I obviously didn’t get to see it, but the pictures alone were incredible.

After returning to Lima, I spent the majority of Easter on the coach or pacing while watching the Masters before taking the overnight bus to head back to Huánuco.

This week I have the kids therapy group (remember how I said I had two more left…. well my boss has decided to extend them until July. Just have to love God’s sense of humor!) I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend! So much love from Peru! 

“People are unrealistic, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway.” 
― Mother Teresa