Semana Santa

On Sunday, I stopped by the Museo Regional in Querétaro to take a look around. Parts of it were closed, so I only got to see some of the history of religion in Querétaro (specifically the Franciscan church next door). This picture is one of the artifacts in the museum.



This week started a week of holy celebrations in México. I actually missed the first part by not going to church on Palm Sunday. There were lots of people in the churches, though, and a lot of people selling various religious icons made of palm.

Friday was Good Friday, and a lot of people had Thursday and Friday off of work (including us!). There were a lot of tourists from D.F. in town for the long weekend, many coming to watch the Procesión del Silencio on Friday night. The streets around the Central district were closed to traffic, and people were lined up along the roads to watch. This is a tradition that started in Querétaro about 34 years ago. All of the churches create an image of Christ or the Virgen and march down the streets carrying these heavy icons, with some male church members carrying crosses on their backs, walking barefoot, and with a chain around one of their ankles. And they had to carry these things for a couple of miles! Each color of clothling represents a different church. I am not sure why they wear these specific types of outfits, but the KKK copied the church costumes and not the other way around.





On Saturday, a group of us went on a tour of several places outside of Querétaro. First on the list was Bernal, a rock spire similar to Devil´s Tower in the US. We climbed about halfway up the rockface--much further and we would have needed rock-climbing gear.



Next was a famous Spanish winery called Cavas Freixenet. The wine is actually made and stored underground in two levels of caves. They had a live band playing and food vendors, which both paired nicely with the wine tasting. A lot of people were actually just buying whole bottles of wine and drinking them on the spot.



Last on our list was a little artisanal town called Tequisquipan. We walked around the central plaza and a couple of markets, but it was pretty touristy. I stopped into a bookstore to take a look around, and a kid actually walked up to me and asked in Spanish if the store carried Harry Potter books! I guess I just look like the stereotypical bookworm...