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17 incredible images of Holy Week in Latin America
Photo: purisimadelrincon
Mar 25, 2016
1. This lady is weaving some ornaments for Palm Sunday in Antigua, Guatemala. The palms will be blessed in a special mass and people will keep them close as a token of faith.
2. Penitents are a common sight of Holy Week in Spain, but they’re also present in processions around Latin America.
3. During Holy Week we can witness the strong relationship between Catholicism and Latin American identity. Here, a penitent in Quito is seen praying during a procession.
4. Some penitents submit themselves to physical punishment. Encruzados in Taxco, México, carry heavy loads of prickly rods over their bare shoulders.
5. Talcigüines are red-masked mischievous characters from Texistepeque, El Salvador. Their role is to cleanse sins through whiplashes. They even cleanse tourists’ sins.
Hoy se celebra una gran tradicion en Texistepeque , Los Talciguines , esta vez no tendre la oportunidad de ir, pero invito a todos y todas que vayan , es una tradicion poco comun pero ideal para “pagar por lo pecados cometidos xD” . . #El_Salvador #Talciguines #2015 #Tradicion #Taboo #Texistepeque #red
6. Similar characters roam the streets of San Miguel de los Ranchos in Puebla, México. Xinacates, as they call themselves, take over the small town just before the beginning of Lent.
7. The procession of fire in Goiás, Brazil, gathers thousands of people each Holy Thursday.
8. Alfombras are crafted from sawdust and flowers. These carpets are as iconic of Holy Week in Guatemala as the great processions in Antigua.
9. The neighbours of Iztapalapa, a popular borough in Mexico City, prepare their traditional representation of the Via Crucis for months, or even years, before the celebration. This time they’re expecting almost three million visitors.
10. Judas is a very important character in most Latin American celebrations of Holy Week. These guys from Veracruz, Mexico, depict him in a very colourful way.
Judas patas peludas,que se comen las memelas crudas😂
#Judas #SemanaSanta #Cuitláhuac2016 #Tradición
11. But Judas is also seen as an advocate of evil and the burning of his image is traditional in some countries like Venezuela and Mexico. Judas figures come in the shape of demons, local politicians and other evil-looking characters.
12. Some traditions are way older than others. The Lord of Tremors procession in Cusco dates back to 1650 and remains as impressive and significant as ever.
13. El Arrastre de Caudas is a funeral ritual from ancient Rome. The only place where this celebration can be experienced nowadays is in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Quito and just one time a year during Holy Week.
14. This Equatorian boy demonstrates you’re never too young to wear the purple tunic of cucuruchos.
15. Being a penitent is not an easy task, it’s a real test of faith.
16. In Purísima del Rincón, a small town of the Mexican state of Guanajuato, people have performed La Judea for almost 150 years. This popular play puts Judas on the main stage of Semana Santa. A mixture of Catholicism and pagan traditions.
17. Easter Sunday ends with a bang in Mexico as people light up toritos and castillos, huge structures full of fireworks to celebrate the conquest of evil. 
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