I’ve had to brush up on my Catholic liturgy today by calling mi abuelita and having her explain to me the significance of Domingo De Ramos or Palm Sunday. She tells me that Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, which is really the triumph of Christ as Messiah as he rides into Jerusalem through the ritual of the procession of the palms by the Catholics, and the announcement of the passion in a Mass narrative. Some drama happens when Christ sees all the folks selling outside the church (ah-hem, not like something like that would happen outside La Merced church in La Antigua).
People carry palms and bouquets which are blessed objects consisting of palmas y ramas de olivo o laurel. La Antigua was full of them, all shapes and sizes sitting right next to the mango on a stick saleswoman. This Sunday definitely had the twofold aspect of both the glory and suffering, not just on Christ’s face as he was marched from La Merced church and back, but on the poor clean-up crew’s face as they swept up all the alfombras trampled on by the float carriers.
We’re days away from Holy Thursday, right outside Lent, and then it’s full steam ahead into resurrection Sunday. We won’t be spending too much money on gas this week because after Wednesday the streets of LAG are filled with Semana Santa revelers!