In Mexico, donning chains to recall Christ's pain on the cross
ATLIXCO, Mexico (RNS) — For more than a century, the 'engrillados' have shackled themselves on Good Friday.
Cacti surround a participant’s tattoo of the Virgin of Guadalupe during the Good Friday procession of the ‘Engrillados’ in Atlixco, Mexico. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
Cacti surround a participant’s tattoo of the Virgin of Guadalupe during the Good Friday Procession of the Engrillados in Atlixco, Mexico. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
ATLIXCO, Mexico (RNS) — For more than a century in the central Mexican city of Atlixco, Catholics have donned chains and impaled themselves with thorns in observance of Good Friday.
It’s called the Procession of the Engrillados — the shackled — and aims to convey the pain Christ felt on the cross. Hooded participants walk for more than a mile under a hot sun, hydrating themselves only with the juice of a lemon. They are silent, but for the sound of their dragging chains on Atlixco’s narrow streets.
This year about 50 men took part in the procession. One was 32-year-old Marco Antonio Martinez, in his ninth year as an engrillado. “Participating has helped me to be a better person with my family,” he said.
Locals make elaborate decorations with flowers and colored sawdust on the streets of Atlixco, Mexico, in preparation for the traditional Procession of the Engrillados on Good Friday. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
Penitents in the Good Friday Procession of the Engrillados in Atlixco, Mexico, use cacti and chains to offer Christ their pain, as they say he must have felt on the cross. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
Helpers stick cacti to participants in the Good Friday Procession of the Engrillados in Atlixco, Mexico, on March 30, 2018. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
A man decorates the street with bright colored sawdust, including the image of Jesus, for the Procession of the Engrillados in Atlixco, Mexico. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
An engrillado, or shackled individual, carries a cross during the Good Friday procession outside the former Convent of San Francisco in Atlixco, Mexico. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
Entire families collaborate to decorate the streets for the Procession of the Engrillados. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
Engrillados are supported by two people, one on each side, for guidance and protection during the multiple-hour march around Atlixco, Mexico, on Good Friday. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
Helpers lift a participant’s chains to let him rest a few seconds during the Good Friday Procession of the Engrillados in Atlixco, Mexico. Some carry chains weighing 200 pounds or more. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
The hot midday sun hits a silhouetted participant during the 2-kilometer Procession of the Engrillados on Good Friday in Atlixco, Mexico. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
The hooded engrillados march the main streets of Atlixco, Mexico, on Good Friday. Roughly 50 men participated on March 30, 2018. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
Some engrillados wear a crown of thorns in addition to the chains and cacti on their body. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
After an hour of marching, a participant hydrates with half a lemon during the Good Friday Procession of the Engrillados in Atlixco, Mexico. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
Near the end of the procession, some participants need help walking in the midday heat of Atlixco, Mexico. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
Link copied!
No paywalls here. Thanks to you.
As an independent nonprofit, RNS believes everyone should have access to coverage of religion that is fair, thoughtful and inclusive. That's why you will never hit a paywall on our site; you can read all the stories and columns you want, free of charge (and we hope you read a lot of them!)
But, of course, producing this journalism carries a high cost, to support the reporters, editors, columnists, and the behind-the-scenes staff that keep this site up and running. That's why we ask that if you can, you consider becoming one of our donors. Any amount helps, and because we're a nonprofit, all of it goes to support our mission: To produce thoughtful, factual coverage of religion that helps you better understand the world. Thank you for reading and supporting RNS.
