TAXCO, Mexico (RNS) — The celebration of Holy Week in this colonial town southwest of Mexico City is one of the most dramatic and shocking in the country. During Holy Week, ten processions, each more solemn than the last as the week progresses, are carried out by three religious brotherhoods: Animas, Encruzados and Flagelentes.
-
-
Blackberry stems riddled with thorns cause intense pain as the Encruzados carry them on their shoulders. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
-
-
The feet of a woman who participated in the Animas Good Friday procession drags chains behind her. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
-
-
Penitents wear hoods to conceal their identities during Holy Week in Taxco, Mexico. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
Encruzado penitents processed through the streets of Taxco, Mexico, during Holy Week. Temperatures reached 90 degrees as the penitents walked barefoot over hot cobblestones. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
Taxco’s Holy Week traditions, blending self-penitence brought by Spanish conquistadors and Aztec blood rituals, date back to the early 1600s and have remained largely unchanged.
An Animas procession through Taxco, Mexico. Animas is the only penitent organization that allows females. Penitents carry crucifixes, drag chains and walk bent over facing the ground. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
The brotherhood of the Flagelentes accompanies the procession of the Christs on the evening of Holy Thursday. Each Flagelente carries a cross and a whip with which they flagellate themselves on the way. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
An Encruzado kneels during a Holy Week procession in Taxco, Mexico. The Encruzados, exclusively male, carry bundles of thorny blackberry stems on their backs. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
-
-
Medical staff pours water on the wounds of a Flagelente penitent in Taxco, Mexico. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
-
-
By tradition, hooded Holy Week penitents in Taxco, Mexico, remain anonymous. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
-
-
Some penitents during Holy Week in Taxco, Mexico, tie horsehair ropes around their necks to limit their breathing and further their suffering. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
The town of Taxco in southern Mexico. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
The Encruzados prepare and train for the penitent act of carrying up to 100 pounds of blackberry stems, which resemble the horizontal beam of a cross, for up to a year in advance.
-
-
Very few children are involved in the procession of penitents in Taxco, Mexico. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
-
-
Volunteers accompany each Encruzado during their hours-long journey through Taxco, Mexico. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
-
-
As volunteers remove the heavy load of thorns from an Encruzado after finishing the procession, they massage the penitent’s muscles to ease the pain and cramping. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
-
-
An Encruzado, left, and a Flagelente, right, pray in the church of San Nicolas Tolentino. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
An Animas penitent is followed by Encruzados during the Good Friday procession through Taxco, Mexico. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
A Flagelente offers prayers in the church of San Nicolas Tolentino during Holy Week in Taxco. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres
Animas penitents participate in a procession through Taxco, Mexico. Animas must walk in silence, carrying candles and dragging chains, while bent at the waist. RNS photo by Irving Cabrera Torres