Upper Ajijic will fall into the grip of a quirky mix of religious devotion, communal feasting and collective frenzy on Friday, January 20 as neighbors of the Barrio de San Sebastian take a break from regular routines to honor their patron saint.
The celebration kicks off on the town plaza at daybreak when a crowd of devotees arrive at the Rosario Chapel to carry the image of twice-martyred Saint Sebastian to a shrine set up at the corner of Emiliano Zapata and Marcos Castellanos for a 7 a.m. Mass. The folks then set up tables and chairs along the street as housewives begin dishing out typical breakfast fare all around. Another free meal will be served at comida time.
The festive atmosphere begins building to a fever pitch around 4 p.m. as crowds grow for a procession to deliver the saint back to the chapel. Following behind the image will be people toting long wooden boards laden with round loaves of tachihual embetunado, a rustic, home-baked bread adorned with white frosting and sweets, usually followed a young boy riding a burro and costumed to personify San Sebastian, a string of floats and La Sayaca, a rowdy gang of masked marauders who pitch fistfuls of flour at spectators and throngs of giggling youngsters who taunt them along the way. The parade route runs east along Emiliano Zapata, turning south on Javier Mina, finally doubling back to the plaza along Guadalupe Victoria.
After the saint is deposited back in the chapel, the celebrants scurry back to the fiesta epicenter for the traditional Papaqui, a light-hearted battle in which the street warriors pelt one another with dozens of brightly decorated eggshells stuffed with confetti. An ancient local custom often employed to break the ice at wedding celebrations, the term supposedly derives from the Nahuatl word meaning to get happy.
Once the egg-pitching mayhem winds down, the party continues late into the evening while the villagers happily rub elbows, swing to the tunes of a live band and swill down gallons of homemade guava punch and other libations.