Just as our heads had begun to clear and trembling pets emerged from their hiding places under the bed after Ajijic’s noisy San Andrés fiestas, the daily roar of fireworks has started up again, this time blasting out at the west end of the village where the novenario honoring the Virgin of Guadalupe runs in full fury from December 4 through 12.
The same scenario is playing out in Chapala, San Antonio, San Juan Cosalá, Jocotepec and every other town along Lake Chapala’s shoreline as the faithful manifest their fervent devotion to the nation’s spiritual patroness. Many folks maintain the custom of displaying household images of the beloved Guadalupe in artistically arranged doorstep shrines.
In Chapala, groups of pilgrims gather every afternoon at 5:30 p.m. at the intersection of Zaragoza and Pepe Guizar in Las Redes – Farmacias Guadalajara is the landmark – for a march to the Santuario de Guadalupe prior to evening mass. Each day the crowd follows another cherished icon brought in from other parts, such as La Virgen de Zapopan, La Virgen de San Juan de Los Lagos, La Virgen de Talpa, El Niño de la Salud and El Sagrado Corazón.
The festivities peak here and across the nation on Thursday, December 12, the Feast of Guadalupe. That’s the day to catch the colorful processions, starting between 4 and 6 p.m. depending upon the location, highlighted by adorable toddlers dressed in native Indian costumes, scenic floats, ritual dance troupes, marching bands, charro horsemen and the indispensable coheteros armed with huge bundles of sky rockets shot off to herald pilgrims’ progress.
In Ajijic’s Barrio de Guadalupe, just west of Seis Esquinas, the traditional street fair held following the evening service at the neighborhood church tends to drag on into the wee hours as revelers indulge in plentiful food, drink, music and, yes, fireworks galore.