Dramatic representations of the Passion of Christ are a highpoint of Holy Week observances in the Lake Chapala area.In lieu of live productions cancelled for 2020, Dale Hoyt Palfrey shares still shots of Good Friday sequences from Ajijic’s Pasión de Cristo collected over previous years.
Put together by more than 200 village volunteers, the program stands out for its stunning pageantry and historical authenticity.
Scenes staged in the San Andres church atrium open with Christ facing judgment before Pontius Pilate who initially washes his hands of matter.
Jesus is dragged to the royal court of Herod where he is mocked and sent back to Pilate for a fateful decision.
Pilate condemns Jesus, turning him over to Roman guards to be brutally whipped and crowned with thorns as King of the Jews.
Heeding the demands of an angry mob, Pilate frees Barabbas from prison in exchange for sentencing Christ to death by Crucifixion.
Bloodied by his torture, Jesus lugs his heavy wooden cross on the grueling march to Golgota.
The realistic mountainside Crucifixion scene brings the Passion Play to a stirring climax.
Mother Mary mourns as her beloved son draws his last breath, is lowered from the cross and carried away for burial.
