While most lakeside inhabitants are accustomed to hearing cohetes de trueno (sky rockets) rip the air as an ordinary element of the auditory landscape, newcomers should brace for being roused from slumber in the early hours of May 3 by a non-stop barrage of the ear-splitting fireworks that herald the celebration of Día de la Cruz (Feast of the Holy Cross).
Construction workers all over Mexico customarily enjoy a long day of raucous festivity on the date designated to honor the most powerful symbol in the Christian faith, likewise associated with the building trade.
In this neck of the woods, building crews begin gathering just after sunrise to fuel up on menudo (tripe stew) before climbing to the highest point of the construction site to hoist a wooden cross bedecked with paper flowers, streamers and tricolor banners. Property owners and contractors call off the normal work schedule to host festive midday meals for the men. With plentiful food, liquor, music and regular intervals of rocket blasts, the parties may turn into unbridled benders that go on until the wee hours.
Meanwhile, faithful folks in every lakeshore town will spread out to decorate the assorted crosses that are fixed at street corners, on hilltops and other points that will be destinations for the day’s religious processions and special services.
A May 3 custom peculiar to Ajijic – known as levantando la cruz – is vaguely akin to the North American Indian potlatch. Late in the afternoon householders in the west end Barrio de Guadalupe and the north side Barrio de San Sebastian will sweep and water down their doorsteps to make a tidy spot for Dia de la Cruz shrines.
While the altars vary in composition and decorative details, each will appear with a cross as the centerpiece. Around it, families spread out an array flowers, candles, seasonal fruits and assorted pantry staples. A typical offering is a stack of freshly baked tachihual breads topped with white icing and a sprinkling of bright red sugar. The most elaborate displays may include bottles of tequila and homemade cordials, non-edible goods such as rolls of toilet tissue and cleaning products, and perhaps a torito – a bull-shaped bamboo and papier maché figure studded with firecrackers.
Once evening falls, crowds of villagers wander the streets to socialize as they view the altars. According to custom, anyone who wishes may make dibs on one of the displays, returning at the end of the night to collect the contents to replenish the household larder. The loot is all free for the taking in exchange for a pledge to pay back the favor the following year with equal or greater bounty than that received. The toritos are usually set off and run through the crowds to cap off the evening’s festivities.
A similar custom prevails in Mezcala de la Asuncion where Dia de la Cruz shrines are displayed all day along the town’s main streets. Prior to being placed on the altars, the crosses are carried in procession to the local church for an early morning blessing. Afterwards, troupes of masked ritual dancers parade through streets, stopping at each shrine to perform their routines. The Huehuenche dancers dress in white manta suits adorned with elaborately embroidered napkins, covering their faces with matching masks adorned with long streamers of paper flowers. Los Tlahualiles don all sorts of bizarre masks and outlandish outfits, with a number of the men decked out in garish female garb. Groups of youngsters join in with the Danza de Viejitos (old men’s dance), renowned in the neighboring state of Michoacan.