Nervous lakeside residents should not be alarmed to be roused from their sleep early Thursday, May 3 by a barrage of loud explosions. It will simply be the signal for the start of celebrations held on the Feast of the Holy Cross.
Construction workers all over Mexico customarily enjoy a long day of raucous celebration on this day honoring 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 ear-splitting sky rocket blasts, the parties may turn into unbridled benders that go on until the wee hours.
Meanwhile, faithful folks in every 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.
Free loot in AjijicA May 3 custom peculiar to Ajijic – known as levantando la cruz – is vaguely akin to the North American Indian potlatch. Late in the afternoon many 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, individual families spread out an array of flowers, candles, seasonal fruits and assorted pantry staples. A common element 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 mache figure studded with firecrackers.
Once evening falls, crowds of villagers will wander the streets to socialize as they view the altars. According to custom, anyone who wishes may make dibs on one of the displays and return at the end of the night to collect all its contents to replenish the household larder. The loot is all free for the taking in return for a pledge to return 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.
Mezcala shrines & dancers
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 set in place on the altar, the crosses are carried 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 often adorned with elaborately embroidered napkins and cover 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.
Santa Cruz Fiestas
May 3 is also the final day of the nine-day Fiestas Patronales celebration in the town of Santa Cruz de la Soledad. A late afternoon procession through the streets is followed by night time festivities on the town square, closing with a castillo fireworks display.
Not coincidentally, for many local people May 4 is synonymous with cargando la cruz (carrying the cross), a colloquial expression referring to nursing a monumental hangover.