As I have noted before, we have a full-scale Passion Play here in Ajijic, as in many small Mexican pueblos. There is always a Palm Sunday procession with Jesus and the disciples welcomed, then non-stop action Maundy Thursday (Last Supper, Arrest at Gethsemane) Good Friday (Trial before Pilate, Herod’s palace, Via Dolorosa, Crucifixion, and laying Jesus in the Tomb. Saturday builds up to the midnight vigil of Easter, with Jesus rising and the fiesta beginning.
Given temperatures in the 90’s and a hot tropical sun, we decided to attend parts of the play each year, and this year, we made it to the crucifixion. Actually, we planned to attend the crucifixion last year, but somehow we missed it. We arrived around 3:00 pm, the time associated with Jesus’ death and everybody was gone! Seems that the crucifixion ends at 2:15 pm in Mexico…who knew?
This year, we headed up the hill to “Golgotha” around 1:15. There was a small crowd milling under the intense sun. Sure enough, around 1:40 I could see a larger group coming up the hill.
The many re-enactors played their roles as the three crosses were put in place.
A narrator set the scene in both Spanish and English, then the crosses went up and the thieves, soldiers, members of the Sanhedrin, and of course Jesus did their parts.
The crowd was silent throughout. The actors, all locals, take great pride in their roles, and you can see they spend a lot of time and effort on the pageantry.
We’ve seen the arrest, the trial before Pilate, Herod’s Palace, and now the crucifixion. Maybe next year we’ll stay up late for the resurrection (and the after-party)!
A moving reenactment. The surrounding countryside looks more like Palestine than the stage at Oberammergau.
Does the play include the Resurrection?
Yes! On Friday, they bring Jesus’ body back to the square in front of the church, where they have fashioned a rock tomb to lay him. We haven’t attended yet, but I’m told there is a light and sound show at midnight on Easter morning, the rock rolls away, and Jesus walks out. I’ll have to stay up and verify it, one of these years!
Having never seen a passion play, forgive me if this is a dumb question— but once they hang “Jesus” on the cross, is it scene over, the actor comes down, and everyone moves to the next scene?
This must be powerful to witness. I can’t even imagine.
Good question, Paula. No, they continue to act out the scene. Jesus is on the cross for all the lines he has from the Gospels (Jesus 7 ‘Last Words’) and some narration. He is tied to the cross at the hands and has a small platform for his feet, which is realistic. Thankfully, Mexicans don’t only simulate the “nail to the cross” routine in their Passion plays; believe it or not, they really do nail to the cross in the Philippines! Jesus “expires” on the cross and the soldiers et al walk back to town. A few of His followers bring him down off the cross and load him into the back of a cart which takes his “body” back the Church for burial.