Santos in Oaxaca's Ancient Churches
A study of santos in 16th-century and other churches in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Claire and Richard Stracke. Funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.
Santos in Oaxaca's Ancient ChurchesA study of santos in 16th-century and other churches in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Claire and Richard Stracke. Funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. |
Teotitlán del Valle (Virgen de la Navidad) |
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Our informants at Teotitlán were Sr. Luís Mendoza and Sr. Silvestre Lázaro Mendoza. The former explained the ceremonies taking place on the day of our visit, which was the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (first Wednesday of July). The church was filled with thousands of gladioli which had been purchased by a comité of 13 men, each of whom had set aside 10,000 pesos a week (at the time equivalent to about US$3.40) throughout the previous year. Everyone in the area was then welcome to come and use the flowers in blessing themselves and their families. Usually this was observed to involve breaking some blossoms from a stalk, rubbing them on a statue or glass case, and then taking home the rest of the stalk. Most people would take just three stalks.
Our tour begins with El Señor de la Muerte. |