| Page Views: 580 Last Visit to Tlacochahuaya de Morelos: September, 2007 | Perfect timing by TheWanderingCamel - last update: Oct 14, 2007 |
Isn't it wonderful when happenstance, serendipity, good luck, call it what you will, puts you in just the right place at just the right time? That's what happened to us the day we set out to explore east of Oaxaca. We arrived at the little village of Tlacochahuaya to find a troupe of young boys dancing in front of the church in celebration of the village's saint's day. Dressed in wonderful costumes with fantastically gruesome masks, their energy seemed boundless as they danced on and on, weaving in and out in a dazzlingly complicated set of steps. Our guide told us the dance was centuries old, taught by the Spanish to celebrate the defeat of the Aztecs. |
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Not content with honouring their saint with music and dance, the villagers had filled the church with flowers. They all but hid the steps of the altar, were massed along the walls and filled all the side chapels. Combined with the wonderful old frescoes (the thing that had brought us to this particular village) the colour and perfume were a sensory feast that was almost overwhelming and became even more so once the mass started.
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By chance we had arrived in the village on September 30, the last day of the eight days of celebration that mark the village's celebration of San Jeronimo. The week is filled with festivities, processions, music, fireworks and dance, with lots of eating, drinking and partying for everyone. What a privilege it was to witness just a small part of it.
leyle
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 Comments for TheWanderingCamel about Tlacochahuaya de Morelos | | | | |
SLLiew Sat Nov 3, 2007 02:13 UTC
Beautiful interiors of the church. | VeronicaG Tue Oct 16, 2007 22:38 UTC
St. Jerome Church is absolutely beautiful--the detailed painting on the interior looks like it's in good state of preservation. Love the angels, too! | Trekki Tue Oct 16, 2007 16:30 UTC
What a beautiful church !! Incredible how these decorations last !! And how lucky you have been to be there at the festival's end :-)) | willy_wonka Tue Oct 16, 2007 05:27 UTC
sounds like you sure did get there just in the nick of time! what a sight those masks are! |
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