Catemaco Virgins

I have never seen so many Virgins in my life.

Beautiful downtown Catemaco was overrun by thousands, or maybe 10's of thousands of placard bearers in the last week. Most all featured a likeness either on their sweatpants, foreheads, windshields, mobile phones, etc. of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Spirituality seems to have soared in Catemaco in the last few years. Maybe this has something to do with global warming, or the lower than average temperatures in Los Tuxtlas.

The Catemaco Virgen celebration is not just a local phenomena. Pilgims regularly arrive here by the busloads from most of southern Mexico. During the festivities surrounding her various "anniversaries", thousands of impoverished pilgrims arrive on foot treks from the communities south of Catemaco in the Santa Marta volcanoes where apparently there is a Virgin statue shortage.

The religious folks, throughout the week, run their processions before 6 am, the more sleepy taxis and driveable religious vehicles have their fun in the afternoons and the party crowd does their thing with beauty contests of virginal high school students in the evening. All are accompanied by choruses or the equivalent of bull horns or oom-pah-pah music.

I should have posted this on one of those "I love Mexico" blogs where people love reading about the shenanigans of the have-nots of Mexico, before returning to their quiet, isolated life in mortgaged homes in Anywhere, USA.

PLEASE! if this keeps on going, invite me!

A little history: The shrine of the Catemaco Virgin

Photo: Diario Eyipantla