PALM SUNDAY
Chuck and I walked to the main plaza (Parque Abdon Calderon) about noon yesterday. We wanted to discover what the fancy woven palms, shared with you in my last post, were being used for.
We got to the plaza just in time to witness this group doing a Palm Sunday Parade/Reenactment.
(Click on pictures to view larger image)
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The next event we saw was a procession of a religious figure to the Church of San Francisco.
This was a great event. It was made up of children and adults. The little ones lead the procession. They were all dressed as biblical and religious characters: priests, nuns, Roman soldiers, and even several Christs. There also was a band, a float and of course the religious icon.
Here is a picture of the smallest Christ. He is carrying his cross and is accompanied by Roman Soldiers with duct tape helmets.
Here is a closeup of the little guy.
Here is the adult Christ. The Roman soldier would hit him with the palm reed (whip) periodically.
This is the religious figure being carried.
The band.
Here is the float (on the bed of a pick-up) We think it is of Pontius Pilot washing his hands.
The procession marched about 10 blocks. It started sprinkling about a block from the church and a lady opened her umbrella and held it high over the religious relic to keep it dry. Right after the procession went into the church it started a down pour.
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We discovered that the fancy palms were mainly for people to carry to church on Palm Sunday. Here is a picture of people exiting the new cathedral with their palms.
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Here is the video clip of the first event.
Love,
Nancy and Chuck
