RMLApril 18

In the very early morning there was a procession that we did not see. At 11 in the morning another procession left. The church was decorated with La Soledad, Christ, and a representation of the miraculous cloth on which there was the impression of the face of Jesus-- a white cloth with the picture of face of Christ in black and red, an example of folk art. The cloth was tied to a black tunic of the Virgin of Rosario-- an image almost the same as La Soledad.

The procession was unimportant-- only Christ came out and the women who accompanied him were few and all were wearing old dresses. The only novelty of the procession was “the apostles”-- 12 young boys who carried or accompanied [the image of] Christ.

The Apostles carrying Christ

Each young boy wore a crown made of palm—a single branch tied with twine so that the stem formed an arc. Then the leaves are twisted up and tied with rope—an arc reaching the height of one foot [30 cms]. The leaves spiral toward the rope and then spring up another six inches [15 cms]. Flowers are placed in the crown—making a very effective contrast between the green of the palm and the coloration of the flowers.

Holy Thursday; the Apostles

The procession arrives at the church at twelve. Then they made preparations for “The Last Supper.” A table was placed beneath a canvas shelter near the entry of the church. From the morning on a homosexual man was directing the preparation of the food, assisted by six to seven women in a provisional kitchen-- which utilized the eaves of Camilo Jimémez’s house, situated near the church. From the kitchen to the table two lines of people were formed (almost all men) making a corridor.

Twelve little boys were sitting under the table, “the little dogs.”

The Apostles were sitting at the table. The Prayer Makers and the women sang for a little while and the Christ sat at the head of the table—in this case Christ was Camilo Jiménez, the President and Head Commissioner, but in a state of inebriation such that he seemed like the devil himself. For the entire supper Camilo sat without moving a muscle, without talking, with eyes open, but blind—just like a rock. To start they passed a gourd of water along one of the lines. All of the Apostles washed their hands. Then they passed from hand to hand along the left line plate after plate until all of the apostles had a plate with a little food on it.

The Apostle takes a tortilla from the stack that’s in the center of the table and places food in the tortilla. The tortilla (now a taco) is placed below the table where the little dog has his hat ready to trap it. Later the empty plates are returned to the kitchen on the right side. They did this with twelve different plates. After the supper the little dogs went to their houses with their hats full. The Apostles eat the same food informally, after the ceremony.

The tradition is (according to Melchor) that Christ only ate bread the Apostles gave him that was left over from the food of the dogs.

In the afternoon they changed the image of Christ for that of Saint Paul. Saint Paul wore a white tunic and a white turban. It is a completely Spanish image: the face of Saint Paul with a Roman nose and pointed beard. Above the altar was hung a white canvas. The procession left in the evening, first Saint Paul, then La Soledad [the Virgin of Solitude], and El Rosario [the Virgin of the Rosary]. At four in the morning another procession set out.

Melchor García

It is preferable to make the Apostles’ crowns of tepejilote [Chamaedorea tepejilote, pacaya palm], but given that it is far away in the mountains, they are made of palm.