Original Villages | Pueblo Candelaria, Coyoacán: Fiesta of Candelaria, an Extra Special Occasion

The Two Roots of the Fiesta of Candelaria 

Candelaria, (in English, Candlemass) is celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church on February 2, forty days after the birth of Jesus the Christ, celebrated on December 25. It was Jewish custom that a first-born son be presented at the Temple in Jerusalem the fortieth day after his birth. According to the Gospels, Mary and Joseph followed this tradition. Candelaria is the feast day celebrating this early event in the life of el Niño Jesús, the Child, or Infant, Jesus.

Presentation of Christ at the Temple
by Hans Holbein the Elder, 1500–01 (Kunsthalle, Hamburg)
Wikipedia

MCA Note: In the early fourth century, church leaders fixed the date of Jesus's birth as December 25. This was the date of the winter solstice on the Roman (Julian) calendar. When our current Gregorian calendar was introduced by Pope Gregory in 1582, all dates were moved ten days ahead to align with the sun's positions during the solar year. The misalignment had developed over time because the Julian calendar did not include a leap year every four years needed to keep the calendar aligned with the sun's cycle of positions in relation to the earth. However, Christmas was kept on December 25. The decision to place Jesus' birth on the winter solstice also implied that he was conceived on the spring equinox, nine months earlier. Wikipedia.

February 2 also happens to mark the mid-point of the season of winter in the northern hemisphere (summer in the southern). It is one of the so-called "cross-quarter days" of the solar calendar, falling halfway between the "quarter days" of the winter solstice and the subsequent spring equinox, therefore marking one-eighth of a solar year (6.5 weeks or 45.5 days).

Andrés Medina Hernández, a researcher at the IIAM (Institute of Anthropological Research) of the UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico), has noted that Candelaria is celebrated with particular fervor in Mexico City, especially in the southern, more traditionally indigenous delegaciones (now alcaldías) of Iztapalapa, Tláhuac, Xochimilco and Milpa Alta, where there is a special veneration for El Niño Jesús, the child or infant Jesus, centered on Candelaria.

Most notable of these is el Niño Pa (the Child of This Place) in Xochimilco. He is a small wooden statue of the infant Jesus created in the 16th century, in the early years of the so-called Spiritual Conquest, the lengthy process of conversion of the indigenous by Spanish and other European monks to Christianity. (See our post: Xochimilco | Candelaria and el Niño Pa: Caring for the Infant God.)

El Niño pa,
carried by his majordomo, 
finishing his charge on Feb. 2, 2017

MCA Note: With this post, we are adding Delegación Coyoacán to this list. It has both a Pueblo Candelaria, featured in this post, and a Barrio El Niño Jesús. 

In addition to el Niño Pa, Xochimilco has four other special Niños Jesús, each of whom is kept by householders of a particular pueblo or barrio, not in a church. The householder is the mayordomo (caretaker) who changes annually. These Niños, like el Niño Pa, spend the year visiting homes in the delegación and even travel to other delegaciones. We first encountered el Niño Pa in Pueblo Xoco (HO-ko) in Delegación Benito Juárez, some nine miles north of Xochimilco.

It is on February 2, Candelaria, that the new mayordomos take charge of the image of each of these Niño Dios for one year. This marks the end of the Christmas season. Dr. Medina believes this veneration of el Niño Jesús has a close link with the ancient Mesoamerican agricultural calendar and religion. The celebration of Candelaria coincides with a Mesoamerican tradition of venerating the annual rebirth of the god of corn.

The Mexica god of maize (corn), Centeotl, was born on February 2, which was also the beginning of the Mexica solar year. His birth initiated the annual agricultural cycle of soil preparation, planting, cultivation and harvesting of corn. At harvest time, five ripened maize cobs were picked by elder Aztec women. Each was carefully wrapped, like a mother would wrap up a newborn child and then carried, like a child, in a shawl on the women's backs to their homes. There, they were placed in a special basket and kept until the following year and the beginning of the next agricultural cycle.

Medina also points out that there is a link between the birth of the god of corn and the eating of tamales and atole (a drink made of corn masa [dough], thinned with water and with various flavors added) on February 2. The masa (dough) of cornmeal is the symbolic flesh of the corn god and the atole is his blood. The word tamal or tamalli is Nahuatl and means "carefully wrapped" (as a newborn is wrapped).

Eating tamales and drinking atole on Candelaria is a traditional symbolic act very similar to Communion in Christianity. By consuming these foods, Mexicans eat the body and drink the blood of the newborn god of corn. In the Maya sacred book, the Popol Vuh, human beings were created from corn masa. Human existence in Mesoamerica depended on corn. This has a parallel in Judaism and Christianity, where, in the Book of Genesis, God molds man from soil in his image and likeness.

Furthermore, in the same way that a tamal is carefully wrapped, on Candelaria many families dress a figure of the Child God, which is kept in their home all year, with special garments, most often baptismal gowns. He is then taken to the church to be blessed and to pray for his protection of the family for the coming year.

MCA Note: This analysis of Candelaria by Dr. Medina was provided by Abraham Garcia, a student in anthropology in the National Autonomous University of Mexico and administrator of the Facebook page Fiestas Mágicas de los Pueblos y Barrios Originarios del Valle de Mexico, our indispensible guide.

Niño Jesús on Candelaria,
with ears of corn in a basket.

All of these primal, archetypal parallels between indigenous and Christian beliefs in the symbolism of Candelaria are among the many that helped make possible the syncretism of indigenous and Roman Catholic Christian religions that resulted in Mexican popular Catholicism. (For more on the elements and dynamics of this syncretism see our page, Mexico Traditional Popular Religious Culture.)

Candelaria in Pueblo Candelaria, Coyoacán

We have written about Pueblo Candelaria twice before, when, as part of the visits paid by el Señor de la Misericordia, the Lord of Compassion, each summer from his home in Pueblo Tres Santos Reyes (Three Holy Kings) to other pueblos in Coyoacán. We were present when he arrived for the first of two visits to Candelaria, which is Tres Reyes' neighbor, and again, at the end of his summer tour, when he returns to Tres Reyes from his second visit in Candelaria. Candelaria is the only pueblo he visits twice each summer. The two pueblos are closely bonded. Both entregas (handovers, deliveries) are grand events.

But we had never gone to Candelaria for the fiesta of its patron saint. It is not el Niño Jesús. (The nearby Barrio el Niño Jesus has its fiesta on January 1, the eighth day of Jesus' life and, according to Jewish custom, the day of his circumcision. We attended it last year.) The patron saint of Pueblo Candelaria is the Virgin of Candelaria, that is, the Virgin Mary in her advocación (representation) at the moment of her purification at the Temple forty days after Jesus' birth and, also, as the Queen of Heaven, which she became upon her assumption into heaven at the moment of her earthly death.

So early on the morning of February 2, a Saturday this year, not able to find any schedule of fiesta events on the internet, we go to Candelaria, hoping to witness a procession we have heard happens around 9 AM. However, when we arrive at the atrio (atrium) of the modern church (the original 16th-century one was replaced in the mid-20th century), not much seems to be happening.

A large floral portada of fresh flowers—always amazing in their complex design, vibrant colors and workmanship—covers the arches of the church entrance.

Portada made with fresh mums.
"The Lord stands firm for his pueblo´s (village and its people)
defense and salvation,
for its faithful ones he saves us.

But even more spectacular, taking up most of the large atrio is a huge tapete de aserrín, sawdust carpet, a fiesta tradition. The pueblo is well-known for its tapetes, created for each fiesta by a group of mostly young people, the Alfombristas Pueblo de la Candelaria Coyoacán (link is to its Facebook page; alfombra is another word for carpet, likely from Arabic). 

Tapete or alfombra de aserrín
This one is unusual, not only for its size,
but also for its lack of any specific religious symbolism.

Coming and going from the sanctuary are parishioners carrying their Niños Jesús, to be blessed today.

                                

A large wind band is playing on a stage to one side.

Entering the sanctuary, we find a few people praying. The Virgin is missing from her baldachin, the canopied space reserved, since medieval times, for a royal, or here, sacred Presence.

We find the Virgin, or two of her, on a table in one side aisle.
Patron saints are often kept in duplicate, one always to remain in the sanctuary,
the other for being carried through the pueblo in processions.
Both wear the crown of the Queen of Heaven.

Here, parishioners present their Niños Jesús for her blessing.
The burning of candles is part of the ritual, a symbol that Jesus is the light of the  world;
hence the fiesta's name, Candelaria, Candlemass.

We ask various parishioners when the procession is to occur. None seem sure of the time. Finally, one woman tells us that a schedule of all the fiesta events is posted outside. Such posters are standard for fiestas, and they are essential for us to know when the main events are going to happen. We did not see any on our way into the pueblo or in the atrio, but go in search, hoping to find one. There are none in the atrio and we begin to despair, when, walking back out into the main street, we suddenly spot one on the garage door of a home.

It tells us that the procession isn't today, but tomorrow at noon. At that time, the Virgin will meet saints arriving from other pueblos. The encounter will take place at the intersection of two main avenues that form the northeast boundary of the pueblo, Avenida Candelaria and Avenida Pacífico. We know the intersection well. It is exactly where el Señor de la Misericordia and the Virgin come together and where, the first Sunday in September, they part ways. Many saints from other pueblos had been present both times we were there, so we anticipate that this encounter will be on a similarly grand scale. Clearly, the Virgin of Candelaria is highly venerated beyond her own parish. 

The Virgin of Candelaria Welcomes the Saints of Other Pueblos to Her Fiesta

So, shortly before noon on Sunday, we arrive by taxi at the corner of Candelaria and Pacífico Avenues. Pacífico, south of Candelaria, is blocked to traffic by a cadre of city police. A crowd is gathered in the closed street. Having seen this scenario before, we know what is happening and hurry to wend our way through the crowd.

A Gathering of the Saints of Coyoacán

A short distance down the block we see the Virgin (in her pink version) standing on a flower-covered anda (platform) for being carried in the procession to the church.  

The Virgin of Candelaria,
Hostess of Her Day

Standing in front of her, on both sides of the southbound lanes of Pacifíco, a large number of saints are lined up on their andas. Having been, by now, to many fiestas in Coyoacán, including two others at this same spot, we recognize quite a few and know which pueblos they represent.

 

El Señor de la Misericordia, the Lord of Compassion
and los Tres Santos Reyes, Three Holy Kings
from Pueblo Tres Santos Reyes.

Niño Jesús, Child or Infant Jesus,
from Barrio Niño Jesús.

         

San Pablo, St. Paul,
from Pueblo San Pablo Tepetlapa;

San Sebastián
from Pueblo San Sebastián Xoco

Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles
from Barrio San Diego Churubusco;

San Domingo and San Francisco
from Colonia de Santo Domingo

San Luis Rey, Saint Louis, King of France
from the church dedicated to him
in Colonia Ajusco;

San Isidro, saint of farmer,
from Pueblo San Isidro, Michocán

Both saints were brought from the municipality of Nahuatzen, Michoacán
when large numbers of its Purépecha residents moved to Colonia Ajusco in the 1960s and 70s.

The Procession Gets Underway

There are several more saints waiting to join the procession, but we´ll have to wait to take their photos, as parishioners from Candelaria are picking up her anda and starting the procession into the pueblo. We have to hurry to get ahead of them before they enter the narrow barrio street, as we have learned that being at the front of a procession is the best position for finding good angles for shots.

The procession begins.

Three Virgins of Candelaria

Santiagueros,
Warriors for St. James who battle the "pagan" Moors.
We have seen them at several fiestas.

Chinelos, also frequent participants in processions of saints

Procession of the Saints of Coyoacán

The Virgin of Candelaria
then leads the procession of saints

Other saints that we weren't able to photograph while they were waiting, now pass by:

Virgin of Guadalupe

Santa Úrsula
of Barrio Santa Úrsula Coapa

El Señor de los Milagros
The Lord of Miracles,
from the church dedicated to Him
in Colonia Ajusco

San Lucas, St. Luke
of Barrio San Lucas

                             

San Domingo and San Francisco,
followed by San Luis Rey,
proceed through the callejas, narrow streets,
of Pueblo Candelaria.

The Virgen of Guadalupe,
Santa Úrsula and
San Sebastián

                                                                                                                                                          

The Virgin arrives in the atrio of her church.

Welcoming the Saints to the Church of Our Lady of Candelaria

Awaiting the Virgin, in her honor, is a tapete or alfombra de aserrín of Saint Teresa of Jesus
that, overnight, has replaced the circular one of the day before.
We thank an anonymous reader for telling us the correct name of the saint and 
that it was created by the group Arte y Diseño Villagrán Hermanos. (Villagrán Brothers Art and Design).

                      

The church bells, in the belfry,
which is the only remaining part of the original 16th-century church,
begin to be rung by an athletic joven (youth).

The Virgin
is carefully carried around the tapete,
towards the church.

She is placed to receive all of the visiting saints.

One by one, the saints are carried into the sanctuary.
The Virgin enters last.

The congregation waits while the visiting saints are placed near the altar.

Some carry their Ninos Jesús

In the choir loft, a group, mostly young people,
sing folk-style songs
with much ánimo, spirit.

All is ready for the Mass in veneration of the Virgin of Candelaria.

The Virgin (the one in pink) has been returned to the table in the side aisle,
where yesterday she was accompanied by one in blue.

The small version in blue, next to her, is known as a "demandita", "little petition",
a very portable form of a saint, used by individuals and families 
to represent some particular advocación, manifestation of the Virgin as an advocate
on behalf of the faithful to Her Son, Jesus the Christ, and God the Father.

Three Eminent Saints of Coyoacán

The Virgin, in blue, has been returned to her baldachín
behind the altar.

Placed in positions of special honor in front of her are
El Señor de la Misericordia
and
El Niño Jesús,

The Tres Santos Reyes stand below them.

They are the saints of Candelaria's neighboring pueblos.

The placement of El Señor de la Misericordia and El Niño Jesús immediately in front of la Virgen de Candelaria is, we think, a symbolic expression of their special importance for all the original pueblos of Coyoacán. El Señor de la Misericordia, the Lord of Compassion, holds a special status in all the pueblos, demonstrated by his elaborately enacted series of visits to them each summer. The feast day of Candelaria is a celebration both of the Virgin Mother and her holy child, el Niño Jesus. Here, today, in the Church of Our Lady of Candelaria, they are brought together.

The importance of the Virgin of Candelaria among the original pueblos of Coyoacán is also demonstrated by the participation of virtually all those pueblos' saints in the procession and the culminating Mass. This extensive participation does not occur at the patron saint fiestas of the other pueblos. Here, in Coyoacán, as throughout all of Mexico, the Virgin holds a place of unique eminence. She is the Mother of the Son of God incarnate, as manifested in the feast of Candelaria. She is the mother of the Son who is crucified to save from their sins and death all who accept him as Savior, as embodied here by the Lord of Compassion. And in her advocación as the Virgin of Guadalupe, also present today, she is the Mother of Mexico. 

Delegaciones of Mexico City
Coyoacán is the purple delegación in the center.

Pueblos, barrios and colonias of Delegción Coyoacán

Pueblo Candelaria is the starred, yellow pueblo.
Pueblo los Tres Santos Reyes, home of el Señor de la Misericordia,
is green pueblo just west of Candelaria.
Barrio El Niño Jesús is blue area just west of Tres Reyes.

Original Villages | Coyoacán: Christmas Tradition in a Changing Barrio: Venerating El Niño Jesús

Celebrating Christmas, the Birth of Niño Jesús, in Mexico

The Beginning: Las Posadas 

We knew from our years in Mexico that Christmas celebrations begin in mid-December with night-time street parties called las Posadas, the Inns. Held each of the nine nights prior to Christmas, from December 16th thru the 24th, each night's posada is hosted by families living in a different street in a barrio (neighborhood) or different barrio of a pueblo (village or group of barrios). They are called posadas (inns) because the celebration centers on a re-creation of the arrival of the pregnant Mary and her husband, Joseph, in the town of Bethlehem in response to the census called by Caesar Augustus. The Holy Couple search for an inn in which to stay.

When we lived in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, our beloved and generous Spanish teacher, Alejandra, invited us each year to the posada in her family's street. Here in Mexico City the location of each night´s posada is set by the families involved, so it is difficult for a fuereño (outsider) to know how to find one. Fortunately, on next to the last day of the series this year, we came across a Facebook announcement by our neigboring Barrio San Mateo Churubusco of its posada that very evening, so we were able to attend.

Mary and Joseph, and the procession
of the posada of Barrio San Mateo Churubusco.

December 23, 2017.

Apart from thoroughly enjoying the neighborhood "block" party, especially the breaking of multiple píñatas by the kids, we were struck that, in addition to statues of Joseph leading Mary on a donkey, also prominently present was a Niño Jesús—present even before He was born!

El Niño Jesús, Infant Child Jesus
in the procession of San Mateo's posada,
Dec. 23, 2017

The central celebratory event of Christmas Day is a private one, a family cena (dinner) held late on the evening of Noche Buena (literally, Good Night), Christmas Eve, before going to Mass, so there is no public celebration for us to attend. The next Christmas season celebration is Tres Reyes, Three Kings Day (Epiphany), on January 6, marking the Adoration of Jesus by the Three Wise Men, when a Rosca de los Reyes, a twisted, circular sweet bread, is eaten and children receive presents. We look forward to visiting our nearby Pueblo de Los Tres Santos Reyes to see how it is celebrated.

The Ending: Candelaria

The Christmas season does not end until February 2, the mid-point of winter, when Candelaria (Candlemas) celebrates the presentation of the Infant Jesus by Mary and Joseph in the Temple of Jerusalem forty days after His birth. This presentation is part of a Jewish ritual for first-born sons and for Mary's post-partum purification (this feast day is also known as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary). While there, His status as the Messiah (Hebrew) or the Christ (Greek)—that is, the Anointed One of God—was publically recognized by an old man, Simeon, who was present and who had hoped to live long enough to witness the arrival of the Messiah.

Living in Pátzcuaro, every February 2nd we would witness people carrying little baby dolls, usually dressed in baptismal gowns, through the streets on the way to the day's Mass. Some figures were even seated on small, hand-carved wooden chairs, a kind of throne. We learned that many practicing Catholic families keep such small dolls or statues of Infant Jesus in their homes throughout the year. He is placed in the family's nacimiento (literally "birth", but also used for the Nativity scene) on Christmas Eve. On Candelaria, He is carried to the church to be blessed at a special Mass.

After we moved to Mexico City in mid-2011, we encountered Candelaria the following February at the Church of San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist) in our own Plaza de Coyoacán. The big attraction for us was actually a Tamales Festival. Tamales (singular: tamal) are the day's traditional food. The delegación government takes advantage of that to sponsor the Festival, involving dozens of vendors from across Mexico and Latin America and attended by thousands.

Parishioner with Niño Jesús,
Candelaria at San Juan Bautista,
Villa Coyoacán.

Niño Jesús
Candelaria at San Juan Bautista,
Villa Coyoacán.

Mexico has specialized markets for everything. Not surprisingly, then, there is a tianguis (street market) in East Centro´s Barrio La Merced for a couple of weeks before Candelaria, where artisans in street stalls prepare and sell hand-painted Niño Jesuses, along with all styles of dress (including soccer uniforms!), carved wooden chair-style thrones and other accouterments. We have read that the development of such a market and the consumer demand it reflects is a phenomenon of recent decades. Evidently, el Niño Jesús is becoming increasingly popular (and diversified in His symbolism).

Puesto, Stall
Candelaria Tianguis, Street Market,
Barrio La Merced, Centro East

New Year´s Day Surprise

We were surprised, therefore, when we saw an announcement that the patron saint fiesta of Coyoacán's Barrio Niño Jesús was to be held on January 1, New Year's Day. We had assumed it would be on Candelaria, and we wondered why a day marked by secular celebrations was His feast day. A check of the Catholic litugical calendar informed us that, following Jewish custom, Jesus was circumcised on that day, the eighth day of His life.

We first met the barrio's Niño Jesús in the summer of 2016, as we were following the series of visits made every summer by el Señor de la Misericordia (the Lord of Compassion, who resides year-round in Pueblo Tres Santos Reyes, Three Holy Kings) to many of the pueblos and barrios of Coyoacán. One of those visits was to Barrio Niño Jesús. It is a very small barrio (two short blocks wide and maybe six long), immediately south of the Colonial-era Center of Coyoacán.

Traditional Barrio Life Facing Modern Pressures

As we walked down the barrio's typically narrow central street towards the church that Sunday afternoon, we observed that the neighborhood seemed composed of a mix of modest cinderblock houses and larger, newer, more upscale ones (one notable marker was the two-car wide, stylishly modern electric garage doors, instead of iron gates, facing the street). Past the church, at the end of the street, was the gated, guarded entrance to a group of private homes.

Our impression was that the barrio was being "gentrified". This was understandable, given it is adjacent to the highly desired and, hence, expensive neighborhoods of Coyoacán Centro. (Subsequently, checking Google maps, we saw that the entire southern half of the small barrio is now occupied by a large apartment complex and superstores.)

As with Barrio San Lucas, immediately east of the Center and from which el Señor was arriving that day, we wondered to what extent the barrio residents were able to maintain traditional customs in the face of such modern economic pressures. Similar traditional barrios in northern Coyoacán and in Delegación Benito Juárez, to its north, have largely succumbed to such pressures. Although their churches still carry out patron saint fiestas and acknowledge their long histories, they have morphed culturally into more contemporary style "parties". The fact that el Niño Jesús was receiving el Señor for a week's visit told us that barrio residents were certainly trying to maintain its traditional identity.

Subsequently, in early September of that year, we saw el Niño Jesús when He and his parish joined el Señor's impressively large welcome home procession to Tres Reyes. We recently saw Him again, this past November, in a procession of saints in nearby Colonia Ajusco. So, His barrio clearly actively identifies as a traditional one and is actively engaged with the other traditional pueblos and barrios of Coyoacán.

El Niño Jesús (rear) welcomes el Señor de la Misericordia to His home barrio. 
They have just passed under the permanent portada at the barrio's entrance.

Given our questions about the extent to which the barrio residents have been able to maintain the traditions such as fiestas in the face of gentrification, we were especially interested in re-visiting it to witness and experience how those faithful to el Niño Jesus expressed their devotion to Him and their communal identity. (For our frame of reference, see our page: Fiestas as Creative Acts of Cultural Transformation and Continuity.)

The posted schedule for the fiesta said that there would be a procession with el Níño Jesús through the streets of the barrio at 3:30 in the afternoon. So at about 3 pm on New Year´s Day we head off. Conveniently, el Barrio Niño Jesús is about ten minutes by taxi from our home in Colonia Parque San Andrés.

The Church of el Niño Jesús

Church of el Niño Jesús

The church rests on a small knoll and is entered by stairways flanking the front door.
It sits directly at the edge of the street's sidewalk,
where electrical and telephone lines make a clear photo of the front virtually impossible.

Floral portada over the entrance.
"Child Jesus, bless us and give us peace."

Mass was in progress.
(The wooden supports of the chancel arch and the apse behind it
are due to damage caused by the major earthquake
suffered by Mexico City on Sept. 19, 2017)

El Niño Jesús
in front of the nacimiento, Nativity Scene. 

El Castillo

In the atrio which, atypically, is at the side of the church, workers from a pyrotechnic company are busy raising the castillo ("castle") of fireworks that will be quemado (burned, i.e, ignited) at the close of the fiesta tomorrow night.

The castillo
consists of a stack of box-shaped wooden frames
raised by hand-cranking a winch (to the left);
each additional box is slid underneath.

La Banda

Soon, Mass ends. Shortly after, that essential component of all fiestas and processions, a brass banda, shows up. After climbing stairs to a large balcony above the building on the side of the atrio opposite the church, they begin to play. We climb up after them, the better to see and take photos.

The essential tuba.

Lots of Oompah! 
In addition to the omnipresent tuba,
three baritones are included, an unusual addition to the traditional Mexican banda. 

La Procesión

After playing a few numbers, the banda gets up and leaves the balcony. We know the procession is supposed to follow, but see no indication of it in the atrio, where they usually form. We wait, sitting on a ledge, asoleandonos, sunning ourselves, savoring the warmth of the New Year's sun. 

Suddenly, from the far side of the church, we hear the banda playing again. Equally suddenly, in the street in front of the atrio, a flower-bedecked anda (portable platform) appears, bearing el Niño Jesús, followed by a number of parishioners and la banda. The procession is on the move! We have to rouse quickly from our relaxed state and hurry out to the street. 

Anda, covered with fresh mums,
bears el Niño Jesús.
The peacock is a frequently used symbol of royalty.
The hummingbird (far left), because it sucks nectar, is an indigenous symbol of sacrifice.

El Niño Jesús
The three silver rays projecting from His head are signs of His Divinity
and, possibly, of the Holy Trinity. 

The entrance to one street is decorated with an arch,
featuring the Virgin of Guadalupe,
whose feast day was December 12,
followed by las posadas beginning on December 16.

Some barrio side streets, essentially laneways, are dead ends and so narrow
that the anda is carried into them backwards,
allowing the procession to return without turning the anda around.
The legend on the anda reads:
"Little Child Jesús, illumine our faith."

The papel picado, cut-paper designs hanging above,
are truly hand-cut paper, not machine-cut plastic. This is very unusual nowadays.

The bearers of the anda have to stop and rest every so often. 

El cohetero,
igniter of cohetes, rocket-style firecrackers,
leads the way, announcing the procession's arrival.

Tapete de aserrín,
sawdust carpet,
has been laid out in one cul-de-sac.
Roses are the flower of the Virgin Mary.

The bottom legend reads:
"God, we don't forget you."

Papel picado
(here, the now usual machine-cut plastic)
remains from the fiesta honoring the Virgin of Guadalupe.

(Note the caged songbirds, upper left,
common household pets in the outdoor patios and balconies of Mexican homes.)

The Community Watching

As always, we enjoy—and photograph—the rostros (countenances, faces) of those watching a procession along its way. Taking informal portraits is actually one of our primary goals in our Ambles and participating in a procession provides a wonderful opportunity to capture some of the faces of community members.

Maintaining Tradition and Community Identity in the Face of Gentrification

As we noted earlier, we were particularly interested in returning to Barrio Niño Jesús to see to what extent its residents are able to maintain the customs of traditional patron saint fiestas while the neighborhood—given its "prime" real estate location—continues to undergo the economic and social pressures of gentrification. 

Our conclusion, at the end of experiencing its procession through its narrow laneways, is that communal tradition and the shared identity that goes with it is doing fine in the barrio. The fiesta has all the traditional, essential components: 

~ Portada (even one covered with fresh flowers) over the church entrance, 

~ Banda, 

~ Cohetes, 

~ Anda carrying the patron saint and covered with fresh flowers, 

~ Papel picado (even hand-cut ones) hanging above the streets, 

~ Tapete de aserrín,

~ Additional portada arch across one of its streets (in addition to the permanent one at the barrio's entrance). 

~ Castillo (a big one!) for the grand, pyrotechnic finale on the last night of the celebration. 

(See our page: Fiestas as Creative Acts of Cultural Transformation and Continuity.)

Clearly, Barrio Niño Jesús still has a community of residents committed to investing the time and money required to carry out such a fiesta, including its more costly elements such as fresh flowers on the portada and anda, which communities with fewer resources have replaced with plastic ones. 

There was also the less tangible but essential element of animo, the spirit, vitality, of the participants. The leaders of the procession were clearly committed to executing it with energy and devotion, both to their saint and to the customary forms of such processions. 

But also, those following along and even those watching from their doorways showed their identification with the ritual in their crys of "Viva el Níno Jesús", "Long live the Child Jesús". As a result of our participation in many such processions, we have come to realize the "Viva" is a shout of community identity and desire for its continuation. There were also the looks of attention--sometimes serious, sometimes happy--and even pride that showed in their faces. 

In Barrio Niño Jesus, "God (and community tradition), we don't forget you."

Delegaciones of Mexico City
Coyoacán is the purple delegación in the center.

Delegación Coyoacán
and Its Pueblos, Barrios and Colonias.

Barrio Niño Jesús is marked by the green/yellow star.