Thursday. 5:29 a.m. The First Rocket.
I hurled myself upright from my position of slumber. My first cognitive thought, 'holy crap, the Americans are bombing us'. Second, 'there is a crazy narco shoot-out happening outback'. It took several more seconds to gain the courage to peek out the back window and see what was happening. Meanwhile, Sage was already tucked away and shivering under the kitchen counter; practically glued to the tile floor. I could see the small farm houses starting their morning fire for breakfast, lights on in several other houses, and the faint sound of music. Not the typical wake-up time for most of the people in my village.
Once at work, I found the director of my school; who also lives in La Cruz. 'What the heck was happening this morning'. He laughed. In Spanish it is called Dia de Santa Cruz. To my [un] delight, I found out that it would be happening for the next eight days; until May 3rd.
Oh, and the rockets that are launched every three minutes from 5:30 -6:30 a.m....those are to wake the village for church. Another round of rockets in the evening signals the return to church. Having lived in Salt Lake City...whose famous for their passion of explosives in the month of July, I would award the residents a 'runners up award'. The Mexicans take it to a whole new level and use los cohetes; rockets. Basically, a bottle rocket on steroids. Constructed with no visually pleasing sparks of light; just pure ear-drum busting booms!
I hurled myself upright from my position of slumber. My first cognitive thought, 'holy crap, the Americans are bombing us'. Second, 'there is a crazy narco shoot-out happening outback'. It took several more seconds to gain the courage to peek out the back window and see what was happening. Meanwhile, Sage was already tucked away and shivering under the kitchen counter; practically glued to the tile floor. I could see the small farm houses starting their morning fire for breakfast, lights on in several other houses, and the faint sound of music. Not the typical wake-up time for most of the people in my village.
Once at work, I found the director of my school; who also lives in La Cruz. 'What the heck was happening this morning'. He laughed. In Spanish it is called Dia de Santa Cruz. To my [un] delight, I found out that it would be happening for the next eight days; until May 3rd.
Oh, and the rockets that are launched every three minutes from 5:30 -6:30 a.m....those are to wake the village for church. Another round of rockets in the evening signals the return to church. Having lived in Salt Lake City...whose famous for their passion of explosives in the month of July, I would award the residents a 'runners up award'. The Mexicans take it to a whole new level and use los cohetes; rockets. Basically, a bottle rocket on steroids. Constructed with no visually pleasing sparks of light; just pure ear-drum busting booms!
El Dia de Santa Cruz has deep roots here in Mexico; especially in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. When the first missionaries arrived to Mexico, they placed crosses in the ground at churches under construction. This tradition continues today, by celebrating construction workers. Bricklayers, labourers, architects, engineers. The evening of May 2nd, workers build a cross from scraps of wood and various materials left over from their construction site. On May 3rd the workers fabricate an alter dedicated to the cross. The cross is placed at the highest point of work and decorated with colorful paper and flowers. Once the altar and cross are installed, the party really begins. Family and friends are invited to the site for music, food, and fireworks. I would take a wild guess that there is some drinking involved, too.
We have a house being built across from us, so I can hardly imagine what it will be like on May 3rd. But lucky for us...this celebration usually occurs at construction sites that have roofs on; so, not until the following year.
I will be on the first day of my pilgrimage and will miss the fiestas throughout town, but will enlist Sam to get some photos of the action.
It is impossible for me to sleep through the morning rockets. I had a batch of kombucha made by 6:15 a.m and was in the water surfing by 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.
I will try and use the early morning wake-up calls to my advantage this week; yoga, read, water the garden. Realistically, I will probably just lay in bed until the alarm sounds; enjoying another Mexican cultural event.
We have a house being built across from us, so I can hardly imagine what it will be like on May 3rd. But lucky for us...this celebration usually occurs at construction sites that have roofs on; so, not until the following year.
I will be on the first day of my pilgrimage and will miss the fiestas throughout town, but will enlist Sam to get some photos of the action.
It is impossible for me to sleep through the morning rockets. I had a batch of kombucha made by 6:15 a.m and was in the water surfing by 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.
I will try and use the early morning wake-up calls to my advantage this week; yoga, read, water the garden. Realistically, I will probably just lay in bed until the alarm sounds; enjoying another Mexican cultural event.
