Blowing Up Judas in Mexico

We're coming up on Easter and all the celebrations which surround it. In my life, this has always been a one-day affair focusing on eating and finding eggs. Others celebrate this holiday with far more fervor.

One of the more fascinating locations to witness the spectacle of Easter is in the Mexican town of San Miguel de Allende. Like other strongly Catholic areas, the locals really embrace this holiday, celebrating with two weeks of religious goings-on that started yesterday.

Tourists flock here to witness locals carrying a statue of Jesus four miles from a neighboring town as well as the Man himself (portrayed by an actor) dragging a cross through the center of town, followed closely by Mary Magdalen and a phalanx of centurions.

The highlight of the whole festival, however, is most certainly the blowing up of Judas. Locals create effigies of the hated disciple, as well as anyone else who has earned their scorn--such as local politicians. The papier-maché figures are then strung up on a wire, and blown up with firecrackers! The Firing of the Judases occurs on Easter Sunday, the final day of the celebrations. Now that sure beats hunting for brightly colored eggs!

Filed under: Festivals and Events, Mexico