Semana Santa de Taxco

Holy Week in Taxco, Guerrero, is considered the most dramatic and impressive in Mexico. Each year, from Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday, thousands of penitents—the Nazarenes—walk through the cobblestone streets of this colonial city carrying enormous crosses, dragging chains, or with their bodies covered in maguey leaves. The nocturnal processions with thousands of candles create a unique medieval spectacle in the Americas.

History

The tradition was introduced by Franciscan friars in the 16th century as a method of evangelization, and the indigenous Tlapanec and Nahua people adopted it with such fervor that it surpassed any similar expression in Spain. The Nazarenes cover their faces with purple hoods to maintain the anonymity of their penance. The Procession of Silence on Holy Thursday is the most impressive: 3,000 penitents in complete silence.