Las Alfombras...

Finally, it's here:  Semana Santa (Holy Week) and, most importantly, Good Friday. In Comayagua, Good Friday means one thing, and one thing only ~  Las Alfombras.  Traditionally made from colored sawdust, in recent years, the carpets have seen the addition of other natural materials, such as pine needles, various seeds, flowers, and more.

So, with no further ado, I bring you my window on Las Alfombras de Comayagua...

I got up early this morning because I wanted to start walking down toward las alfombras early, while people were still working on them and before there were thousands upon thousand of people walking around.  I left the house at 6:15am, enjoying the quiet and stillness of my neighborhood.  Within a few blocks, I encountered my first alfombra as a work in progress.  I knew that this carpet would be seen by relatively few people, being well off the Zona Processional.

But here it is, still being worked on.

A few minutes later, I was walking on the edge of the mercado, which looked so very different with no booths, people, cars, etc.  Empty.  Vacant.  Of course, it was only 6:30am.

From there, I walked past La Iglesia Merced, where there were about 5 or 6 ladies in orange construction vest sweeping and cleaning up the trash in front of the church.  As I got closer to the Cathedral and the blocks all around it, there were more and more alfombras.  Almost all of them were still being worked on, but I was able to get some good shots.

This one used real thorns for the crown and wood for the cross.

I was intrigued by the alfombra that used egg shells and dried flowers in its design.

 But I think my favorite was the depiction of the Last Supper.  This creative alfombra used tamarindo shells as its border.  Rice, seeds, and sawdust were used for the rest.  And, yes, that is real bread on the table.

Some time after 9:00am, the processional started.  By this time I had met up with Sandi, Samuel and Adan and we were at La Iglesia San Francisco, waiting for the processional to start.  Men and boys, dressed as Jesus, and each carrying a cross led the way, followed by men with incense, priests, the bishop, candle bearers, etc., culminating in men dressed in robes and hoods that are, frankly, reminiscent of KKK garb, and carrying a huge display.  This year, it was a boat with Jesus in it.  Behind it was another boat with fishermen, which I assumed represented the calling of some of Jesus' disciples.

As the processional goes by, they stop along the way, praying over various alfombras (not all, we found out) and stopping at areas marked for the stations of the cross.

 Once the official processional has passed by, others from the crowd join in, thus the processional continues to become longer and longer.  As you can imagine, it only takes minutes for each alfombra, and the many, many hours of work to become nothing more than a lingering memory.

The processional takes many hours to wind its way through the streets, praying and blessing as they go.

I'm so glad I finally got to see las alfombras in person.  It is truly a slice of Comayaguan culture.