Via Crucis

Via Crucis (Good Friday) was one of my most memorable nights here. For me, it actually began on Thursday when my school had a show of Jesus Christ Super Star outside on the patio. I don't know if you can actually call it a show because the kid's in it only mouthed along to a soundtrack, but at the end everyone got up and walked around the school. At first, I didn't understand why we were doing this, but then I pushed my way to the front only to see the boy who was playing Jesus wearing no shoes, a diaper for clothes, a crown of thorns, and hauling a huge wooden cross. His friend was walking behind him with a whip pretending to hit him on the back, but in reality, he was smacking the bottom of the cross. The sound was still disturbing and very realistic. To make the act even more real, they had painted red marks on his back. I have never seen anything more graphic. Good Friday for me had always been a fun, happy day. There was no school and I would always do something wholesome like go to church and paint Easter eggs. This was a whole new view. After the program, I went home (somewhat scarred) and with information from a friend that there would be another program like this tomorrow except much bigger and on the beach in Renaca. 

I was too curious not 

to go so the next day my friend Cristobal and I went. Before we even reached the beach, the crowds began to form. This was the true Via Crucis. People from all of the world come to Renaca to witness this event. The beach was lit with two rows of candles that formed a pathway. Within this pathway were about 12 crosses all spaced evenly and at the end there was a huge white cross. A man, a woman, and a priest were caring a cross like the boy at my school and they would stop at each cross to say a prayer and sing a song. When this process was finished, they, and the rest of the spectators, moved on the next cross. 

Everyone also had a candle, Cristolbal and I each bought one. It was vended to us by a little old woman and her daughter and it was very obvious that they had made them themselves. The container was made from one of those liter coke bottles cut in half and within half an hour my candle had burned most of the plastic down.

That night was one of the most beautiful and memorable. The silence and respect people had paired with the millons of candles was very romantic and I saw more than one person moved to tears.