In mid-June 2019 I returned to Pátzcuaro, Michoacán to document el Día de Corpus in Tzintzuntzan and Ihuatzio along with the feast days for San Juan Bautista (John the Baptist) in Capácuaro and Ocumicho for the feast day of San Pablo (Saint Paul) and San Pedro (Saint Peter).

Corpus Cristi traditionally falls on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. The traditional date is Thursday June 20th, which is when it took place in Tzintzuntzan. In Michoacán Don Vasco de Quiroga, who was the first bishop to Michoacán, introduced this tradition to the Purépecha people in the 16th century. This fiesta marks the end of the agricultural season and the Catholic ritual of honoring the body of Christ.

In many villages a tall pole is erected for el Día de Corpus. In Spanish it is called “palo encebado” or “greased pole”. The pole symbolizes the axis mundi. The capilla known as La Soledad, was elaborately decorated for the fiesta. Inside a Cristo Entierro (dead Christ) had it’s glass tomb decorated with husks of corn, round loaves of bread, various fruits and flowers. The bread symbolizes the body of Christ. Outside the capilla, white netting was installed above the entrance. Attached to it were tin pans, plastic buckets, bread and straw figures of the crucified Christ.

Throughout the day occupational groups made up of women, men and children entered the atrium of the Monastery of San Francisco. Some of these groups were made up of muleteers, hunters, fishermen, straw craftpersons, taxis drivers and others. They circled the atrium and ended up at the front steps of the monastery where they were sprinkled with Holy Water by the padre. The processions were also made up of men on horseback, bulls and a donkey cart. The most interesting aspect of the fiesta was la danza del palo encebado (the dance of the greased pole). Both men and women took turns dancing with a large pole, which appeared to be at least twenty feet in length. At one point in the dance, the women had to place the pole down and rest. They were given either shots of tequila or Coca-Cola to reinforce themselves. Toward the end of the day a pole climb took place. Men climb to the top of the pole to remove the items. Due to a rainstorm, I didn’t stay to see this take place.

The Corpus Cristi event in Ihuatzio was a lovely procession that took place in the late afternoon. There were twenty-nine santos (saints) or vigenes (virgins) placed on andas (processional floats). Some of the saints and virgins in the procession were Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Virgin of Soledad, San Juan Bautista, San Francisco, Santa Cecilia, the Christ child, San Pedro and others. Unmarried young people carried the andas throughout the streets in the village. The andas were decorated with branches from the chamomile flower, bread and fruit. There was amazing amount of copal that was burned as the procession moved slowly through the street. It was a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

The feast day for San Juan Bautista in Capácuaro was held on June 24th. This indigenous, Purépecha village is located in the Meseta Purépecha. This area is located west of Pátzcuaro. Most of the people in this region of Michoacán speak Purépecha and Spanish is the second language. Part of the day was spent in the casa del cargureo. A cargureo is someone who does community service for the village and they sponsor the fiesta. One of the responsibilities is preparing a meal for the local authorities. The women prepared a meal of curundas (corn tamales wrapped in corn leaves) and churipo (a beef soup made with cilantro, onion and a red chile sauce). Inside the casa del cargureo were two altars for San Juan Bautista. One large altar had him as a small child in a nicho and the other altar was the saint as an adult. The adult version was used in the procession from the casa del cargureo to the church. When I made my plans for this trip, I had no idea June is the rainy season. Once the procession arrived at the front steps of the church and the Danza de los Moros started dancing it began to rain. At first it was only a light drizzle but eventually it began to pour. Unfortunately, that ended the opportunity for me to document the dance.

The last place I wanted to document was the feast day for San Pedro and San Paulo in Ocumicho. This village known for brightly painted figurines, processional pieces and devils is located about two and a half hours northwest of Pátzcuaro. I had been given information the fiesta would start at noon. When I arrived I went to the casa del cargureo to inquire as to what time the fiesta would begin. The hostess told me the dancing by the Danza de los Moros and the procession wouldn’t start until after the five o’clock mass. She thought all the activities would start around six o’clock. There was no way I was going to wait for six hours, so I decided to return to Pátzcuaro.

As June twenty-ninth was the feast day for the two saints, my driver thought there might be a possibility that a fiesta for San Pedro would be taking place in San Pedro Cucuchucho, which is a community very close to Pátzcuaro. I decided it was worth a visit as it was more or less on the way back to town. Much to my good fortune, once we arrived at three o’clock we could hear the bottle rockets going off which is always a good sign. After we parked, we immediately went underneath the tent, which had been set up in the atrium of the church. The danza de los moros from this village had just begun to dance. I am really intrigued by this dance as it reminds me so much of matachine dancing done by the pueblos in New Mexico. I felt I was extremely lucky to arrive just as this dance had begun. The group performed one more time inside the church. I discovered that during the time of Corpus Christi in Michoacán many young people have their first communion.

Once again, this trip was another adventure in my attempts to document indigenous culture in Michoacán, which I find to be so incredibly beautiful and moving.