Easter - Semana Santa

Easter or Semana Santa is taken very seriously in Mexico. I was woken yesterday morning to the sounds of singing. The singing was coming from a loud speaker attached to one of the vehicles in a local parade to the church for Good Friday. The previous evening more than 10 blocks had been blocked off to be decorated by metres and metres of coloured wood shavings in the shapes of doves, flowers, crosses and vast areas of colour. That morning, along the coloured streets, lined with hundreds of followers, floats carrying Jesus and the Virgin Mary were accompanied by people dressed as Jesus and other criminals carrying crosses, Herod, wise looking men, soldiers and such. The poor fellows playing Jesus and other prisoners were literally being whipped by the soldiers who were leading them along.