Porcón: Palm Sunday
and the Feast of the Crosses of Holy Week
Before
developing the post, a clarification is necessary. Porcón has three related
places: Bajo Porcón, Alto Porcón and Granja Porcón. Porcón Alto is known for
craftsmanship, Porcon Farm for being the real demonstration that paradise
exists and is in Peru, and low Porcon which is the setting for the imposing
Fiesta de las Cruces in Holy Week.
The
town of Porcón Bajo is 20 km from the city of Cajamarca, 3200 meters high, it
is well known for the traditional Feast of the Crosses in Holy Week, Palm
Sunday, which is staged the entrance of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem. The
community of Porcón maintains its cultural identity through Quechua, its native
language, and the festivities of the cross to express popular faith.
The
Catholic liturgical calendar designates as Palm Sunday the day of the entrance
of Jesus to Jerusalem, acclaimed by the people, with olive branches, mounted on
a colt; and as the beginning of his passion and death on the cross.
In
Low Porcon is the religious festivity of greater transcendence, the comuneros
or inhabitants are prepared several months in advance. The celebration is
completed with expressions of music and dance, where the bugles, wind
instruments made of reeds, boxes and quenas, serve to greet and bow to Jesus.
One
month before Palm Sunday, the settlers and devotees begin to make crosses of 2
to 3 meters high, with wood and reeds. In the center of the banner there is a
wooden cross, decorated with flowers of bright colors, round mirrors are placed
in a square, elliptical or circular shape that give a luminous background and
whose reflection is the "soul", the "spirit of all" who accompany
the Lord in his triumphal entry. Added pictures with images of the Sacred Heart
of Jesus, The Holy Family, The Virgin of Perpetual Help, the Lord of Miracles;
They are adorned with palm leaves, branches of rosemary and bouquets of flowers
that abound in the community. The set has a weight of 70 to 80 kilograms, is
transported by a single man and fastened from the belts by devotees and
butlers.
The
mirrors at the crossings dazzle the companions in the processions that carry
the crosses from the different homes to the house of the Mayordomo; then
together, they go to the temple of the Parish "Cristo Ramos" for the
celebration of Mass. On this occasion, the image of Jesus, placed on the back
of a donkey, cared for and rested throughout the year, called
"Señorca" ", whose only task is to lead Jesus, is transferred to
the church followed by the multicolored and heavy crosses; the guides are the
"Angels", children dressed in beautiful costumes, and the
"Apostles" who wear crowns of olive branches and rosemary.The
"señorca" or burrita is well served by the "freneros"
(peasants experts in the ritual) that they bathe her and cut her hair,
preparing her for the glorious Sunday driving down the road to
"amito" or Señor de Ramos.
On
Palm Sunday, from very early, the first crosses are concentrated in the house
of the Mayordomo led by the "charger" and accompanied by the faithful
who pray and sing their religious songs. Each of the crosses that arrives
performs by way of greeting, three movements downwards and upwards; the act is
repeated 39 more times during the whole morning. On Sunday at 6 in the morning,
the "señorca" is already escorted by the angels and apostles.
The
distances covered can be enormous, up to 10 km in some cases, but for a people
that clings to their faith and traditions, this is irrelevant. In this
authentic religious festival, to the sound of prayers and chants of peculiar
intonation, it is shown in a symbiosis of Quechua and Castilian, the triumphant
entrance of Jesus to Jerusalem, revered and greeted with the art of the
peasants, the exquisite crosses, unique in the world. The Catholic temple is 14
km from Cajamarca. About fifty (50) crosses can be counted in the procession)
After
the mass, the mayordomos offer food and drink to the participants. The
presentation of songs and dances in the atrium of the temple complete the
ceremony. The dance of the chunchos, with musical accompaniment of typical
instruments such as the clarion, the box and the quenas is expected by the
people. The dance of the chunchos is Cultural Patrimony of the Nation, it is
danced in the whole province of Cajamarca, but it is special in the Fiesta de
Cruces de Porcón.
Finally,
they move to the butler's house where they can enjoy tasty typical food, chicha
de jora, until late at night, then return to their homes to rest and continue
with preparations for Holy Week. On Holy Thursday there is a Mass with Children
and there is a Children's Crossing contest.
The
Fiesta de las Cruces de Porcón attracts domestic and foreign tourists, who, in
the context of experiential tourism, enjoy a unique religious manifestation and
are enriched by the cultural contact of a special people.
Links
to see processions at the Fiesta de las Cruces
Party
of the crosses of Porcón Cajamarca the faith of a town
References
Tags
