Most people know something about Mexico’s Passion Plays; these plays act out the last hours of Jesus’ life in which he is put on trial, carries his cross and is crucified.

The extent to which these events are acted out and the realism of them varies from region to region and community to community.  At the very least, they include someone acting the role of Jesus carrying often large and heavy crosses for fairly long distances.  In the most extreme cases, they actually have someone physically strike Jesus with a with a whip, and even tie him onto the cross which is raised as though it were a real crucifixion with the person Jesus on it, although such extremes are rare! (I haven’t heard of any cases where they actually use nails or anything like that …)

Take a look at the pictures below:

So, do I think this stuff is a good idea? Well, it’s certainly very different, and a very foreign expression of very different values.  What I will say is that they certainly take their religion seriously!  It is worth noting, however, that it’s very rare that Mexicans are push about their religion; they prefer to show their passion (no pun intended) rather than tell you about it or try to convince you of it.

-by Thomas Lloyd