Brief history of the feast of Ajijic’s Patron saint The apostle St Andrew

Maria Di Paola Blum

(published on November 2005, supplement of El Informador LA BUENA VIDA CHAPALA )

Sometimes it’s interesting to see why a particular saint is chosen as the patron saint of a town. In Ajijic Saint Andrew was chosen in 1531 in order to remember the king,“Cacique” Xitomal, who was practically the owner of the Lake Chapala shores from Ocotlán to Sayula, including the most beautiful women. (It seems that he had one in each worthy town.) Cusatlan ,nowadays San Juan Cosalá, was his favorite residence.

At that time, everybody paid homage to the hidden god known as Iztlacatheotl. When the Franciscan fraiars, Fr. Martin de Jesus, Fr. Christobal Vilches, Fr. Sebastian de Verlenga arrived in this area, they converted the rich cacique to catholicism. When he was baptized, his name was changed from Xitomal to Don Andres Carlos. So, to thank God, to honor the Saint and the new identity of the former pagan cacique, the church and the convent of Saint Andrew the Apostle were built. (Cacique died loving only one woman)

Since then, every year on November 30, Ajijic celebrates its Patron Saint for nine days.
Mrs. Adelaide Perez widow of Campos recalls, “In early times all the streets around the temple were decorated with “Papel picado” of many colors. They were hung on strings across the streets creating a multicolor wave, giving the children the pleasure of walking heads up looking at the festive sky.”
Mrs Adelaide explains that there were many sugar cane plantations back in the ‘40's, and they sold the canes in the town plaza along with jícamas, peanuts and other products.

“Back then,” Mrs. Adelaide continues, “these were days of mourning for Saint Andrew. No wine, no dancing, no music, only the procession. It started at the Six Corners and moved towards town. When arriving at the church everybody attended the holy Eucharist. They prayed, asked for miracles, and burned church candles.”
Mrs María Campos who is 85 years old (looking like 60) tells us, “Nowadays there is a lot of movement in town” This was before her very elegant 93 year old friend Maria Del Carmen Nuñez, revealed her name to us fearing she would be put in jail for confiding to us about her land. “The association of farmers,”she continues, “brings offerings to the church. They place chayotes, avocados, corn and other produce on the benches. They decorate their trucks for the procession, and after Mass, stay late at night until the “castillo” is burned, drinking hot “ponche” and cinnamon tea.”

“I remember once the parish priest stepped on a fire cracker coming out of the church and blew up his shoe,” laughingly remembers Dionisio Morales, a local artist.

Fireworks worry local religious authorities because they fear fractures might occur on the timeworn walls of the church, considering the amount of detonations that go from two to three thousand during the celebrations, depending upon the generosity of the population. (I ask myself what would the Chinese do without the mexicans?)
Although the feast has changed a great deal in its 400 year tradition, it still maintains most of its peculiarities: the procession of the folks who carry the candles, the paper lanterns ( farolitos) through the same streets. They continue asking for special graces and miracles and attend the Mass which is celebrated in the same church, just as it was done four centuries ago!

As you come out of the church in the town plaza by the fruit and sweets stands, one can appreciate the melodies played by local bands or the famous mariachi bands. You can find tequila or typical mexican food next to hot dog stands. On the other hadn you may enjoy the merry-go-round, and ride the electric children’s little cars, appearing to be just like your son or daughter at least once in a years time.

During these nine days, the traffic direction changes in several streets. This year, Ricardo González, the Ajijic “Delegado” informs us that the Street Marcos Castellanos will be closed to traffic from Ocampo to Zaragoza . Parroquia Street will also be closed.. Colón will be closed from Zaragoza to the Plaza. This to allow for the installation of beautiful ornaments made with lights and flowers. Furthermore, it allows the space for vendors and familiar games.

The celebration of nine feast days is financed mainly through the collaborations of the nine “gremios.” The gremios were a recent creation which did not exist back in time, because of the different organization of the town’s economy.

The “gremios” represent the various categories of workers: Musicians, Profesionists, La Nueva Posada, Traders, Carpenters, Bakers, Caja Popular San Andres, Farmers, Cattle ranchers, Youth, Masons, Gardeners, Holy Spirit Renovation Group, and Absent Sons.

Each “Gremio” pays for the cost of the fireworks, the music bands, and the “castillo” which is lit up at nine o’clock every night. The masons are famous for bringing to the feast the best music bands. Some of them offer cinnamon tea at the plaza. Besides they take care of decorating their own “barrio”.

The Absent Sons organize from various locations in the U.S. and raise funds in their own communities, sending the money for the feast, naming one of them as “encargado”. It does not matter if the remaining time of the year they have to work hard milking cows in Pennsylvania ,. or shovelling snow in Chicago or Boston , or picking grapes in Napa Valley . They are happy because they already fulfilled their duty to their hometown. Nobody severs cultural roots. This occasion exemplifies it.

The foreigners living in Ajijic all year around, take an active part in the feast. Although some of them, after a few years, prefer to celebrate the feast of Thanksgiving which is the last Thursday in November for the Americans and the first Monday in October for the Canadians.

Sometimes one can observe a moving event that happens to newly arrived foreigners attending the feast. It is the phenomenon of the “War memory”. If they were soldiers in the Vietnam war, for instance, when they suddenly hear the exploding sound of the firecrackers (cuetes), no matter where they are, they bow down and hide. Sometimes they cry like children, surprising the local ones, who never imagined they could bring such dramatic remembrances in them.

“Other old foreigners go to the beach because their ears no longer resist the thunderous sounds of the morning and night firecrackers”, Tod Jhonson, resident en Ajijic, for more than 20 years and promoter of cultural life in the community, told me.
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The Eager family, together with the employees of la Nueva Posada constitute a “gremio”. They have played an important cultural roll in this community from the 1950's. An example is the costruction of their restaurant La Nueva Posada in honor of Alexa, a russian ballerina who retired here. She brought the first metal grinding machine and attracted several european explorers to look for gold in the mountains of Ixtlahuacan where many veins were discovered. This, however is another story which I will tell you soon!

(Maria Di Paola Blum)