Last night was the 6th Novena for the Guadalupe in our neighborhood. Each day more people come and live music arrived on the fourth Novena. (Video below)
Don’t let the peacefulness of it fool you or make you nostalgic for simpler times because once it got started, about 30 boys under 12 showed up.
Half of them went down into the arroyo behind me to play soccer and yell, lighting sparklers that caused a raging bonfire, causing every rooftop dog to bark like crazy while everyone recited prayers and sang and ignored the cacophony.
The rest of the boys stood in front of me pushing and shoving each other around for fun, their mothers slapping at them as they ducked away. By the end of the night, it was almost an old time religious revival with people singing, clapping and dancing, every bit of it heartfelt with love.
These novenas are a crescendo building toward the big party they have at the end, you can feel it coming.
If it’s anything like last year’s party on the 12th, it’s going to be fun, locos and all.
© 2011 Dos Mujeres Mexican Folk Art
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