Zih Holiest Day in Mexico

Most Ixtapa hotels sponsor colourful (and noisy) processions at his time of year, in honour of La Virgen de Guadalupe. Last evening these groups, composed of hotel employees and others, stretched out over a couple of kilometres on their 8-klic march to either of Zihua´s two main Catholic churches.

These peregrinaciónes, or pilgrimages, are not modern; they predate the Spanish Conquest. The "Aztecs" marched in honour of the goddess Tonantzín, seeking counsel and miracles. The Catholic Church eased out Tonantzín, substituting in her place La Virgen de Guadalupe. So while the object of todays pilgramiges has changed, the purpose has not.

A considerable traffic jam formed up behind last evening´s Ixtapa processions, but between the blasts of exploding rockets, not a single horn honked out of frustration.

Not one.