Dateline: Monday night. Around 5 AM Monday morning the alfombra was started on Calle Hildalgo, Xico’s main street heading west into town. The Alfombras or dyed sawdust carpets can be traced back to the Mayans. They made these carpets with flowers for the kings to walk on in Mayan ceremonies. In the 16^th Century, the Catholic church changed the tradition of the alfombra by using colorful sawdust to create the carpets.

The Calypso couple didn’t make it at 5 AM; we did get there while the designs were still being laid out. It is kind of a paint-by-numbers activity, very choreographed as you will see in the photos. Entering into Xico you can look up the straight main-drag, Calle Hildalgo, all the way to where it ends at the entrance to Saint Maria Magdalena Church. The alfombra covers nearly the entire route. During construction the roadway is dotted with people placing the designs. The colorful patterns are a thing of beauty.

Later in the day around 3 in the afternoon it started raining. We were out documenting the Donacion de Toritos. This is more than 60 flame throwing, fire breathing, framed firework laden structures marched around town; finally they assemble at the big church at the west end of Hildalgo. All the toritos are blessed.

Each frame has a molded bull head and body center piece, a headdress if you will. This torito is draped over the head and shoulders of hombres that have the honor of running them up and down the streets – ultimately a well thought-out continuous fuse systematically ignites the hundreds of rockets assembled on the frames.

These ‘bulls’ can cost several thousand pesos running upwards to $1,000 U.S. dollars. If you have been reading along you saw some photos from last week’s Saint Carmen celebration. There were a total of six toritos at that celebration. We counted more than 60 for this celebration.

We have been taken hundreds of photos. Trying to pick a very few to show you readers is difficult. I wish we could show them all. Looking at the original photos full size, seeing the faces and the action of these events is great fun.

Here is a series of photos taken Monday morning of the alfombra project and later in the afternoon of the torito gathering.

Pictures:

As mentioned at 3 PM it started raining. It rained heavily off and on until about 8 PM.  Most of the alfombra was washed away, now nothing more than recorded history. After 10 PM there were workers restoring some of the carpet. It rained more near midnight but it was clear at 20 minutes to 1 AM at which point  the plaster divine Saint Magdalena  was marched along the carpet trail while a spectacular colorful fireworks display covered nearly the entire sky above. The town was near capacity with people pushing and shoving their way to the steps of the church.

Later today the arch will be set in front of the church. Stay Tuned!