Feeling encouraged by falling hospitalization rates and deaths from COVID-19, many communities in Yucatán are preparing for Easter festivities and events under the “new normal.”
Coastal communities and large resorts across the Peninsula have already begun to advertise special deals to lure domestic and international travelers to their beaches and other attractions this coming April.
Holy Week, known as Semana Santa in Mexico, is a major holiday, with students getting time off from their studies and most workers getting at least a long weekend.
Large-scale religious events are also expected to go forward in a relatively normal way, though the use of facemasks and a degree of social distancing is likely to remain mandatory.
The municipality of Acanceh and Yucatán’s Catholic Archdiocese has announced that they will be going forward with the town’s traditional Stations of the Cross on April 15.
The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a reenactment depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion.
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For the past two years observance of Stations of the Cross had been held behind closed doors, but this year the performance is planned to be held in Acanceh’s main plaza and attract thousands of onlookers.
The presentation is complete with dozens of actors in full costume playing roles such as those of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, the apostles, and Roman legionnaires.
Other communities known for holding large celebrations on Easter include Cansahcab, Baca, and Sisal, where a modified version of the Stations of the Cross takes place in the gulf, on fishing vessels.
