A Mayan Mass

Community Highlight: Thanksgiving in San Romero

Last weekend, Noah and I attended a mass in San Romero to see El Salvador's first mixed Epispocal-Mayan service. The community had decided to celebrate the Day of the Cross on May 2nd rather than its usual September date so that it coincided with the Mayan Thanksgiving. The event was of particular significant as the Mayan Thanksgiving has not been officially honored in El Salvador since the 1932 massacre that effectually stifled all expression of indigenous culture and beliefs in the country.

The padre and his assistant hang San Romero's new banner in the make-shift Church. This past Sunday, Bishop Martín came to recognize the church as an official member of the Iglesia Episcopal Anglicana de El Salvador.

As the priest's assistant explained to me, the mixed service was a means of honoring the dual histories and symbologies of the cross - a sign of abundant wealth and blessings from Mother Earth, as well as a simultaneous homage to a violent colonial past. He quoted Eduardo Galeano's book Las Venas Abiertas de America Latina (The Open Veins of Latin America): 

La espada y la cruz marchaban juntas en la conquista y el despojo colonial.

The sword and the cross marched together in the conquest and colonial disposession.

Women of the community prepare the cross, hanging fruit from the freshly cut branches.

San Romero is a relatively young community outside of Nahuizalco, a small city in the west of the country famous for wooden furniture and a burgeoning tourism industry. Most of the residents in San Romero are indigenous, with physically apparent Mayan roots. We arrived for the service, harvesting mangoes off the ground and throwing the peels into side yards. An unexpected lunch of black bean soup, toasted tortillas, rice and scrambled eggs was served, followed by a tour around the small community.

San Romero's priest showed us around the area, highlighting the nearby farmland and deforestation nearby. The area is also surrounded by the silouhettes of multiple volcanoes bordering western El Salvador.

The service begins with children and dogs running between the aisles.

After the service, everyone lined up for a piece of the offering, many children coming back for seconds and thirds.

Noah and the priest's assistant look on patiently waiting for their own portion of fruit.

Following the service, Noah and I were presented to the community leaders at their weekly Sunday meeting. The community's junta directiva (directive board) is incredibly well organized, with meetings every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Tuesday is for planificación - setting agendas and objectives, checking in on project progress and hearing new petitions from community members; Thursday is for capacitación or targeted skills training; Sunday is for celebration via the morning mass, honoring the community's efforts and progress through worship. With community funds, they direct their own development projects with a current focus on protecting nearby water sources and refurbishing the road.

The community board's main members and secretary meet in the church following the morning's service.