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Mexican Catholicism

16 images Created 8 Nov 2008

Catholicism in Mexico takes many forms, from typical Roman Catholic practices in the large cities that aren't that different from the way Catholicism is practiced in the US, to hybrid blends of Catholicism and Indigenous beliefs practiced in Chiapas to the unique cult of Santa Muerte (St. Death) practiced in Mexico's impoverished urban areas.

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  • 07 APRIL 2004 - SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, GUANAJUATO, MEXICO: A woman portraying an Angel walks into the Church of the Oratorio before a Holy Wednesday Stations of the Cross procession through San Miguel de Allende, GTO, MEX. Semana Santa, the week before Easter is celebrated with extreme piety in central Mexico. San Miguel, which was founded in the 1600s, is one of Mexico's premier colonial cities. It has very strict zoning and building codes meant to preserve the historic nature of the city center. About 7,500 US citizens, mostly retirees, live in San Miguel. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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  • 04 APRIL 2004 - SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, GUANAJUATO, MEXICO: Followers of Jesus at the Palm Sunday procession for Iglesia San Francisco, a Catholic church in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, April 4. Palm Sunday is the reenactment of Christ's entry in Jerusalem and marks the first day of Holy Week. Holy Week is celebrated throughout central Mexico with Processions and special masses.  PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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  • 04 APRIL 2004 - SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, GUANAJUATO, MEXICO: The Palm Sunday procession for the Parroquia, the main Catholic church in San Miguel de Allende, winds through the city streets, April 4. Palm Sunday is the reenactment of Christ's entry in Jerusalem and marks the first day of Holy Week. Holy Week is celebrated throughout central Mexico with Processions and special masses. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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  • 25 APRIL 2005 - SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, CHIAPAS, MEXICO: A Mayan Indian man prays during a first communion mass in the Chamulan Indian community of Yaaltsunum near San Cristobal de las Casas. The Catholic Church in the Chiapas highlands is facing a threat from evangelical Protestant churches, which are experiencing explosive growth, and from "traditionalist" Catholic churches, which are not affiliated with the San Cristobal diocese and are controlled by local politicians and powerful indigenous leaders affiliated with the politicians. The traditionalists burn down churches and chapels affiliated with the diocese, threaten the priests and put indigenous men who worship with the diocese in jail.  PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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  • 16 JANUARY 2002, GUANAJUATO, GUANAJUATO, MEXICO:  Mexicans pray in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guanajuato in the city of Gunajuato, state of Guanajuato, Mexico, Jan. 16, 2002. during a mass in the Basilica.  .PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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  • 27 APRIL 2005 - SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, CHIAPAS, MEXICO:A family prays in Templo de Santo Domingo, San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. San Cristobal is the center of the Chiapas highlands and an important indigenous community. Fear of political violence in the area has diminished in recent years and the tourism industry has rebounded as a result.  PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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  • FEB 24, 2001 - SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, CHIAPAS, MEXICO: A Mayan Indian girl lights prayer candles in Santo Domingo Church in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico.  Photo By Jack Kurtz  CULTURE   RELIGION   FAMILY  WOMEN  CHILDREN
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  • 01 NOVEMBER 1997 - PATZCUARO, MICHOACAN, MEXICO: Day of the Dead observances on the island of Pacanda, on Lake Patzcuaro Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico. The communities around Patzcuaro are among the last communities in Mexico with traditional Day of the Dead observances. Day of the Dead is a pre-Columbian holiday honoring deceased friends and loved ones. When Mexico was conquered by the Spanish, indigenous peoples combined the holiday with the Catholic holy day of All Saints Day.   PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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  • jku032303052 - 31 JULY 2002 - MEXICO CITY, DF, MEXICO: People pray on the Zocalo in the historic center of Mexico City during a Papal mass televised to the Zocalo on large screen "jumbotron" televisions. The mass, led by Pope John Paul II, was at the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, July 31, 2002. The Pontiff, making his fifth trip to Mexico, canonized Juan Diego, the Mexican Indian who first saw the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1531. Juan Diego is now known at Saint Juan Diego. PHOTO © JACK KURTZ  RELIGION  INDIGENOUS  CULTURE  PATRIOTISM
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  • 08 APRIL 2004 - SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, GUANAJUATO, MEXICO: A woman prays during Holy Thursday services in the Church of the Oratorio in San Miguel de Allende, GTO, MEX. Semana Santa, the week before Easter, is celebrated with extreme piety in central Mexico. San Miguel, which was founded in the 1600s, is one of Mexico's premier colonial cities. It has very strict zoning and building codes meant to preserve the historic nature of the city center. About 7,500 US citizens, mostly retirees, live in San Miguel. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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  • 09 APRIL 2004 - SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, GUANAJUATO, MEXICO: A shadow cast by the statue of an angel on a wall in the Iglesia Oratorio before a Good Friday procession in San Miguel de Allende, GTO, MEX. Semana Santa, the week before Easter, is celebrated with extreme piety in central Mexico. San Miguel, which was founded in the 1600s, is one of Mexico's premier colonial cities. It has very strict zoning and building codes meant to preserve the historic nature of the city center. About 7,500 US citizens, mostly retirees, live in San Miguel. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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  • 09 APRIL 2004 - SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, GUANAJUATO, MEXICO: Women dressed in black and carrying lanterns from Iglesia Oratorio participate in the church Good Friday procession in San Miguel de Allende, GTO, MEX. The Good Friday procession from Oratorio is one of the most ornate in Mexico. The dignitaries, whose role in the procession is handed down from father to son and mother to daughter, accompany the procession carrying tall lantern and statues representing aspects of the life of Christ. Semana Santa, the week before Easter, is celebrated with extreme piety in central Mexico. San Miguel, which was founded in the 1600s, is one of Mexico's premier colonial cities. It has very strict zoning and building codes meant to preserve the historic nature of the city center. About 7,500 US citizens, mostly retirees, live in San Miguel. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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  • 09 APRIL 2004 - SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, GUANAJUATO, MEXICO: Boys, all dressed in black, form the Good Friday procession from Iglesia Oratorio in San Miguel de Allende, GTO, MEX. The Good Friday procession from Oratorio is one of the most ornate in Mexico. The dignitaries, whose role in the procession is handed down from father to son and mother to daughter, accompany the procession carrying tall lantern and statues representing aspects of the life of Christ. Semana Santa, the week before Easter, is celebrated with extreme piety in central Mexico. San Miguel, which was founded in the 1600s, is one of Mexico's premier colonial cities. It has very strict zoning and building codes meant to preserve the historic nature of the city center. About 7,500 US citizens, mostly retirees, live in San Miguel. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
    Mexico5040.jpg
  • 09 APRIL 2004 - SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE, GUANAJUATO, MEXICO: Dressed in white, girls from Iglesia Oratorio participate in the church Good Friday procession in San Miguel de Allende, GTO, MEX. The Good Friday procession from Oratorio is one of the most ornate in Mexico. The dignitaries, whose role in the procession is handed down from father to son and mother to daughter, accompany the procession carrying tall lantern and statues representing aspects of the life of Christ. Semana Santa, the week before Easter, is celebrated with extreme piety in central Mexico. San Miguel, which was founded in the 1600s, is one of Mexico's premier colonial cities. It has very strict zoning and building codes meant to preserve the historic nature of the city center. About 7,500 US citizens, mostly retirees, live in San Miguel. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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  • 05 NOVEMBER 2004 - MEXICO CITY, MEXICO: Mexican families pray to Santa Muerte (St. Death) in Iglesia de la Piedad (Mercy Church) in the Tepito section of Mexico City. St. Death is venerated throughout Mexico and Mexican communities in the United States. The veneration of St. Death started in Mexico's prisons about 10 years and has since spread through working class neighborhoods in many Mexican cities. The worship St. Death was recognized as an official by the Mexican government in 2003. The Catholic Church in Mexico is opposed to the worship of St. Death and has held rallies and prayer vigils against the Saint. The small church in Tepito is frequently swamped with visitors and the religion has spread quickly through the tough, drug and crime plagued neighborhood, widely considered the most lawless in Mexico City.  PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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  • 05 NOVEMBER 2004 - MEXICO CITY, MEXICO:  A statue of Santa Muerte (St. Death) in Iglesia de la Piedad (Mercy Church) in the Tepito section of Mexico City. St. Death is venerated throughout Mexico and Mexican communities in the United States. The veneration of St. Death started in Mexico's prisons about 10 years and has since spread through working class neighborhoods in many Mexican cities. The worship St. Death was recognized as an official by the Mexican government in 2003. The Catholic Church in Mexico is opposed to the worship of St. Death and has held rallies and prayer vigils against the Saint. The small church in Tepito is frequently swamped with visitors and the religion has spread quickly through the tough, drug and crime plagued neighborhood, widely considered the most lawless in Mexico City.  PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ
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Jack Kurtz, Photojournalist & Travel Photographer

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