Holy Week, the week before Good Friday and Easter Sunday, is very meaningful here in northern New Mexico. I spoke with Isabro Ortega about it today (see previous post Isabro Ortega: Master Carver). Isabro grew up very religious, very Catholic. He says, “It’s always been a tradition, as long as I can remember, walking to the Santuario (the Santuario de Chimayo). It’s a devotional thing, a spiritual thing and it’s individual. People walk for different reasons. It could be a miracle happened in their family. It could be that they’re praying for something, they could be seeking forgiveness or it could just be for the good intention of walking. In northern New Mexico it’s been a tradition to walk to the Santuario during Holy Week. Some people walk in the summer. You can walk any time. It depends on your heart, no?”
The fact is, the villages fill up with people from all over the world during Holy Week and the streets are full of walkers—pilgrims on pilgrimages. All of the old mission churches, most closed throughout the year, are open. There are no photos allowed, but the artwork and spirit within them are stunning. I told Isabro that I grew up in my parents’ church and was very devout as a girl, but I have never felt Easter as I do here in Truchas. It is simply a very important and spiritual time in northern New Mexico, a magical time.
“The Santuario is known as a miracle place,” he says. “People from all over the world come for the sacred dirt and for the Santuario itself. It’s internationally known for miracles.” His mom always gave Isabro and his brothers and sisters some dirt from the Santuario to carry in their pockets.
He remembers walking as a little boy. And as a grown up, he’s walked many times. He recalls one year in particular when he’d made a promise to walk and it was snowing. “But I walked,” he says, “and it was snowing all the way.”
People walk from Taos and Truchas, from Albuquerque and Mora—all the way from Colorado. People start a week before Good Friday so they’ll arrive in time. And they carry things they want to leave there. It’s tradition.
I lost a dear friend during this Holy Week. By his own choice he died on April 16th and I don’t think the timing was an accident. Marty was Jewish, not Catholic, and he was not actually practicing, but I do know he felt his religion powerfully. Passover held great meaning for him—it was about atonement. I can’t help but think that he was trying to make amends by choosing this time to die.
He was a wonderful, giving man but, somehow, although those who loved him saw that, he, himself, could not. And therein lies the tragedy.
My friend, Anna, said his death is a reminder for all of us to be more aware of those we love, to remember we all hold pain and sorrow within, and to open our hearts with love and compassion to each other no matter our petty grievances—to honor our connectedness, not our separateness.
Whether or not you are religious, Easter, or spring, represent a time of death and rebirth. It is my dearest wish that in this death, there will be some rebirth. I don’t see it right now, but we don’t get to see what we are in the midst of. I only know that my dear impish Marty is gone from this earth. I want to honor the life he lived by carrying the joy he gave to me, in my heart, and giving it out in the laughter he offered so easily. May his spirit find peace.
And, dear man, know you are loved.
In loving memory of Marty Weiner, June 6, 1943 – April 16, 2011
Beautiful sharing, so sorry about your friend….I love your heart, mariyln
Thank you, Marilyn.
Jeane,
Such Beautiful tribute to Marty. May he know now what he could not recall while here on earth – his divinity. I hold he is there in divine grace…and aware it was just the way it was. No sorrows or regrets for what occured during the temporary agreement to be human and hold the solid rules we do to imagine we are all here separately. Thanks for your call to remember to remain open to all souls that are in turmoil and bless them with our only gift – grace in their crisis of forgetfulness.
I feel like I am in the heart of Mexico when seeing your blog…and it reminds me that it used to BE Mexico…in our human confusions we are part of the constant change and lack of “same” that is the universe I reckon…
Thanks goodness we have you to illuminate our view of New Mexico my dear.
I love you – you are deep in my heart today and always:)
XOXOX
Grace
Thank you, Grace. Your words are beautiful and wise. Yes, may he know his divinity in the full embrace of divine grace.
I am so glad you feel the blog brings you into New Mexico (and old Mexico). It is one of the reasons I do it… to share with others the wonder and magic of this uniquely stunning place. I have barely scratched its surface!
Love to you,
Jeane
Jeane, I didn’t know you had painted Marty against the snowcovered hills of your home. I remember seeing a commissioned portrait of Marty that he wanted but I remember it being mostly his face and hat in many browns. Am I imagining this? Your painting conveys his spirit and is a wonderful way to honor his memory. Ljoy
I think you may have seen shots of this painting when it was in process. I sort of remember sending you close-ups of his face while I was painting it. I’m glad you feel it shows something of his spirit and is adequate to honor his memory.
Jeane thank you for this post! For I am a religious person; I talk with God every day but am not able to attend and belong to a church directly because of my job. But I feel that if he is in your heart deeply, that is a divine church in itself. I tend to forget the celebration of Easter as deeply as I should, but reading this post brought it back to me in a very deep sense, a celebration of death but rebirth again by reading how important this day is to New Mexico, (the people there and those who come from miles around) the miracle of it all! It reopens my heart to what Easter is all about and gives me a sense of a peaceful loving heart knowing what a sacrafice Jesus did for us. Also what a loving God we have to have given his only son to us.
I am sadden to hear about your friend Marty, but know he is in a good place. The portrait you did of him is a wonderful painting. You are a talented artist and when you said that you had taught before, I wish I would of had the prevliege to have learned from you for I love to do portrait paintings myself. Yours are very good, they look like photographs! Happy Easter to you and Take Care, Cin =)
Hi Cindy–I’m glad this post reminded you of Easter in a deeper way. That’s what living here has done for me. Literally, tens of thousands of people come to our villages from all over the world to make pilgrimages to the Santuario–a very powerful and moving thing to witness. And the village people, themselves, year round, are very spiritually religious, which is reflected in a lot of their art.
I would love to see some of your portraits sometime. If you no longer have them, paint a new one and you can show it to me on FB.
Happy Easter to you,
Jeane
My portraits that I did was long time ago and is in my portfolio which I wish I could scan for you but don’t know how to with my Macbook. I do have a portrait I will be doing after the painting I’m doing right now of a butterfly and flowers (something new for me) which will take me awhile because I hardly have much time to paint which I hate. But when I get to my next portrait I would love to send it to you on facebook.
Sorry it’s late but Happy Easter to you as well. Take care, Cin =)
Good! I look forward to seeing it.
What a wonderful picture of Marty, and tribute to him. I am someone from his past who has been jolted into his presence this last week. My heart aches and also sings, wide open. Thank you. And thanks to Marty too.
Hi Diane–I’m glad you found this. We’re all jolted but also, as you say, knowing this was Marty’s choice, we are sending him on his way with blessings.