Semana Santa in Estelí

  It's Semana Santa (Holy Week) here in Estelí, Nicaragua, Central America. Thursday and Friday almost every business was closed and the steel shutters were down and padlocked and the streets were nearly empty. The many buses and taxis that normally fill the streets were missing. The Roman Catholic influence is pervasive and all encompassing. Thousands of worshippers walked slowly and somberly, protected from the sun by their umbrellas, behind the procession of priests carrying a statue representing Jesus down the empty streets from the Church of Calvary to the Cathedral in front of the central park 12 blocks away. Many people go to mass every afternoon and have prayer vigils in their homes. Such a reverence for Jesus I have never seen in the US.

Happy Resurrection Day

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