Procesión del Silencio, in San Luis Potosí, MX
The first time I went to San Luis Potosí was back in 1999.
I’ve been there lots of times, I even lived there for a couple of years. I knew about La Procesión del Silencio (The Procession of Silence) for a long time before I really tried to photograph it.
This Catholic celebration is a lot. First, the strong imagery. People wear attires that look too similar to the white robes certain racist fringe group from the US wears. This has nothing to do with them, but is shocking to the viewer.
Then, it’s the crowds. All the city’s downtown gets really crowded with people that wants to watch the event. This had always threw me off. This year, I decided to go and see it for the first time, and also I tried to document it.
The Procession of Silence in San Luis Potosi is an annual event to mourn the Passion of Christ and honor Our Lady of Solitude. It occurs on the night of Good Friday, beginning at the El Carmen Church, where it originated, and winds through the streets of the historic center of the city of San Luis Potosí. During the event there are the sounds of drums and bugles, but no participant or spectator speaks, giving the event its name. It is one of the most important Holy Week observances in Mexico and was declared part of the cultural heritage of the state of San Luis Potosí in 2013.
The following pictures were taken with a Minolta x370 and a roll of Cinestill 800t, pushed to 1600 ISO.
