Fenns in El Salvador

We had three days off for Semana Santa. Even the government offices close. So the first day we went to the boqueron. The crater of the San Salvador volcano above the city. As you get close to the top the road get narrower and narrower. Plants, flowers and wild berries are sold. They have berries that look like tiny strawberries and some called mora that look a little like a raspberry, and still others that look like a blackberry.

On Friday we went to Sonsonate to see the religious procession. This is the procession of the cross. That late afternoon everyone changed into black robes and they had the procession of the tomb and the anda (box) they carried had Christ in the tomb. In this anda he is carrying his cross. It is quite an honor to carry the anda and takes many years of participating and training. They start as young children. The anda weighs 2 1.2 tons. Each of the 40 men carry 125 lbs. It is symbolic of the pain and "weight" Christ went through.
Every 2 1/2 hours a new group of men take over.

This is just one of the alfrombras being created in the street for the next procession. They are in the pathway of the procession symbolic of the palms laid in the street when Jesus entered Jerusalem on the donkey during Passover.

The "carpets" are large and small, religious or not. They are made with mainly salt, either colored or spray painted. They may use a stencil or create a design by hand. We took many photos some alfombras were made with colored sawdust, shredded wet paper, flower petals, parts of trees, etc. It was an awesome experience.