Field Journal, pg. 2 of 5
Thursday, April 13:
We left Tucson as planned a little after 8 am in a rented Kia minivan. Our first stop was at Milepost 21 on the other side of the U.S.-Mexico border. There we obtained visas and photocopies of the car papers, which we would need at the “Only Sonora” stop further down the road at Empalme. Around midday, we stopped in Hermosillo for lunch. Finding most restaurants closed for the Easter holidays, we settled for Sanborn’s, a Mexican chain restaurant locally known as the Chilango Embassy (nickname for people from Mexico City). After lunch we headed further south, took care of the “Only Sonora” pass, and continued onwards.
At the Yoeme (Yaqui) community of Vicam Pueblo, Sonora, we took advantage of the first available opportunity to observe the Easter celebrations. While not allowed to take photographs, we observed for a little less than an hour some of the festivities from a respectful distance. The ceremony took place in an open area behind the actual village, near the railroad tracks. When we arrived to the small church a dozen capakóbam were resting against its side. Meanwhile, in a ramada about 200 m in front of the church, we saw the community’s children eating the traditional wuacavaki or soup. Located 50 meters to the left of the ramada stood the wuacavaki pot that was dipped into constantly. The served bowls were then carefully passed down along a line of about 60 elders, capakóbam, and soldados (soldiers). Every time a plate changed hands, the receiving person would bless the plate before passing it along further toward the children in the ramada. A clear gender division was apparent in the ramada: the boys ate around the small tables, while the girls ate on the floor. Female elders sang religious songs all the while. Once all the children from the community finished eating, the celebration continued with a procession. Girls dressed in white and carrying paper flowers marched toward the church flanked by several lines of soldados and capakóbam (in a ranked order). Villagers told us that the procession would lead them through the entire village. Because of time constraints, we decided to leave before the procession would continue to the village. Bryan Stevens mentioned that the capakóbam were similar to those he had seen at Old Pascua in Tucson in the shape of white-faces, Indian chief, old miner (49’er?), centurian, etc. More novel figures, such as Homer Simpson, Big Bird, or Ninja Turtle, which one might see in Old Pascua, however, were not present.
Later that afternoon, we arrived to the town of Navojoa and checked into the hotel. After dinner, we passed through pueblo viejo (old town) in the hopes of finding some festivities. Easter celebrations still take place in the oldest part of Navojoa, although apparently not that evening. We did not find any Mayos celebrating and decided against partaking in the mestizo fair that was in full swing, complete with bells, lights, and loud music.
