Passion Play of Iztapalapa

Unlike others in Latin America, its origins are not in the colonial period but rather in a cholera epidemic in the 19th century, which gave rise to a procession to petition relief.

While the event is still primarily religious, it has also become a rite of identity for Iztapalapa (only residents of certain communities may participate) as well as a major tourism attraction for both the borough and the city.

In Mexico, many communities stage processions and passion plays for Good Friday, which in some places extends into other days of Holy Week.

Unique features to the Iztapalapa event include a character called the “Wandering Jew”, a harem belonging to King Herod, and a spy and dog that accompany Judas Iscariot who personally brings Jesus to Pontius Pilate.

[4] Crowds grow for Maundy Thursday at the Cuitlahuac Plaza, which begins with a procession that finishes with the reenactment of the Last Supper, the washing of Jesus’ feet, and Judas’ betrayal.

[1] At the top of the Cerro de la Estrella, which doubles as Mount Calvary, the sound of nails being hammered comes across the loudspeakers, and the crowd becomes very quiet.

[5] In addition to the man and women chosen to play Jesus and Mary, hundreds of young men called Nazarenes follow in the procession to the Cerro de la Estrella, barefoot, with crosses of varying sizes and often with crowns of thorns.

[1][5] The annual passion play has become an important tourist attraction for Mexico City, especially for the borough of Iztapalapa, which promotes tourism to the area during this time, offering guided tours of local museums, landmarks and green spaces.

[3] In the same year, two monumental sawdust carpets were created related to the event for a photographic exhibition on the plaza in front of borough hall.

[12] However, due to the solemnity of the occasion, the sale of alcohol in all venues, including bars, restaurants, and nightclubs is banned for the entire week.

[4] In addition, there is coordination with borough and city authorities who provide logistics in terms of thousands of police for crowd control, as well as ambulances, doctors, helicopters and water stations.

[5] Once the chosen candidate passes the two rounds of the selection process, he is then required to remain celibate for the intervening year before the performance, and begin physical training six months in advance.

Soon after, the procession included a reenactment of the crucifixion on Good Friday, and over time the passion play grew to cover almost all of the events associated with Holy Week.

The procession changed from the image in the cave to Cerro de la Estrella in 1920, after a heavy rain inundated the original site.

However, the play has survived not only church prosecution but also governmental opposition to public displays of religion and Iztapalapa’s demographic change from indigenous to mestizo.

[2][10] The popularity of the performance began to significantly increase after World War II, attracting tourists first from within Mexico then from abroad.

[17] Television coverage of the event began in the 1980s, and since has regularly been broadcast to the Spanish-speaking world, as well as covered by media in the United States and Europe.

[2][10] A documentary about the event called "Iztapalapa, memoria y tradición" was directed by Francisco Alatriste Torres of the Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia.