Judas Burnings, Celebrating Easter With A Wink

Diego Rivera adored and collected them. The Judas figures line his Altavista studio like gentle giants, keeping him company as he painted. And on Holy Saturday, it seems that all of Mexico joins Rivera in this passion for Judas figures.

How did this strange obsession begin? As is often said in Mexico, the Spaniards are to blame for this, too.

Here, I paraphrase the concise history of The Burning of Judas from the site Popularte:

The Spaniards brought the tradition of burning Judas, "the heretic par excellence", to Mexico. It is said that Judas figures were burned during the Inquisition as representations of religious fugitives who, despite having escaped the physical flames, would yet feel the flames of eternal Hell via the burning puppet's bodies.

The Judas, or Juan Carnaval, is a puppet that generally looks like a devil. Its burning represents the purification obtained via fire and prepares for the beginning of a New Year, which for peasants begins with spring, when nature is renewed and the sowing is prepared---that is to say, Holy Week.

Throughout history, Judas figures have represented public figures that were openly disliked and open to ricidule. The practice became so popular that the dictator, Santa Ana, enacted an ordinance on March 17, 1853---

...those dolls, commonly named Judas, will neither be burned or sold, whenever they have some costume or distinguishing characteristic which ridicules a social class of specific person...

Luckily, Mexico's love for caricature and public folly far outlasted Santa Ana's feeble attempt to quell the masses.

In fact, today it is considered quite an honor to be immortalized as a Judas figure on Holy Saturday, meaning one has attained some level of cult status within Mexican popular culture. Above, Mexico City's flamboyant designer and folk art patron, Izak Kanarek, is burned in effigy to the crowd's---and Kanarek's---great delight. The fact that Kanarek may be the only Jewish person known to the juderos (the Judas makers) is completely incidental.

Like Diego Rivera, I too am a lover of this fabulous folk art form, and our life is decorated with several Judas figures, both at home and in our stores. Folk art lovers can locate our Patzcuaro store by simply looking across Plaza San Francisco for the giant red Judas.

On Holy Saturday, seek out the Judas burnings nearest you. It is an exhilarating and unique expression of ephemeral folk art, and a most-Mexican way of celebrating Easter, with a wink.

NOTE: The Judas burning takes place in the Jardin on Easter Sunday in San Miguel de Allende.

Parting thought...Mexican folk art can be inflamatory.

PHOTOS BY DEB HALL.