December 2, 2007
Diana Ramirez saw a shredded picture of the Virgin Mary pieced together with tape. A cracked, glued statue of Santo Nino de Atocha — a Roman Catholic depiction of the infant Jesus — stood atop a dresser.
She suspected the items came from a nearby dump, where many so-called “ragpickers” forage for recyclable items to sell, such as aluminum cans, copper wire and glass bottles.
It was December, and 2 inches of snow coated the ground outside this home in Juarez, Mexico. Inside, a middle-age mother and her two sons fought the chill biting them through broken windows.
The Dia de la Candelaria (Day of the Candles) is a big feast in Mexico. It differs from the Candle Mass in the United States because during this Mass not only the Candles get blessed but also the Baby Jesus from the crib. In Mexico this has been celebrated since the Colonial times. This celebration also changes according to every ethnic group and region who gives the Celebration the characteristics proper to their culture.
The worshipping community of Mission Santo Nino de Atocha in Tecolote may be small, but their faith is strong. Nestled in the midst of mesquite trees and brush land about 10 miles north of Alice on Highway 281, a committed group gathered Nov. 18 for a community milestone, the ground breaking of their new church, Today is truly a wonderful day, said Johnny Vela, one of the original members of the faith community who began meeting in homes and even an abandoned dance hall in the 1980s.
