Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper re-imagined for the Age of Corona
Normally I discourage visitors coming here during Holy Week. That is unless they are hard-core Catholics who want to experience Holy Week as it was intended to be. If that's your idyll you'd love it here. All the bars are closed until late Easter Sunday evening. The plazas are packed on Good Friday with re-enactments of the Stations of the Cross (bloodied Jesus, wooden cross and all). And in general-- it's the last thrust of pain, suffering, and penance before the most glorious day in the Christian calendar (and no-- it is NOT Christmas). Easter!
But this year Holy Week is very different. As many might know, we are coming upon the end of our first month of heavy social restrictions, curfews, and sheltering-in-place. But whereas the majority of Puertoricans (a patient and equitable people by nature) have been pretty agreeable throughout this long ordeal, the loss of Holy Week has been particularly hard.
The other day our neighbor from San Lorenzo called (I think more out of missing us than anything else) to ask if she could cut some bananas at the farm. In the course of our conversation, we discussed Easter. With five children (and about twenty grandchildren) any normal Sunday there is a crowd. But usually on Easter its even more robust-- as her sister and her family usually blend in as well.
But this year it will be just she and her husband Franky, a situation being replicated all over the island, as all travel is strictly prohibited until 5AM on Monday, and home gatherings of any type have been abolished under the threat of stinging fines and up to six-months of incarceration. For a social people who revel in holidays, this is pain, suffering, and penance worthy of even the most cavalier of saints.
I don't know how much longer people will comply. Even the most patient and equitable will weary of endless restrictions from seeing their loved ones. In a few weeks summer will be here; a time when all generations move to the beaches on Sundays for massive family picnics and frivolity. I wonder how well curfews, social gathering bans, and alcohol prohibitions are going to play then?
I hope we can all remain patient and equitable for as long as possible. But as Catholics we are by nature more sinners than saints. And let's face it-- even purgatory is only supposed to last for so long.
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