Christmas Day in Mascota

Quiet,quiet,quiet. The Baby Jesus has been added to the Naciamentos (Nativity Scenes), including the one in the central plaza.

We wandered the streets and took some photos of Mascota.

Mascota is not from the Spanish language (where it would be translated as "pet"), but named by the original population, the Teco Indians. It was called "Amaxacotlán Mazacotla", that means the place of deer and snakes. The Spanish called it The Valley of Deer. When you enter the town, there is a little landscaped area with a statue of a deer standing by some rocks and plants. If you look closely, you can also see a snake.

In the second half of the 17th Century, Mascota established itself in its current location. Families
built their houses wherever they wanted to, so when the time came to build roads and urbanize the town, it was impossible without tearing some houses down. The final result was a town with an erratic street layout built around those original houses. As someone said, “No, it was not a drunkard that designed it all...”.

We really like the little triangular plazas with fountains and benches, built where streets meet - a place to sit and chat or eat tacos.

There is an interesting story about a man born in 1888, who grew up in Mascota, became a priest and was later martyred during the Cristero War, 1927, for standing up for his religious beliefs. He was beatified in 1992 and later canonized in 2000 by Pope John Paul II. There is a statue outside of the Mascota church in his honour.

Wikipedia says this about his last hours:

“José María Robles Hurtado recognized the likelihood of his being killed for his actions, and wrote a poem in which he stated: "I want to love you until martyrdom".He was arrested on June 25, 1927, for saying a prayer in the home of the Agraz family, who were hiding him at the time. He was found
guilty and sentenced to be hanged from an oak tree. The next day, before dawn, he was led to the
tree. In a final display of compassion for his executioners, he offered them a small votive candle he had in his pocket to help light the path to the tree where he was to be hanged. Upon arriving there, he forgave the men for what they were about to do. He took the noose into his own hands, saying "Don't dirty your hands" to the man who brought it, kissed it, and placed it around his own neck.”

This time of year seems to be popular for baptisms and weddings. We even saw a photo shoot for a girl celebrating her 15th birthday (quincenaro).Read more