In Merced Balbuena, the Burning of Judas is a family and community tradition

With the intention of recognizing and disseminating cardboard, the traditional Burning of Judas, organized by the Linares family, returned this year to the neighborhood of the Merced Balbuena neighborhood, behind the Sonora market, where 15 pieces made with cardboard and rockets burned this Saturday Glory.

As the afternoon fell, the residents of the community gathered on Oriente 30 Street, creating a festive and bustling atmosphere. It was at 6:40 p.m. when the expectation grew and the excitement was palpable in the air, as the first roars and shouts of joy were heard while the smallest work, a Judas devil, was detonated.

Flames illuminated the street and an enthusiastic crowd of hundreds of visitors tried to capture videos and photos of the multicolored explosion, as well as the majesty of the patterns in the night sky.

It is a family, collective and community celebration; I go year after year because not everywhere allows the use of fireworks, plus it is a very well-known party.said Alma Sotelo, 25 years old.

Separately, Hugo Herrera, 30, noted: Although I am not a resident of this neighborhood, I come because my cousins ​​invite me and the show is amazing, it is as if we were in the Historic Center, but here it is cooler, because it is only for us.

And Mario y Luigui Bros, and Huggy Wuggy and a Toad (video game characters), as well as a Hello Kitty, an Aztec skull, a demon skull, a Chupacabra, a princess Masha (animation figure) and alebrijes, were the rest of the cardboard pieces incinerated before the crowd, as well as the traditional Judas, whose peculiarity was appreciated by the muralist Diego Rivera, about which he mentioned: As a plastic object, a joint expression of structure and color, in the art of today’s Mexico, they are undoubtedly the most valuable. Its structure is of great purity, a framework of reeds and otate. They are covered with humble material of extreme fragility and easy conductivity, ordinary paper..

Gerardo Tlacaelel Diez de Sollano Flores (Mexico City, 1991) explained in an interview with The Conference: My great-grandparents were the architects of this initiative, then my grandmother and her brothers continued it, among them Pedro Linares, creator of the alebrijes, and now my father, uncles, cousins ​​and nephews.

Devotee of cartonería, a tradition that has prevailed in his family for half a century, Gerardo Tlacaelel added that “this initiative has no sponsorship, but rather we finance it ourselves. Some of our designs are based on athletes, skulls, politicians and actors.

This is not a religious issue, although it evidently had its origins in that area. Now it is more of a popular celebration. Each work is equipped with lights and rockets from Tultepec. Sometimes we parody artists or politicians of the moment. The dimensions vary from half to four meters.

Tlacaelel Diez de Sollano said that the burning of a figure that alludes to Donald Trump, former president of the United States, was scheduled. However, he left the collection at the last minute because the piece was sold.

We have never had an accident; Maybe we have flamed ourselves a little with the highlights, but we don’t expose anyone. We have learned to work gunpowder and have respect for it.

Fascinating technique

From 2 p.m., the artisans prepared in their workshop, located in the aforementioned area, the pieces that would be lit at twilight, in order to offer a symbolic and enjoyable act, based on the importance of recognizing and disseminating cardboard making as a technique of great tradition.

With forced marches, Martín Gerardo Diez de Sollano and María Flores Carapia, parents of the young Tlacael, verified that some figures were ready while they installed frames covered with gunpowder and titanium on the character of Toad (two meters) so that it could spin over a wire hanging in the middle of the street. On one side, other familiars outlined the eyes and body of a Spider-Man and a After, of the movie Kung Fu Panda.

From simple paper we create multicolored animals with water or oil paints and very traditional molding. That’s how fascinating cardboard is. This project also exalts the richness of this Mexican popular art.concluded Diez de Sollano Flores.

In other parts of the Mexican capital, such as Iztapalapa, the Burning of Judas continues to be a relevant tradition, since it also The traitor is burned in order to make the bad vibe go away.

The festive and cultural day was complemented with dances, rides, sales of crafts such as devils, skulls, bulls and T-shirts, as well as snacks and refreshing drinks.