With their sparkling embroideries and colorful sashes flapping in the frigid wind, hundreds of Guatemalan faithful flocked to the Catholic church of this heartland farming town to celebrate their biggest festival yet in honor of the Black Christ of Esquipulas.
Just days before the start of a U.S. administration that’s promised a swift immigration crackdown, they turned with hope and pride to the statue of the crucified Jesus, an elaborately carved replica of the most venerated image in their tropical homeland. Church members had it especially commissioned and brought from Guatemala at enormous expense, along with two massive marimbas. No feast is complete without these musical instruments.
“The Black Christ of Esquipulas has come taking planes and crossing borders like us,” said Lucas López. Fourteen years ago, he left San Marcos, one of Guatemala’s poorest regions, where communities nonetheless also organized festivals this week.
López and his wife, María Ramírez, are now raising their four children in Worthington, a town transformed by international migration. With his salary from the pork processing plant job for which he awakes daily at 4:20 a.m., the couple recently bought their first home a few blocks from church.
At Sunday’s Mass that launched the daylong celebration, López and Ramírez — wearing sequined and embroidered huipil and skirt, colorful ribbons tied in her hair — led a dozen faithful in a traditional barefoot dance bringing the offerings to the altar.
