“I don't get tired,” breathes Catellana Nambo, 80, at the end of a nearly 100 km long New Year procession of the Purepecha indigenous people, during a fire ritual through the green mountains of western Mexico.
At dusk, on the outskirts of the village of Ocumicho, two columns of women in traditional dresses lead the way. To the sound of the fanfare, they turn around and move through clouds of smoke that give this fire procession a dreamlike touch.
For three days every year since 1983, Purepecha indigenous communities have carried their fire from village to village in Michoacán, a major avocado producer that, like so many others, is threatened by organized crime violence.
The ceremony is a moment of celebration of an endangered culture and also allows the community to claim the protection of its natural resources such as its forests, which are threatened by the expansion of avocado cultivation.
The tradition of “Fuego Nuevo” (new fire) celebrates the beginning of the year on February 1st according to the local variant of the Mesoamerican calendar.
Members of the Purepecha indigenous community participate in the Purepecha New Year celebration in Ocumicho, Michoacán state, Mexico, on February 1, 2024. AFP
The torchlight procession was long forgotten before it was revived by the Purepecha people themselves with the help of historians and anthropologists.
“When the Spanish arrived, they took away our way of dressing and speaking, but we are trying to rediscover the customs of our ancestors,” explains Catellana Nambo, an 80-year-old farmer.
“We are integrating more and more young people, […] “The children now speak Purepecha well and we are proud to be Purepechas,” she adds.
All age groups are well represented in the colorful crowd that spreads across the village square upon arrival.
Young women with braided hair perform dance steps with members of the Self-Defense Forces in combat fatigues, who appear very young despite their covered faces and rifles slung over their shoulders.
“The fight we are fighting is to protect our forests, which are being cut down,” says Javier de la Luz, a 66-year-old farmer from the municipality of Purepecha. “In a way, this holiday gives communities the strength to defend their natural resources.”
Purepecha women participate in the New Year celebration in Ocumicho, Michoacán state, Mexico, February 1, 2024. AFP
When night falls, villagers light torches and dance around the fire, which remains lit for a year until it travels to another village.
“People associate our customs with things from the past that are outdated, but I really think that's what the world needs: to take a step back and realize that we are moving forward very quickly,” says Lucia Gutierrez, 41 Years.
The midwifery student, who lives between Michoacán and the United States, where her husband lives, is happy that her children can also learn from this culture, as a counter-discourse to the modern world.
“We forget what really matters,” she adds. “Nature and these festivals”.