Koki Ruiz - art for the papal visit

The Pope is coming to Paraguay 10th-12th July, and everyone is terribly excited. Koki Ruiz, the artist responsible for the Holy Week procession in Tañarandy (see this post), was commissioned to build an altar / work of art for the occasion. He insisted on creating it in San Ignacio rather than the capital, so his workshop has been open to the public for people to see the work in progress up close.
 

Yours truly with San Ignacio / St Ignatius. Yes, I'm wearing a coat and gloves and scarf - winter has arrived!

 The main images are of St Ignatius (founder of the Jesuits, of whom the Pope is one) and St Francis (whose name he chose). The depictions are composed entirely of seeds, pulses and grains grown in Paraguay (see last picture).

Close-up of the maize and coconut seed designs - like on the columns either side of St Ignatius.

 The pillars and decorative panels are made with ears of maize and coconut seeds. Visiting members of the public sign their names on the green cocos.

With Demetria's son Hector.

St Francis, and a column in progress (she's drilling holes to tie the maize on)

St Francis' finger up close: Sunflower seeds, soya beans, poroto, feichao, locro....all their natural colours.

Retreat

In the first half of this month I spent eight days in the Jesuit retreat house in San Ignacio on a silent retreat. I had more or less zero human interaction for the whole time, with the significant exception of a daily conversation with Pa'i Oscar (a Jesuit and the parish priest of Santa Maria) to discuss my experiences that day and set the Bible texts for me to pray with on the next.

Part of the retreat house garden. This tree reminded me of autumn and spring all at once.

Writing about it properly would go rather beyond my general practice on this blog, so ask me in person sometime if you'd like to know more. Suffice to say it was a truly rewarding and important eight days for me.

My friend the tortoise, enjoying an avocado. I wrote a poem in Spanish about him (see what solitude does to you?)

The room I stayed in.

PUPPY!

Following the sad demise of two out of three of the dogs (Toni and Keke), someone brought Demetria a new puppy! He is small and black and adorable. Oli (the remaining adult canine) is very much enamoured of him and licks and cuddles up to him all the time.

Demetria's new baby

...or is he Oli's?

Grief

Grief in Britain is a private affair. Not so in Paraguay, as I experienced when a friend's mother died recently.

Crowds of friends and acquaintances gather outside the house, awaiting the arrival of the family with the body. When they come, they are embraced and supported into the house amidst wailing and tears, for a prayer vigil lasting all night and into the morning.

Most of those in attendance aren't doing a great deal apart from standing around, but their presence and prayers are a concrete expression of solidarity with and support for the bereaved.

It's heart-rending to see emotional devastation so physically, openly and noisily expressed, yet I can't help but think it seems a healthier way to deal with loss than our repression and stoicism, both for the family and the community.