HOLY WEEK – A look at Holy Week celebrations in the southwestern United States, around Taos, New Mexico. The high desert of northern New Mexico, with Taos as its unofficial capital, is a confluence of cultures and eras. Native American, Spanish, Mexican and American cultures co-exist and show themselves in both modern and old ways. Holy Week in this area is celebrated in a very public manner within the safety of the region, beyond the notice of much of the rest of the United States. The rites and customs are very much of the place and cultures found there.

Parishioners sit in pews for Easter Mass outside the full San Francisco de Asis Catholic Church in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico March 31, 2013.