New Folklore Society Voices

"According to oral tradition, the Puerto Rican people promised to complete a novena (nine consecutive days of prayer or devotions) in honor of the Holy Cross if the earthquakes stopped and they were spared."

Altar being prepared for la Fiesta de la Cruz de Mayo at Mt. Carmel Parish, Rochester. (Photograph by Marion Faller).
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New York Folklore Society
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SPRING/SUMMER 1999 VOICES MAIN PAGE

La Fiesta de la Cruz de Mayo

La Fiesta de la Cruz de Mayo is descended from an ancient Spanish festival known as La Maya. La Maya paid homage to local fertility goddesses, represented during the festival by young virgins, who guaranteed the health and abundance of crops. The festival included serenades and dancing, often around a Maypole. Spanish authorities made the celebration of La Maya illegal in 1769, and the church hierarchy attempted to substitute celebrations held in honor of the feast day of the Holy Cross, observed on May 3, for La Maya.

Puerto Rican folklorist Pablo Garrido maintains that La Fiesta de la Cruz de Mayo, brought to the island by Spanish conquistadores, was well established by the mid-1500s. Historian Don Manuel Fernández Juncos reports that the fiesta gained wide popularity in 1787, after a devastating earthquake struck Puerto Rico shortly before May 3. According to oral tradition, the Puerto Rican people promised to complete a novena (nine consecutive days of prayer or devotions) in honor of the Holy Cross if the earthquakes stopped and they were spared. Since that time people have prayed to the Holy Cross for protection. In addition, a sung rosary or Rosario de la Cruz is often offered during La Fiesta de la Cruz as thanks for answered personal petitions.

The details of La Fiesta de la Cruz vary widely from region to region in Puerto Rico. Brother Luis Ruberte, who grew up in Ponce, Puerto Rico, shares these memories of his family’s celebration.

My mother promised to celebrate the Fiesta de la Cruz for nine years after my sister was cured of polio. The celebration was held at our house the entire time, but my mother chose nine families to help her. Each family created a step for the altar beautifully decorated with lace and jewelry. (The nine steps are said to represent the steps to heaven.) A step was added to the altar on each night of the celebration. On the last night of the festival, people sang a rosary in Latin. This was a way of saying goodbye to the Cross until next year. After the religious devotions were completed, people sang old folk songs all night long. Many people improvised songs about the beauty of the altar steps. The altar was dismantled as people sang and danced. Refreshments were offered on every night of the celebration, but the last night was a real feast. The festival was a way for people to get together who didn’t see each other often—especially in the country’s rural areas.
—Brother Luis Ruberte
Rochester, NY

NOTE: The New York Folklore Society Newsletter and New York Folklore Journal were replaced by Voices: The Journal of New York Folklore which debuted December, 2000.

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