The Paseo del Pendón, a commemoration that originated in New Spain to celebrate the Conquest and was revived in Mexico City in 2021, has been canceled for this year, its organizing committee announced.
After La Jornada reported yesterday that far-right groups had joined the event, the activities originally planned for August 14 and 15 were suspended.
The promoters of the so-called Paseo del Pendón Cultural Festival explained in a statement that the decision was due to the “climate of polarization and intolerance generated by actors unrelated to the event who apparently seek to distort or appropriate the initiative.”
They emphasized the “strictly cultural, civic, self-managed, free, and voluntary nature of the festival, as well as its complete political independence, and disassociated themselves from any attempt at censorship or manipulation.”
However, in 2021, when the 500th anniversary of the resistance of Mexico-Tenochtitlan was commemorated, this parade, which had not been held for 200 years, was revived in the streets of the Historic Center. Videos circulating of these processions show only about twenty participants.
Carlos Cervantes Godoy, general coordinator of the Historic Center Authority (ACH), told La Jornada that his office has not received any request or notification regarding the upcoming edition of this parade, nor those held in recent years.
He explained that carrying out an activity like this requires authorization from the Mexico City Government Secretariat, and if it takes place in the Historic Center, the ACH must also be notified so that it can give its approval and coordinate with “the authorities responsible for accompanying and ensuring” the parade.
He argued that they published the invitation to the Paseo del Pendón (Procession of the Banner) on their social media page “as support for cultural activities,” just as they do with other invitations sent to them by museums, theaters, and so on. “When we learned what this event was about and, above all, that it was generating some controversy, we decided to remove the post from our ACH (Association of Chilean Cultural Center) social media accounts until the issue is clarified.”
He emphasized that “although we have our own view, which is the one held by the Head of Government, Clara Brugada, regarding this issue, we respect any political or religious expression or position, as long as it is carried out in an orderly manner.”
Two of the far-right organizations that joined the call are the National Synarchist Union and the Celedonio de Jarauta Traditionalist Circle. The “Catholic-monarchist” newspaper La Esperanza, linked to the latter, published accounts of previous editions of the Paseo del Pendón.
In 2022, that Spanish media outlet expressed its stance on Mexican history: “Last Saturday, August 13, the 501st anniversary of Hispanicity, and therefore the arrival of Christianity to our country, was celebrated with great pomp.”
They boasted that “neither modernism with its servile clerical stance, nor the Black Legend promoted by the current government, nor the nostalgic folkloric ravings of others dampened the spirits of those gathered an hour before midnight outside City Hall.”
The same outlet, regarding the 2024 procession, reported that a rosary was recited that included “five intentions for restoration,” among them the intention to return to “the authentic, traditional monarchy, legitimate in origin and practice.”
This contrasts with the research of historian María José Garrido, who explained to La Jornada that the viceregal Paseo del Pendón “commemorates the Conquest of Mexico City, which founded colonial society, but it is the only festival of the time in which religious authorities did not participate. The city council was the one that stood out in this celebration. Neither the archbishop nor any clergyman attended. It was a civic event.”
Source: jornada
