“Witchcraft sells like rice and beans”, but not during Holy Week
Which witch?
Owners and sellers of botanicals, perfume shops, and products used for witchcraft, ensure that practitioners respect the days of Holy Week. Since the start of Lent, his business activity stops.
The popular botanical, shops where you can find bottles with luck, love, and money, are pharmacies for those who seek to remedy longings, ills, and shortcomings. “There are people who say they feel heavy, they do not find love, they do not get money, they do not have luck, they dream at night with a number and another one comes out, many reasons that they are upset”.
José Francisco Capellán
“Nothing is sold here in those days of the Holy Week, people buy snap beans, sweet potatoes, milk, Carnation, coconut milk and sugar,” says José Francisco Capellán, 53 years old.
Capellán, who “reeks the old man of being there,” arrived at the Mercado Modelo in 1987 and settled there a botaniquita. According to the Accent team, “sorcerers do not work at this time.”
Between rue, anamú, arraiján, liberty, petals, rosemary, cumin, basil, and other fragrances; Capellán says that people of all kinds go to his business.
One of his neighbors in the market, also dedicated to the business for about 20 years, indicates that for Easter the sale is practically nil. “Most sorcerers turn off the altars and everything, they do not work. People do not go to the altars, so they do not come to buy. ”
The reason? Neighbor Jose Manuel says that it is out of respect. “Respect for Lent, Holy Week, for others who do their jobs for those days “.
These occupations depend on the client’s need. They sell products for luck, for money, for love and to ward off bad influences, but as they say there, from the saying to the fact there is a long way to go.
-I do not believe in that. I believe in God. Now, you’re going to ask me why I sell what I do not believe in because I believe in God and not witchcraft.
– So?
– It’s because I make something to live on! Does that make me a thief or a robber? I hope not!
Although for the commemoration of the death and passion of Christ, these practitioners halt their work, their activities are booming for the festivities of their saints. For the days of an Anaísa, a San Miguel, or a Santa Martha, they “activate”.
“This is the same as groceries, witchcraft sells like rice and beans.”
With jocularity, the anecdotes of Capellán leave a doubt as to whether he looks for clients or drives them away.
“Older people who have no need to walk around flirting with things like that come in here. I say to them: mom, aunt, niece, grandmother, why don’t you make a soup of cow’s foot, or a stew, or a fish soup and you get that fullness and lie down on a bed face up? Do not buy that, that does not exist, that’s nonsense.”
The Lent season, which ends with Holy Week, begins with Ash Wednesday, which this year was March 6, and ends with Resurrection Sunday on April 21. The last week of Lent, corresponding to Holy Week is the time period in which the witchcraft merchants all agree to shut down sales.