Mining threats in San Agustín

For several months there have been rumors that the open-pit mining operation in San Andrés, La Unión, Copán, was hoping to expand its operations in the corridor between the mine and San Agustín, Copán.

On May 10, notices began circulating in Facebook that there was a real chance of mining coming to the forest reserve El Quetzal, which is about five kilometers from San Agustín.

The mayor of San Agustín began getting messages and calls about this, but he didn’t really know anything about this. Last Tuesday, the office of the Environment of the municipality of San Agustín got a note date May 14, to come to a meeting in La Unión, Copán, on a project.

Even though there was no confirmation of a mining concession on the El Quetzal mountainside, the mayor called a Town Meeting (cabildo abierto) for Sunday afternoon at 1 pm. Word spread and the town hall was filled to overflowing.

The mayor told what he knew and what he had discovered. He also had gone to an office in Tegucigalpa and, from there, sent a message of the opposition of the municipality to mining on El Quetzal Mountain.

After some opening words, he asked the attendees if there was anyone in favor of a mining project. No one raised a hand. Then he asked who was against; the opposition was overwhelming.

He talked more and then had two of the owners of land on the mountain come forward. One, an evangelical pastor who had worked for eleven years in the mining industry was clearly opposed to the project. He also proceeded to share his opinion strongly opposed to mining and the dangers he sees coming from the mining industry.

The other owner also is opposed to the mining project, though not as vociferously as the pastor.

The mayor talked about two possibilities to prevent mining. The first is a formal legal definition of the land as a national reserve(check); the other is going forward for a water project from water sources on the mountain. The two landowners were a bit skeptical of one of the mayor’s proposals, but finally they agreed to sit down later this week to work out details and disagreements.

One of the congressional representatives from the department of Copán, who had been mayor of San Agustín, was there and also expressed concern. He contacted a government official of GEOMIN and will meet with him in the near future. The government official had no knowledge of any concession that had been granted during his time as director. There is, however, I found out and shared with the mayor, a concession for exploration.

The pastor of the parish of Dulce Nombre, Padre German Navarro, also spoke, in opposition, noting the local church's concerns about mining. (He did not  mention the bishop's letter on mining, which can be found in translation here.)

Many questions remain but I find myself somewhat hopeful. First of all, I was glad to see that great turnout for the town meeting. Secondly, the opposition of the mayor and of two landowners is a good sign; interestingly, both are members of the governing National Party. However, since there are some areas of disagreement on what to do, I have a concern that the mining industry will try to find a way to exploit the divisions in order to get its way.

The area is a treasure. There are trees there that are centuries old. One tree is so large that not even seven people can encircle it. It also is a great source of water, which is becoming an ever more serious concern here in Honduras. In addition, there are birds and animals of many species there.

As a follow up, I met with parishioners in the Social Ministry on Tuesday. We discussed the situation and we will try to inform people of the situation and prepare materials on the church’s social teachings regarding mining and use of natural resources.

Providentially, Pope Francis had sent a letter to a meeting on mining. I have not yet found a Spanish translation. The English is available here. But there are three points that summarize his concerns, that I posted in Spanish at the meeting.

1.     Mining, like other economic activities, ought to be at the service of the entire human community…

2.     Mining ought to be at the service of the human person, not the reverse…

3.     We ought to encourage the implementation of a circular economy, even more in the field of mining activities.

The Social Ministry would like to plan a pilgrimage and Mass to the site – to show our prayerful concern for the preservation of this treasure.

May God help us in this endeavor.

Long live Christ the King!

Sunday we celebrated the feast of Christ the King with an all-parish Mass in San Agustín.  We started at nine o’clock with a procession. The Mass ended about 1:00 pm.

Over a thousand people came from almost all the towns and villages of the parish – arriving packed in busses or, more likely, in the back of pick ups. There were a good number of young people which, for me, is a good sign of the health of the church in our parish.

Today, Monday, happens to be the feast of Blessed Miguel Pro, the Mexican Jesuit, whose final words before the firing squad killed him were “¡Viva Cristo Rey!” I find his story amazing - especially because he seems to have been somewhat of a prankster - as he tried to hide from the Mexican anti-clerical authorities. But for him, Christ was King - not any secular authority.

There were shouts of “¡Viva Cristo Rey!” yesterday in San Agustín, but our pastor, Padre German, was insistent that this was not a call of triumphalism (though he didn’t use these words.) He insisted on a crucified king. 

The image that was carried in the procession was Christ, crowned with thorns.

Padre German gave a long homily and I forgot to take notes. But one point was that this is a king who sees the face of the marginalized, of the poor, of those who are outside – and welcomes them. He also noted how Christ's reign is in contrast to the corruption and violence around us in Honduras.

He reiterated the call of Pope Frances for a church that is called to be open to all – not closing doors.

This is what I find really refreshing in the parish of Dulce Nombre – the call for all of us to be real missionaries, moving out beyond the easy and the comfortable. The people I find are especially appreciative of the openness to the sacraments that Padre German has brought.

A great challenge – and thus a great place to be.

Padre German receiving the offering - fruits of the earth and the work of the people
- dulce, home made sugar -

La Pastorcita - the little shepherdess

There are many religious customs here that I’ve never heard of.

Today in the town of San Agustín they celebrated La Pastorcita.

La Pastoricita – the little shepherdess – is a statue of Mary with a sombrero and a lamb at her feet.

 The statue had been taken from its niche and placed up front. In place of her usual white dress, she was clothed in pink.  I don’t know if it was on purpose but the statue was earing the liturgical color of today, Laetare Sunday, pink. Padre German, however, wore purple vestments.

I had tried to find more information on the feast and found a few references to La Pastorcita or La Pastora de las Almas – the shepherdess of souls. Mary seems to have been identified as a shepherdess by, among others, St. John of God and St. Peter Alcantara, two sixteenth century Spanish saints.

But the devotion seems to have started in Seville, Spain, by a Capuchin friar, Isidoro of Sevilla, who had a painting made after two dreams he had. Later a statue was made.  The devotion seems to have begun about 1703.

The devotion to La Pastorcita is found in various places in Spain and Venezuela.

But how did it get to San Agustín, Copán, Honduras?

As far as I can tell, an Italian missionary who was pastor of the parish of Dulce Nombre de María in the 1950s and 1960s brought the image to San Agustín – as well as the image of Saint Augustine. He would come to the municipality on March 14 to celebrate Mass that evening and on March 15, the feast day.

The feast day, as one person told me, was on the day the statue was brought to the church.

So the history I have is sparse since I didn’t have much time today to gather more information. Perhaps this is one of those little projects I should get some young people in San Agustín to work on.

Queens and horse-riding competitions

I am the type of person that savors solitude but also enjoys being active, especially in projects of service and in facilitation of learning. I also just enjoy being around people, especially kids.

Thus there are some experiences here in Honduras that are somewhat hard for me. They stretch me, partly because they are very closely related to parts of the culture that I don’t understand – and at times don’t appreciate.

Last Thursday was the feast of Saint Augustine and so I went to San Agustín for their Mass. The church was full and it was good to see people I know. I also found the shrine to Saint Augustine delightful - the statue was placed in front of an image of the church.

After Mass there was a special event including the crowning of the queen for the festival. There was a stage and a mesa principal ­– the table of honor. I thought I had escaped being called to sit there – but at the last minute I was called up. I was first seated right in front of the speaker, but someone noticing my distress (I had a headache already) moved me to the other side of the table. So there I was in front of the crowd.

Some children were dressed up in dresses and suits – last year’s queen and her cortege and this year’s, together with two little guys with wooden machetes who served as the guards of honor at the edge of the stage.

In the course of the events, the queen was crowned, with her attendant at her side – both little kids. I don’t quite get this.

The town’s Catholic folk dance group, El Quetzal, performed a few dances, which was a delight.

After the events, there was a lunch for me and Padre German.

But one event at Mass, though uncomfortable, was really a sign of what faith can be.

There's a mentally unstable woman in San Agustín who occasionally comes to the church and will loudly pray, very loudly - even in the midst of Mass. During Mass, Padre German spoke directly to her and even hugged here, before the congregation. He asked her to be quiet during the rest of the Mass which she was. 

She did get onto the stage during the events after Mass but was gently escorted off. 

The lack of social services for the mentally disturbed doesn't prevent them from being loved and treated with a degree of respect. 

Yesterday, the coffee cooperative in EL Zapote de Santa Rosa had a fundraising event – a Carrera de Cintas: a horse riding event in which the rider try to grab a ring with a pencil-like wooden stick.

The “rings” on the rope across the road

Inspecting the rings

Some of the riders

Each time a rider got a ring he was awarded a kerchief by one of the “queens” – who just happened to be some of the young women in the Maestro de Casa middle school on El Zapote. 

After affixing the kerchief around the neck of the winner, there would often be a kiss on the cheek.

One guy was particularly gallant – as he knelt to receive the kerchief.

A friend told me that previously the women had embroidered sashes for the winners and would place these over their shoulders.

The competition started about noon, though it was supposed to start at 10 am. Delays of people coming from San Agustín and other distant places, plus a shower, put off the starting time. It ended at about 4 pm, delayed for about 15 minutes because of a heavy downpour.

Riding to catch a ring in the rain

But they finished up in the rain and the three winners were given the prizes, which included horse vitamins.

The winner

There were a few things that were a little uncomfortable – the young women as awarding prizes together with a kiss was one. The other was seeing two of the riders with pistols – one stuck in the back of his pants.

But I felt very pleased to see that the coffee cooperative had taken the initiative to raise funds for their work, not just relying on help from outside.

Over all, I was glad to be at both events. They will recognize me and those who know me will see that I took the time to be with them. I hope I hid my discomfort or that they just thought that’s the way the crazy gringo is.

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More photos of the San Agustín celebration can be found here.
More photos of the carrera de cintas can be found here.