viva maria

i'm not sure if i will ever get over the shock of the "flight of the angel" that caps off the fisherman's feast in the north end, also known as the feast for the madonna del soccorso. there are feasts just about every weekend during july and august in the north end. for some reason st anthony's is the one that most people have heard of and talk about - i assume because we've all prayed to st anthony at some point or another to find those !#$%ing keys - but as far as i'm concerned, the only one worth coming in for - year after year - is the fisherman's on sunday night at 8 o'clock - or 9 if you're smart because even though they've been doing it for 90+ years, they are late every year.

so anyway, the saint makes its way through the north end for most of sunday, collecting money from people and restaurants. i know this picture is incredibly dark but if you look closely, you can see a person lowering what is basically blanket of money. there are endless versions of the money blanket along the saint's route and by the time the saint is done, it is puffed up with thousands and thousands of dollars. so, this is crazy enough but nothing compared to the flight.

once the saint gets to the end of her route, she is put down in the street and two little girls on opposing fire escapes recite an age old prayer in italian that last about 10 minutes. back and forth. back and forth. then they shout slowly but in unison - VIVA! VIVA. MARIA. MADONNA. DEL. SOCCORSO! by MADONNA most of the crowd has joined in and goes crazy as "the angel" is thrust - and i mean thrust - out of a window on a pulley, moved to the center of the street and then lowered to about 5 feet off the ground where she recites a 5 minute speech to the crowd.

once she's done, the crowd goes even crazier, balloons fill the air and then an incredible amount of confetti is dumped off of every rooftop in sight. it is really something to see. this year my cousins from ireland were visiting so we brought them to check out the insanity. i think we've brought someone every year since we first saw it because everyone needs to see this. its as if you are on another planet, nevermind in another country. it is so lawless. a little girl hooked onto a pulley 3 stories above the street.