Everywhere I go there are reminders that Mexico is a country comprised of a population that is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. If my memory serves me correct, it is 97 or 98% of the people are of this religious persuasion. Shops in el centro historico are filled with images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and saints for sale alongside crucifixes, rosaries, and other idols. Every cab I have ridden in has had at least one picture of a patron saint, the Virgin, or Jesus fitted into an unemployed air vent or has had a rosary and/or crucifix hanging from the rearview mirror. At my acknowledgment of such items signs of the cross are made accompanied with kisses followed by points and eyes to the sky. In a corner of the central courtyard of the upscale shopping plaza of Andares sits a veneration point dedicated to Mary. Even while shopping for your top-notch luxury goods you can take a moment to say a prayer or offer thanks for the blessing of being able to afford a Ferragamo suit or a handbag made by Gucci. Religion has the unique ability to transcend social class because as some pray in their Dior shades others are selling plastic crucifixes at a busy street corner in hopes of buying a few tacos at the end of the day. In Mexico, both circumstances fall under the same Faith, whether you feel the Lord has shed his wondrous light upon you or you see your life's struggle as your cross to bear, in the end you are hoping to meet Peter at the Gilded Gates of Heaven. Having no inclinations to any sort of Faith and finding no religion to be better than the next my thoughts can be considered heathen at best, but I find more support from personal intellect and experience than a religious foundation. However, I have tried, and as a product of the Catholic School System I have had many conversations with Jesus and asked Him many questions, its just that He has never gotten back to me or I am blind to the signs He sends. Thus, I am not a Believer within a religious context and my beliefs lie in the power of the human experience, our ability as homo sapiens to articulate and think beyond survival instinct unlike any other species. Could this ability have been bestowed upon us by some divine being? I haven't the slightest idea. So for now, I am content to observe Mexico and Mexicans as a place where their religion holds a great deal of importance in all facets of daily life. From early Mass each morning to giving props to God after scoring a game-winning goal, Roman Catholicism is everywhere.

(Read Dustin Pitts's blog online at http://blogalajara.blogspot.com/)