Tomé Hill brings New Mexicans together on Good Friday

New Mexicans from all over the state came together Friday morning for the pilgrimage to Tomé Hill.

“I’m here to do the pilgrimage to rock, to pray for all that have passed away,” said Bernice Anaya. “To pray for everything good that has happened this past year in our life.”

“To remember loved ones, the ones that have gone, and the ones that are still here,” said Ruben Garcia, who has been making the hike for years.

Garcia said it’s the least he can do.

“A little sacrifice is nothing compared to the sacrifice God made for us, so we can do a little bit,” he said.

Anaya remembers making the trek as a little girl with her grandma.

“It is a tradition in our family,” she said. “I’m from Socorro and we walk from San Miguel Church in Socorro to the church in Polvadera, which they say is around the same that Jesus walked carrying the cross.”

This year, Anaya completed the journey with her grandchild and her daughter Vanessa.

“To teach them our traditions, to teach them our faith, and show them the sacrifices that we made so that way they can carry that forward in their lives,” Vanessa said.

Although they all honored different people, they walked together in their faith.

The president of the land grant of Tomé Hill says the pilgrimage dates back to the 1950s.