Good Friday and Culture

Today I had a unique experience. The staff of Pura Vida went to see La Procesion in San Juoquin, a town close to where we live. I took lots of pictures. I must warn you that I have a limited knowledge of all of this and for that reason I am trying to only mention what I am sure about, and I am making some generalities that may not apply to everyone in Costa Rica, but I will do my best to explain what I have learned.
This is a common tradition on Good Friday for much of Latin America. The tradition comes from the Catholic background. Actually the entire week leading up to Easter, from Palm Sunday to Easter, is known as Semana Santa (Holy Week). The whole week is seen as a vacation time and I've heard that the week is almost as big and important as Christmas. In fact, my school was closed for the whole week. Usually many tico families go to the beach during this week or have some other form of vacation. As part of the week, catholics are not supposed to drink alcohol, or at least for Good Friday through Easter Sunday. We went to the supermarket today and the alcohol aisle was actually closed off.
So back to La Procesion. This is a celebration or festival to remember when Jesus was crucified on the cross. La Procesion is a procession (similar to a parade I guess) where people dress up as Biblical characters and reenact Christ's journey of carrying His cross to Golgotha, the hill where He was crucified. There were kids dressed in robes and men dressed in middle eastern garb. These people were at the front of the procession and followed by soldiers leading the other robbers crucified with Jesus, then the man forced to carry Christ's cross, then Jesus, battered and bleeding and finally a band of drummers. I am not sure where the procession started, but it lasted for a few hours and arrived at the Catholic church there in San Juoquin. There were three crosses already set up in front of the church, and the soldiers proceeded to hang the two robbers and finally Jesus on the cross. Then the exchange between the two robbers about Jesus, Jesus' words as He hung on the cross, and after He died, His disciples removed Him from the cross. It was a meaningful reminder for me to see in semi-real life what Jesus death looked like. I was grateful for it.
However, there are some interesting dynamics to this "celebration". La Procesion is seen as sort of a festivity that is celebrated on Good Friday. I am only really aware of this festival ocurring in Spanish speaking countries among the Catholic population. It is also a much more festive day than Easter Sunday when Christ rose from the dead, a far more fantastic and meaninful day for those who believe in Jesus as the son of God. Without His resurrection, there really is nothing to celebrate about Jesus. If He didn't come back to life, then death is not conquered and we have no hope of being saved from it. Oh, and just a side note, the public buses don't run on Good Friday, but they do on Easter Sunday. Go figure.
The evangelical church, as much of the church is known in Costa Rica that is not Catholic, has problems with this procession. Most evangelicals will not attend La Procesion. I had a hard time understanding why, because I feel like the portrayal was very moving and a good reminder each year of Christ's sacrifice. I think that in other cities the procession often doesn't use real people to act out the journey, but uses figures and idols to represent Jesus, and that is what the evangelical church has problems with. But then, the evangelical church in Costa Rica doesn't do much to celebrate Easter Sunday either. It seems that they just sort of breeze over the day. The only thing I can think of is that, perhaps the reaction is more to the Catholic church and not to the holiday itself. The evangelical church tries to distance itself away from all things Catholic whether the initial idea was a good one or not. What do you think? Please, contemplate and discuss with others.