Because the solar dipped behind the Tucson Mountains on Good Friday, Andy Marmolejo shifted the load of a cross on his shoulder as he led a procession of about 100 folks alongside ‘A’ Mountain to start out the Easter weekend.

Since 1967, Los Dorados Orphan League has held La Procesion De Viernes Santo up ‘A’ Mountain (Sentinel Peak) to hold a 150 to 20-lb. cross up the mountain the place it is set in a metallic body and raised over town.

The custom was halted in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, nevertheless it returned in 2022.

For Marmolejo, one of many Los Dorados, this has been a household custom. His grandfather, Sal Gomez was one of many founders, together with David G. Herrera, who died in 2017.

Like his grandfather, Marmolejo deliberate to coach his son, Andres Marmolejo, to be a part of the custom. Nonetheless, his son died at 20 from an an infection in 2017. Clad in a yellow Los Dorados jacket on Friday,  Marmolejo additionally carried a crucifix, rosary, and an image of his son round his neck.

Because the group continued, volunteers stepped in to boost the cross above their heads, whereas a small group of kids carried their very own, smaller cross.

The procession stopped 13 occasions, every to mark a station of the cross, after which as twilight started, they raised the cross on the rocky volcanic hillside.