Light My Fire

This preist is setting off fireworks for the festival celebrating La Virgen de La Merced, who is the patron saint of Leon. This means it's a local holiday and it's a big deal around here. The celebration takes place at the Church of La Merced and they decided to celebrate by setting off fireworks and ringing the church bell...all month long...even at 4 am...two blocks from where I'm staying. This photo is from September 24, the peak of the festival and the day procession in town. I knew that the event got going at 12 pm, so I went close to the church to get some pictures. Unbeknownst to me, they set up fireworks around the church and suddenly they started going off 30 feet away from me. It was fairly terrifying. As you can see in the from the smoke in the background in this picture, the fireworks around the church are still going off. Meanwhile, the priest and a couple helpers are setting fireworks off by lighting them while holding them in their hands. Upon ignition, the firework then shoots up out of their hands. It seemed a little dangerous to me, but I don't think anyone was hurt.
Fortunately, since September, it's been a bit quieter here in Leon, especially at night, but I still occasionally am startled by booming surprise fireworks in the middle of the day.