HOLY WEEK SEES HEAVY LATINO TRAVEL.

Byline: Rachel Uranga Staff Writer

Bus depots, airports and border crossings were jammed on Good Friday with luggage-toting travelers for what is considered one of the Holy Week's busiest weekends for visits between Latino family members separated by the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Easter pilgrimage is a long-standing tradition in which Latino families travel to and from Southern California.

``Business triples during this time of year,'' said Juan Patricio Montez, owner of Azteca de Oro Inc, a popular independent bus line based in Los Angeles.

Long lines formed at Azteca's downtown depot as mothers, fathers and children waited to purchase tickets on nearly sold-out bus routes. Routes to border towns Tijuana, Calexico and El Paso were booked solid.

Local travel agents said they have sold nearly all packages to Mexico and Central America this week, leaving many to scramble at the last minute.

``You want to spend time with your family (this week),'' said Guillermina Chiriboga, an Ecuadorean who waited for a bus outside the Greyhound station in San Fernando that would take her to relatives in Las Vegas.

Considered the most sacred week of the year by most Latin American Catholics, the Easter holidays, known as Semana Santa, are rich in tradition. In Ecuador, it's common to make fanseca, a multigrain soup, and in Mexico, families prepare Tortas de Camarones y Nopales, a shrimp and cactus dish.

``You don't have the custom of specific meals here, but you want to be with your family,'' said Chiriboga, who looked forward to eating fanseca with her niece's family in Las Vegas.

Throughout the morning at the San Fernando bus depot, families poured in. Joe Canal, the station's general manager, said a number of routes sold out.

``This is one of the busiest days of the year. It's almost as busy as Christmastime,'' he said.

Some Mexican airlines operating out of the United States reported 100 percent occupancy on routes to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico City, Hermosillo and Tijuana.

In parts of Mexico, holidays like Easter and Christmas draw back those who immigrated to the United States. Streets are often filled with cars bearing license plates from California, Georgia and Oregon.

``It's amazing,'' said Martha Jimenez, who returned this week from the central Mexican state of Zacatecas, where she grew up. She flew down for Palm Sunday, which is the start of Semana Santa.

``People have the time to reunite with their family and come closer with God. It's just something that is expected, for everyone to come together,'' said Jimenez, who lives in Los Angeles.

In Mexico, where about 90 percent of the population is Catholic, Holy Week is largely vacation time for everyone, not just students. Families get together with faraway relatives, and by Good Friday many shops have shut down.

In many towns, fiestas are held, community members engage in elaborate re-enactments of the Crucifixion and television stations often carry papal addresses.

For those who cannot return to their families, La Iglesia de Santa Rosa, a church of mostly immigrants, in San Fernando holds a similar procession through the streets that draws hundreds.

``We receive people from all over the place here from Sylmar to Burbank. People (visiting) from Mexico might come out here, '' said Pastor Carlos Alarcon.

Rachel Uranga, [phone]

rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com