La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo

Here’s another quote taken from the article written by Ignacio Ochoa and published in Revue Magazine about the history of kite making in Santiago Sacatepéquez under the name of Messenges in the Wind.

At 4 a.m. on November 2, everyone moves toward the cemetery with candles so the spirits can return to their celestial home. The townspeople raise the giant kites one final time to guide the spirits back to heaven. Later that evening, the kites that were torn by the winds are burned inside the cemetery, the smoke showing the way back to heaven for any vagabond spirits. The surviving kites are exhibited in the local Catholic Church during a novena for the deceased, after that they are burned, and the ashes are buried in the cemetery, completing the annual ritual for the Day of the Dead in Santiago Sacatepéquez. (continue reading… )

Hello, hello is there anybody out there? Are there any comments or feedback regarding the giants kites?

Ignacio Ochoa has published a recent article about the history of kite making in Santiago Sacatepéquez under the name of Messenges in the Wind. Below the first paragraph of this wonderful article:

On November 1 and 2, a powerful force stirs in all the towns of Guatemala. Traditional markets are filled with flowers of sempa (orange marigolds), chrysanthemums, wild daisies and the smell of copal—a pre-Columbian incense made from pine resin. People clean family graves and adorn them with cut-out tissue paper called papel picado, wreaths of fresh flowers and candles. They also honor the dead with festive foods such as candied fruits, tamales and fiambre (a cold meat and vegetable dish prepared only at this time of year). These days mark the celebration of El día de los difuntos or the Day of the Dead, a very important festival throughout Guatemala, especially in the predominantly indigenous town of Santiago Sacatépequez, where it is the occasion for a unique kite-flying ritual of the Kakchiquel people, integrating the Catholic feast of All Saints with pre-Columbian Mayan practices of remembering the dead. The kites are made as a way to communicate with the dead, symbolically attracting the spirits to earth at this special time of the year, when family members, living and dead, are reunited. (continue reading… )

If you would like to have the following giant kite flying image as a wallpaper for you desktop or laptop computer, as always, just download the following photo (1200×900). You can click to thumbnail below to get a larger preview. Enjoy!

As read on Prensa Libre recently:

According to the legend, each November 1st the God-world releases the souls of the dead from the underworld and for 24 hours the spirits are free to visit their live families, whom must provide a warm welcome, otherwise the spirits can cause harm to the crops and harvests. It is for this reason, that the live must built kites the cleanse the air and the atmosphere of bad spirits and vibes, so they can welcome their dead relatives. (free translation on the fly)

On September 15th, at 6 p.m. all over main squares and central parks of Guatemala there is a civic act known as La arriada de la bandera (Haul down of the flag). The ceremony include several solemn activities like Juramento a la bandera (pledge alliance to the flag); Canto del Himno Nacional de Guatemala (Singing of the National Anthem) and a few speeches remembering the signing of the Independence Act and how many years has been thus far (187) since 1821.

In the picture above, you can appreciate the final moment of the lowering of the Guatemalan flag (far left) while students and the spectators position their right hand to salute the flag. This scene was capture at the small village of San Pedro Las Huertas.

With this final image we wave goodbye to September, Guatemala’s Independence month, and to the third consecutive year of the coverage of the Independence Day activities. In 2006, I focused on the marathons and the torches. In 2007, I covered the school parades. And in 2008, I have use the Guatemalan flag as the common thread. You can watch slide shows for each year to get a feel for what to expect and to compare three different photographic approaches for the same theme.

It is my hope that you have enjoyed the photos and explanations behind the celebration of independence in Guatemala. Please, let me know your opinions and thoughts; your feedback is greatly appreciated and expected.

You can watch a slide show of all the photos below:

I was lucky to get some pictures of the representation of the Leaders of Guatemala’s Independence Movement (actually, to be fair, I should say Central America’s Independence).

There were about twelve or so young people dressed up like in colonial times, just about Guatemala’s Independence date of 1821, who represented the Próceres de la Independencia (leaders of the independence movement) who were being filmed by some local television channel.

Have a happy Guatemala’s Independence Day everyone!

Let me know what do you think of this photo; should I have done it in sepia?

Guatemala’s public educational system is divided as follows: Pre-Primaria (Pre-primary also known as párvulos and kindergarten), Primaria (Primary school 1st to 6th grade), Secundaria (Secundary school, 3 years known as 1st basic through 3rd basic or Básicos) and Diversificado (3 years corresponding to the last years of High School; also known as Preparataria in other parts of Latin America).

Okay, with that in mind, the schedule for Independence Day Celebrations begins with celebrations and parade for Pre-Primaria on the 13th of September; celebrations activities and parade on the 14th for Primaria and last but not least, on September 15th the full blown party, activities, parades and firecracker burning for Secundaria and Diversificado.

FREE EDUCATION ASIDE: Today it was made official that in Guatemala public education will FREE starting 2009 school year. Until now, parents had to pay for registration and other miscellaneous fees even though it was mandated by the Guatemalan Constitution that everyone had the right to free education. This mandate of the Constitution had been broken since 1968 when it was permitted to charge for student’s registration. Finally I see a sign of the Social Democrat government we voted into office.

Maybe we will get it right this election. —The Brunscheon, Oregon

We hope so. —The rest of the world

Well, as some of you may already know, my birthday falls on September 11th and like everyone else, I like to receive presents. I was very lucky to have received sweet and nice wishes from many of you. I was also fortunate to have spoken with my mom and sisters who lived in the United States. My beautiful, rich and famous sisters decided to give me an iPod Touch as present for my birthday (Thanks). Besides an ordinary day at work, the day progressed quite peacefully, which is to me, one of the best gifts from life. My wife and I had a lovely dinner and talk.

On my way to the office, I stopped to pick the mail at our post office box and there I received the very first present of the day. My very dear friends from Oregon sent me a hand-written post card and an Obama button. Interesting enough the card was sent on August 11th, but it was not in the p.o. box last time I checked on the last days of August.

I am going to take this opportunity to let you know why La Antigua Guatemala is Barack Obama’s territory. Regardless of their background or economic status, just about every expat I have spoken to, tells me that for the first time ever, they will make every effort to either go to the U.S. to cast their Obama vote for a positive change for the United States and for the rest of the world. Those who can not travel to U.S. for election time will be able to cast their vote at Doña Luisa Xicotencatl (I believe so).

That’s right, synchronicity is real and not just a The Police song. See, yesterday I posted a photo of Guatemalan Independence Day Bunting I photographed at the doorway entrance of Doña Luisa Xicotencatl. I know there’s a campaign in La Antigua Guatemala to provide voting information for U.S. citizens living in Guatemala through the www.VoteFromAbroad.org web site.

I do hope you guys living in the U.S. and those living abroad get it right this coming election; that would be the best birthday present ever!