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Slowly, but surely the love, devotion and passion for the world famous Holy Week in Antigua Guatemala are being passed on to the new generations. I am glad to know that there will be Semana Santa in La Antigua Guatemala for another 500 years.

I believe that Semana Santa is so much more than a yearly religious commemoration; in Antigua Guatemala Semana Santa is also a cultural and artistic manifestation. What do you think?

At 3:30 in the morning and by the light of the full moon as the rooster crowed a couple times, my husband and I threw on our sweaters and jeans, stumbled out into the quiet streets of El Calvario and into our car. We knew we were taking a chance by driving into La Antigua Guatemala on Viernes Santo, Good Friday, we might even have to walk home, but not knowing what to expect our car was our life raft. We were, however, determined to catch a glimpse of the Romans in their full armor and horses at the entrance to the city and retrace Jesus’ march along the Way of the Cross and through the Twelve Stations. It was Holy Friday, Black Friday, Great Friday and as we drove past Río Pensativo, with a few random shadows ducking into side streets, we had our doubts about whether we’d see even one Guatemalan upright and sober, much less dressed as a Roman. I thought about stopping and asking the next person, “¿Disculpeme, pero dónde están los romanos?” “Excuse me, but where are the Romans?” In our sleep deprivation—unlike other more knowing souls, we had only taken a 30 minute power nap—we just pushed ahead like late nights in San Francisco when we’d go searching for a rave or warehouse party in the most unlikely of urban places. We were not prepared for the full–scale production we were about to witness.

We turned left into Antigua Guatemala and the city was all ours with not a single car or bus cruising in from Guatemala City only to be funneled into cobble-stone streets and a bee-line string of cars into the heart of the crowded town. It’d been like that the entire week and so we’d become embedded on the other side of town, sequestered really, until this morning when space to drive was like fresh air. We drove north towards La Merced Church and as we approached, the cars began to pile up on the side of the south side of the streets [video], parked in random directions with crowds poring in from La Calle del Arco to the food stalls which had now become permanant fixtures right next to La Merced. They brimmed with churros, chuchitos, quesadillas, fried platanos, ponche, coffee, big rafts of thick smoke broken by lights that illuminated the crowds sauntering towards the entrance of the Church, the purple-caped men carrying sharp spears in one hand and a tamale in the other, the tents pitched between the stalls and the church, and the alfombras, colorful, intricate and immense.

The car pushed us ahead towards Alameda Santa Lucía, one of the main streets of La Antigua that leads you south into Ciudad Vieja and Escuintla, and on most days reminds you of a miniature version of rush hour on the Santa Monica Freeway or the San Francisco Bay Bridge if you were sharing the street with zigzagging pedestrians, stray dogs, tuk-tuks, cyclicts, motorcyles, venders, looming buses and broken down cars. But today it was silence, with the crouching bodies of people, young and old, laying down their alfombras by the light of one lightbulb and together creating a path that lit the entire street as far as the eye could see. We parked along this street and began our walk towards the church, staring in awe at one alfombra after the next [video], some long and sprawling for blocks, some depicting entire scenes of Jesus Christ, while others were laden with melons, mangos, split open papayas, egg shells, candles, fluttering butterflies, architectural buttresses, straw crosses.

My mouth agape as I stood by the First Station of the Cross where Jesus Is Condemned To Death by Pontius Pilate I heard hooves and galloping and turned towards La Merced to see the Romans on their white horses riding into town [video] with their full armor and swords. “The Romans are here, look,” I told Brad, my husband, and we got out of the way for the dark, short Romans on their white steeds. As so it was the beginning of the procession which was scheduled to leave La Merced Church at 5 a.m. much to the anticipation of the bodies piled up with their hot coffees and banana bread by the entrance of the church. Thinking ahead, Brad took a place at the front of the gathering crowd at the first bend of the procession. I went towards the church, crawling underneath Romans, food stalls, legs, and ladders to see the beginning of the procession.

On my tip-toes, I saw the bus-long float carrying a red-robed Christ and his wooden cross surrounded by dozens of orchids and flowers [video] hoisted on the shoulders of at least a hundred purple-clothed men. There was clouds of incense and the prayers by the priests were almost sung in rhythm. I could not make the words out, but I knew the journey well, I’d grown up with it as a Catholic. We were embarking upon The Passion of Christ—all the events and suffering of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion. We had been preparing for it the entire duration of Lent and now we had arrived and were faced with, albeit in an allegorical sense, the suffering of one human being. I turned back to be with Brad for the First Station and to see how far we could make it along the all-day march. We were surrounded by thousands witnessing the procession and as it made its way towards Alameda Santa Lucía, we marched with it, flanked on our left by believers paying their respect, making the cross along their forehead and across their chests. Small candles were lit one by one and then the dark pierced their multitude like pearls or fireflies along the path. We all moved as one unit as the procession made it past The First and then the Second Station, and by the third station Brad sat by the curb of the road by Alameda Santa Lucía and said, “I had no idea.”

Neither did I, I thought to myself as we drove home to the blue light of dusk over the volcanoes. I remember as a child we would go to the beach during Semana Santa (my family are coastal people after all) and then when we moved to Guatemala City. There is where I remember standing next to my grandmother, surrounded by people crying as they held small candles when this looming figure of Christ passed. That figure instilled me fear and awe. It created a narrative in my mind. Standing there my grandmother taught me to make the cross with her and to remember how one person’s suffering can impact so many of us. Even today, she reminded me, we remember together. It’s a lesson that transcends Catholicism and which I’ve taken with me into my Buddhism—how we have to be mindful of how we help to reduce suffering in the world, not perpetuate it.

Additional Links:

• Viernes Santo Flickr Slideshow
• Jueves Santos Photos Slideshow
• An Easter Slap-down in Lago Atitlán
• Associated Press’ Holy Week in Guatemala Photos

text by Kara Andrade and photo by Brad Eller

Kara Andrade is a multimedia producer and photojournalist, She is a Fulbright fellow based out of Guatemala where she is implementing a citizen journalism Web site called www.hablaguate.com

The making of sawdust carpets, alfombras de aserrín, with its vivid colors and eye-catching patterns are among the most prominent elements of the Holy Week celebrations.

The making of carpets from sawdust, pine-needles, flowers, vegetables is a community-forming tradition. People get together by block or near-by neighbors to create the carpets on which the processions will pass by. Sometimes the making of the carpets is done at night, all night so they are ready for next day’s procession. The colorful processional carpet elaboration process involves the whole family, close friends, the neighborhood and the entire community. It does not matter if it’s just grandma throwing some corozo (corozo palms) and dried purple flowers to elaborate a humble alfombra in front of her home or it is a team of members of the cuadra (the block), or if a son lends a hand to a dad to put the final touches on the brightly-colored sawdust carpet, the devotion and the do-good spirit are present everywhere you look. This is the week of the year when Guatemalans stand as one people!

Also, since Gringos are now an integral part of La Antigua Guatemala and therefore many of them participate of the preparations of the world famous alfombras de Semana Santa (Holy Week carpets) made from colorful sawdust, flowers, fruits, and anything the imagination allows.

Like many firsts of the month, AntiguaDailyPhoto is participating in the theme day of the City Daily Photo community around the world. To see how others in the City Daily Photo community have interpreted today’s theme please click here to view thumbnails for all participants around the planet.

P.S. in 30 days AntiguaDailyPhoto will be four years old. What should we do? My first thought is that’s enough… I should go on and do something else.

You think Antigua Guatemala is just processions for the Semana Santa? Wrong. There is more… there are also plays, like this one. This play was being performed parallel to the procession of La Merced this past Sunday.

Can you tell what’s the play all about?

text and photos by Arturo Godoy. Check out Arturo’s portfolio to purchase photos from his massive photographic bank.

Okay, we have a new dialogue game. Those of you who have followed AntiguaDailyPhoto for a while know the rules. This simple image will allow us to play a creative game. Taking the two men as our characters we will write up one of many conceivable dialogues as the interaction between them. To get ideas or inspiration check out these previous entries: Arch-framed Women in Jocotenango and Opposite ends of life #2. The best dialogue will receive this photo as 4″x6″ post card.

Good luck to all the participants!

I confess that you have to click on the image above to understand the title. I confess I have never in my life seen so many cucuruchos together. I confess I never been surrounded by so many violet or purple robes. I confess that I should have waited another 10 minutes to take photographs of the thousands of cucuruchos. I confess…

As Semana Santa, the Holy Week before Easter, approaches, the historic colonial town of Antigua sees almost daily processions. These processions include music, colors. . . and most importantly floats. . . that don’t really float, but are heavy wooden depictions of the life of Christ. Because of how heavy these floats are, they often need to be carried by more than 60 men, women and/or children. The processions wind themselves through the cobblestone streets. And people pay for the honor to carry them.

One quirk to the payment, is that according to my friend Nelo, each person pays Q60 per turn. Each procession includes on average 60 turns and each float needs 80-100 carriers. So this adds up fast, about Q290,000 (US$38,000) per procession. So where does all this money go?

Almost one third goes to the band. I heard that the San Felipe Church processional Band charges Q150,000 (close to US$20,000) per procession and La Merced Church processional band about Q125,000. I imagine some of the money goes to the church who lends the saint figures for the processions. Some money goes to the organization, the creation of the scenes above the floats which are never the same and lastly for maintenance.

Literary Introspection Aside: Much of what I am today and the decisions I made that took me to La Antigua Guatemala were inspired or influenced in part by Milan Kundera’s writings. Through the reading of several of Milan Kundera‘s novels, especially Life is Elsewhere, Laughable Loves, The Farewell Party, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Immortality and Identity, I begun to question myself about life, lifestyles and what I wanted out of the day. Life is a jigsaw puzzle made up from moments (days) and where and with whom you spend those moments shapes the picture you see at the end. Honestly, I do not know if it is better to live in the ‘first world’ with a first-world salary, first-world commodities and such or to live here in the south or third world with all the complications and dangers that decision entails. I don’t know about the first/third world euphemisms either. However, I do know that a different life or lifestyle is possible outside the safety net. There are other ways to be human and to experience unusual traditions and celebrations. There is a huge difference between Spring Break, Easter, Holy Week and Semana Santa as we live it in La Antigua Guatemala for sure. To each its own. For the moment, I’m just happy to be able to take ordinary snapshots from my daily comings-and-goings and to be able to share them with YOU! I hope you enjoy them too!?

The unmistakable thumping that accompanies the processions comes from percussionists beating huge drums with this hummer-like sticks. Do you know the name of the big drums and the piece that serves to bang them?

I can bring to you the colors, the imagery, the sounds and even video clips, but I can’t transmit or transfer you the smells and aromas of the Holy Week. The pungent scents of corozo palms and copal insence you will have to imagine them. Let’s hope that today’s photo can trigger or precipitate forth the buried memories in your unconsciousness; please, let us know if you can smell the incense; can you taste it too?

Transference: the action of transferring something or the process of being transferred.

With these processions not only the heavy floats are being transferred, but also the culture and the religious fervor. If we delve into the realms of the psychoanalysis, we could talk about transference neurosis; however that’s way too deep and complex for a simple image portraying a row of little girls carrying a Holy Week float. Let’s enjoy the Cuaresma vista instead.

The Cuaresma and Semana Santa season comes with its own set of garments; from the Romans to the Cucuruchos to the Dolorosas (or whatever the name is for the women carrying floats). Here I was lucky to capture the portrait of little devotee accompanying the girls procession. Come back tomorrow if you want to see a procession of little girls.

I have honestly tried not put as many Cuaresma/Lent and Semana Santa/Holy Week photos here. I could, in theory, have a Lent/Holy Week photo each day since Ash Wednesday, but this is not a religious website: it is rather a blogumentary of La Antigua Guatemala and as such I try to cover all aspects of what is like to live in one of the most enchanting towns of the world. However, sometimes it’s impossible not to publish photos like today’s. Talk about the idiosyncrasy of Guatemalans, have you ever seen a more convincing set of Roman soldiers in your life?

This is the third year I share with you a photo of the broom-head Roman soldiers. Click the two link to Roman soldiers to see the previous images. This is what I wrote last year about the Roman soldiers of Guatemala:

So, I come out of the closet now and tell you I really find delightful the excessive garishness of the costumes of Guatemalan Roman soldiers, the clothes of the Holy Week figures, the golden-painted floats, in short, everything about the Holy Week celebrations in the villages and municipalities around La Antigua Guatemala. You may have to click on the photo above to see the fine or kitschy details of the Guatemalan-Roman soldier costumes.

Now guys, if given the opportunity, would you find an exhilarating experience to go out in public wearing a broom-head helmet, a bright-red cloak and a kitschy-looking Roman costume, wouldn’t you? Come on, live a little!

Oh yes, I had also forgotten to mention the superabundant crowds that you will find in La Antigua Guatemala during the Holy Week.

The normal peaceful and tranquil ambience of Antigua Guatemala completely disappears during the Semana Santa and instead, a noisy, crowded, chaotic, and stressful atmosphere can be perceived.

The crowds arrive from all over the world and somehow everyone finds lodging; although some make their reservation at least one year in advance. Keep that in mind if you want to come next year for the Holy Week; make your reservations right now.

Well, with these set of photos of people, we wave goodbye to the Semana Santa 2009 in La Antigua Guatemala. I do hope you have enjoyed the photos of the Holy Week as much as I have enjoyed taking them.

Tomorrow, we will board a time tunnel ride in La Antigua Guatemala; please make sure you have your pasaje en mano.

It doesn’t matter if the processions in the villages and communities around La Antigua Guatemala are more authentic, more kitsch and with less finances behind them; at least once in your lifetime you must come to Antigua Guatemala to see the massive and numerous processions during the Holy Week or Semana Santa as it’s known in Spanish.

The processions in Antigua Guatemala are just breath-taking, awe and faith inspiring, and a must-see show. The processions in La Antigua Guatemala are so monumental and long that they are unique and I don’t believer there is another place in the entire world where the processions are as colossal as in Antigua Guatemala, do you? Well, perhaps, in Guatemala City (copycats).

By the way, in the picture above we are only seeing the main segment of a procession which seemed to be about 8 blocks long.

click, click, click, click click click, clicks, click.

See, if it does NOT matter how much effort I put into documenting the Holy Week in La Antigua Guatemala for you, I always miss something important. Can you believe this the third year I am covering the Semana Santa in Antigua Guatemala and I have not mentioned once that among the millions of people, quite possibly, half of them are photographers or carrying a camera.

Well, just now it occurred to me, I should at least show you a couple of shots with photographers and their vantage points.

Now, who can tell me where were these photos taken? I will send you via regualr mail a 4×6 post card photograph taken from this vantage point if you can tell me the name of the place. Local residents are not allow to participate.