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Holy Week Elements: Dolorosas

With this picture of the dolorosas or hermanas cargadoras, the women who carry the smaller floats of the Virgin Mary or other …

Holy Week Elements: Alfombras

The processional carpets are among the most creative and colorful elements of the Holy Week in La Antigua Guatemala. In this case, …

Holy Week Elements: Timonel

Here’s your Holy Week Spanish word for the day: Timonel The timonel is the person at the front of the processional float …

Holy Week Elements: Cucuruchos

Purple or violet is the color of Lent and the Holy Week. Cucuruchos, bearers, wear their cone-head purple robes as a sign …

Holy Week Elements: Tren de Aseo

As I walked the streets of the Antigua Guatemala villages I noticed the neighbours sweeping aways the carpets from Palm Sunday since …

Holy Week Elements: The Churches

Churches serve as terminals from which processions depart or arrive. Churches also serve as home-base for all the brotherhoods of cucuruchos and sisterhoods. Churches also put their best face for the Holy Week and many get a paint job and/or restoration works in the weeks prior to Semana Santa.

With this photo we wave goodbye to Semana Santa and to Holy Week’s processions. I was told the last procession, the Resurrection (Resurección) procession comes out on Easter Sunday (today) a 6 a.m. and its back in the church by 10 in the morning.

Holy Week Elements: The Sorrowful Mother

La Dolorosa or The Sorrowful Mother is the biblical figure of sorrowful mother Mary which follows Jesus in his way to his crucifixion. This act is represented by a smaller anda (long carved wooden flatbed image-carrying float [*]) —carrying the effigy of sorrowful Mother Mary and other female biblical representations— which is hauled exclusively by women who mostly dress in black or white as this is the appropriate dress code for a funeral. Jesus’ funeral.

Holy Week Elements: The Cross

Nevertheless, Good Friday is the culmination of the Holy Week Celebrations and the processions end at the Calvario Church (Calvario is the Spanish word for Calvary or Golgotha). The entrance of the Calvario Church in La Antigua Guatemala is a yellow façade with three arches, topped by three bells and three crosses —one larger than the other two— with a very large concrete cross in front. Can you see the obvious architectonic reference to Jesus’ crucifixion?

Holy Week Elements: Cucuruchos

Cucuruchos with their purple or violet cone-head dress are another prominent element of Semana Santa in Antigua Guatemala. Last week, Santiago Durham asked what its the significance of the color purple or violet in the dress and banners during Semana Santa, well it took a lot of digging to find out (I turned around and asked my office coworker), but I can now tell you the purple is worn as a sign of penitence. As a matter of fact, processions are a sign of penitence as well, heck the whole Semana Santa is a penitent act.

Holy Week Elements: The Making of the Carpets

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.

Holy Week Elements: Sawdust Carpets

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. You can come back all this week to see other samples of carpets made with flowers and fruits and vegetables.

Antigua Holy Week Imagery by Leonel -Nelo- Mijangos

Antigua Holy Week Imagery

Do not underestimate the power of catholic imagery. You see, the world-famous Antigua Guatemala processions are about showing the devoted images as a reminder and representation of the crucifixion of Jesus.

Also, today all Stations of the Cross altars will be open and many if not all procession will pay a visit to El Calvario Church, which is located on the southern outskirts of La Antigua Guatemala. El Calvario or Calvary (Golgotha) is the name of the mount on the outskirts of Jerusalem where it’s believe Jesus Christ was crucified. This church with its three arches provides a symbolic representation of the crucifixion; with each arch representing each cross.

Antigua Holy Week Carpets by Leonel -Nelo- Mijangos

Antigua Holy Week Carpets

The processional carpets are among the most creative and colorful elements of the Holy Week in La Antigua Guatemala. As I’ve mentioned …

The Holy Week Photographers by Leonel -Nelo- Mijangos

The Holy Week Photographers

Okay, the 365-day wait is over. The world-famous Holy Week in La Antigua Guatemala is here. Get your cameras ready and join …

Holy Week: An Equal Opportunity Celebration

That is right, Semana Santa in Guatemala is an equal opportunity celebration. Sure, cucuruchos take the majority of the clicks of cameras and most of the video recorded, but children, women and dogs have a place in the Holy Week celebrations. Women’s float or andas are a bit smaller and carry virgins or angels most of the time.

Underneath a Holy Week Float in La Antigua Guatemala

So much mumble jumble to present the underneath view of a Holy Week float in one of the villages of La Antigua Guatemala. Andas (floats) are not only the affair of cucuruchos, women also participate; and sometimes even chuchos (street dogs) get involved in the penitent act of carrying the heavy float! 😉

The Shoe-shine Transaction © Rudy Giron

The Shoe-shine Transaction

Here’s one of my tips from the street photography walks: Anticipate your photos. In other words, visualize your picture before it becomes …

Lenten Vistas — Purple Banners

Another typical vista during Lent is the purple banners and bands that adorn many houses and business doorways and windows. Palacio de …

Saving Guatemalan Souls

If you pay attention to the number of missionaries in Guatemala you can only conclude that Guatemalan souls are in danger. Guatemalans …

Theme Day: Red

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

Cucurucho Paying for His Turns at the Float

Each turn of the Holy Week Float costs around Q60 (around US$8), there are around 60 turns and each float has somewhere between 80 and 100 spaces for the Cucuruchos. That’s close to Q290,000 (US$38,000) per procession.

Making Palm Sunday Arrangements

Today’s Palm Sunday or Domingo de Ramos as today’s known in the Catholic Realm. Last year, Domingo de Ramos fell on April …