Some of the more intricate and complex designs of alfombras, carpets, can take as long as 12 hours. Such was the case of this carpet with macadamia nuts, placed one by one to form the images. Each image took about 3.5 hours to make. The creators were so proud of their carpet design and lend … Read more
Here’s the short story, this grandmother poses on the other side of a procesional carpet, or alfombra in Spanish. A relative is taking a couple of snapshots. The photo walk group I am leading and I decide to also make some portraits of her. A cucurucho decides to photo bomb as he walks toward the … Read more
The Palm Sunday procession kicks off the Holy Week 2017. The Jesús Nazareno “La Reseña” and Santísima Virgen de Dolores procession leaves iglesia La Merced at 11am and comes back 12 hours later after having serpentined through the streets of Antigua Guatemala. By the way, I framed the procession of Virgen de Dolores inside a … Read more
We wave good-bye to Semana Santa 2016 with the most emblematic image found during the Holy Week: The Selfie. As every year, I always like to share with you my impressions about the bad and ugly of the Holy Week. That’s right folks, this year more than others, selfies are the most common seen vista … Read more
The Holy Week is almost over. I have a few dozen photographs such as this one in my archives now. Tomorrow, Domingo de Resurrección or Domingo de Pascua [Easter Sunday], the last procession will come out. I will try to cover it in more intimate manner, to create a cozy atmosphere. Stay tuned for the … Read more
Good Friday, good vibes. That’s how I can summarize the sensations most people feel while spending a few hours during the Good Friday in Antigua Guatemala. Everything that came before it was a preparation for Good Friday. Starting on Easter Monday we begin the process again to be ready for Good Friday 2017. Here I … Read more
Today was a good day, well make it a Good Thursday since we are in the Holy Week. A day full of photo walks, lunch with good friends from Florida and then privileged access to the second floor of Palacio del Ayuntamiento, or Muni as we shorten it in Guatemala. Once again I had the … Read more
I always wondered where do Roman soldiers and cucuruchos [coneheads] refuel for the tremendous amount of energy required to do a full procession. Well, the mystery is solved. Whenever they can, they stop by a tiendita to buy tortrix and pop sodas. I imagine that if they can find panes con chille relleno or frijoles, … Read more
On Good Monday, from the finca “La Chacra” comes out the procession of Jesús Nazareno del Santo Viacrucis. This is a small procession, thus, it can go in and out of alley ways and streets that normally don’t see a procession. For these photographs, I am experimenting with long exposure times to see at what … Read more
Here’s the exit of La Reseña procession from Iglesia de La Merced in Antigua Guatemala. On Palm Sunday one of the most important processions leads its way for many hours through the streets of Antigua Guatemala. This procession is known as “La Reseña” of “The Revue” as it’s an overview of the life of Jesus … Read more
So, finally we have arrived at Domingo de Ramos, Palm Sunday. Even though I have shared a few photographs and posts during Lent, I have try to share slices of daily life that for the most part don’t include Lenten imagery because there’s an over abundance of this kind photos flowing through the social media … Read more
Here’s one last picture from the Semana Santa. In this case, I got really close to a cucurucho, a teenager really, to capture his look. Guess how close I was to him when I made this picture?
The Holy Week Is Officially Over! Yes, it’s official, the Semana Santa is over. Now, it is time to ponder over the good, the bad and the ugly of the Holy Week in Antigua Guatemala. The Good It is incredible how much good energy one can feel from so many people having an awesome time. … Read more
I don’t know how it happened, but nowadays many cucuruchos, the cone head float carriers, are also carrying cameras to photograph the processions within. I guess there are no regulations within the brotherhoods yet because some cucuruchos even brought along monopods and selfie sticks to get even higher shots. Some even bring speed lights or … Read more
Here’s your Spanish word of the day: Cucurucho or cone head. Every so often cucuruchos need to refuel so they continue to carry the heavy floats of the Holy Week. Often they refuel with the street food vendors, but sometimes they need the extra kick, so they visit the coffee shops. What kind of coffee … Read more