Here’s your Guatemalan Spanish word of the day: Barrilete for kite. Normally the kite season is the same as the dry season, with strong winds blowing November through January. Well, it looks like it’s dry season already as the kites have shown up at the mercado, La Bodegona, tiendas and even upholstery shops, as shown … Read more
At the end of the rainy season one begins to see this tissue paper kites being sold in tienditas, small town convenience stores, the mercado (market) or even on the streets. If you don’t know the symbolism of the kites around DÃa de Muertos, go search the archives. 😉 #GUATEGRAMS photo exhibit in NYC aside: … Read more
November 1 is one of the most important dates in Guatemala. On November 1 Guatemalans go to the cemeteries to remember and honor their dead. Interesting enough by going to the cemeteries to engage with the departed ones, Guatemalans forge stronger relationships with the living ones and transmit the importance of remembering and honouring their … Read more
So, here’s a typical Guatemalan kite shop found in most villages. The kites are sold for Q1, Q2, Q5 and Q10 for the largest one. On the left corner you can see the straw shoots that are used as skeleton for the kites. Many kids still make their own kites.
The kite season is upon us already so it comes as no surprise to see Guatemalan kites being used as decorations. Through October and November you can find many businesses using Guatemalan kites as decoration. Kites are very important in Guatemala since they are much more than simple toys. Kites are messengers in the wind. … Read more
I remember that when I was a kid my friends and I made these kind of kites from scratch; barriletes we call them here. Kids nowadays have it easy, just buy them, but they don’t know that half of the fun was building your own since you have to take a field trip with your … Read more
Through October and November you can find many businesses using Guatemalan kites as decoration. Last year I showed you some colorful giant kites hanging from the ceiling at a local restaurant. This time I took a shot of the kites hanging above the entrance of another popular restaurant in La Antigua Guatemala. Kites are very … Read more
Since the rainy season abruptly ended at the end of September, the cold winds from the north moved in within the first week of October thus allowing Guatemala’s kite season to begin almost an entire month earlier than normal. Below, you can watch a short video clip which shows a kite day outside a local … Read more
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 … Read more
Soon enough the electric wires become adorned with kites, lots of kites. See kite flying and the Guatemalan electric wire webs just don’t get along. One serves as trap for the other.
Cross-culturization is happening so fast that Guatemala may seemed foreign to those Guatemalans who have lived a few years outside its borders. Walt Disney figures and just about any comic hero like Spiderman, Superman, Wolverine, et-cetera are being absorbed by the popular culture and mixed with their own traditional icons like kites and parades for town fairs. But this cross-culturization is happening at all levels and not only with U.S. trivial merchandise, but with Mexican culture, music, food, novelas (soap operas), et-cetera. For instance, a few year back, I took a photograph of menu board in Panajachel, Lake Atitlán, which advertised the Desayuno ChapÃÂn (Guatemalan breakfast) with eggs a la Mexican style
The Guatemalan word for kite is barrilete. Papalote is the most often heard word in Spanish for kite, but in Guatemala barrilete is what people use. The kites on sale at this convenience store or tienda are Q2/$.25. The kite that the little boy was holding yesterday was bought from this store.