Procession

Antigua Lent Processions: Jesús de Santa Catalina Bobadilla

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2011 Jesús de Santa Catalina Bobadilla Procession by Leonel -Nelo- Mijangos

First thing first, my dear friend Nelo informs me that on the first Wednesday of the Lent period, also known as Ash Wednesday, the first velación (wake ceremony I believe is the translation for it; correct me if I’m wrong) is organized for the following Saturday at Santa Catalina Bobadilla, which is ALWAYS the first … Read more

Holy Week Generations

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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 … Read more

Girls Procession

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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 … Read more

Lent’s First Sunday Procession

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Lent's First Sunday Procession

Sunday was such a great day in La Antigua Guatemala; nice weather conditions and a wonderful atmosphere all around town with people enjoying the processions. The Holy Week aromas could be smelled everywhere. Music, balloons, chupetes, clowns, cucuruchos, town fair food; what a cornucopia for the senses.

If you don’t already have your plane ticket, I suggest you buy now, life is too short to miss Semana Santa in La Antigua Guatemala. 😉

Portfolio Aside: Some of the photos that you see here everyday were turned into high-quality large-format prints to add colorful imagery to the walls of Máximo Nivel Spanish School in La Antigua Guatemala. If you’re interested in getting large format prints from my photographs to add color to your walls or as gifts, please, get in touch with me. Of course, you can also purchase 8″x10″ and 11″x14″ high quality prints from the Buy photos page. If you want to keep up with all the places where the AntiguaDailyPhoto images show up, check the Portfolio page regularly.

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The Procession Season Is Officially Open

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The Procession Season Is Officially Open

This entry should be called “ephemerides updates” because there several events that happened this week. On Tuesday, kids everywhere celebrated carnaval, carnival, by breaking cascarones on the heads of their peers. Next, on Wednesday, the beginning of Cuaresma, Lent, was marked by the celebration of Ash Wednesday; there were many people with an ash cross painted on their foreheads. On the very same Wednesday, there were velaciones (please help translate this word) ceremonies. Of course, with the Lent season also comes the procession season. There were small processions during the weekdays and the usual large processions on the weekend. Needless to say, it was a very busy week in La Antigua Guatemala.

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Holy Week: The Float’s Pilot

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Interestingly enough, Erick was commenting yesterday how impressive was to see the massive float make a U-turn as he was watching the 5-minute video of the following of a Semana Santa procession. Well, I said interesting enough because I had planned to publish a photo of the huge float’s pilot, the cucurucho you see wearing … Read more

Holy Week Precessional Music

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The Holy Week in Guatemala is a full five senses overwhelming experience. As you follow the processions all five senses are bombarded with maximum stimuli and you are carried into a mystical experience. It is so difficult to convey these feelings when I am only presenting you with static photographs. But you are going to … Read more

Underneath a Holy Week Float in La Antigua Guatemala

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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! 😉

Small Procession in San Pedro Las Huertas

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Processions are majestic, huge and long in La Antigua Guatemala. You can browse the Processions category to get an idea of the size of the processions in La Antigua Guatemala. There are smaller and more humble processions in the villages and small communities surrounding La Antigua Guatemala. This year, I will try to focus more in the Holy Week celebrations and processions in the villages where you can still observe the fervor, regardless of the size, for all these Catholic rituals. The photo above was taken in the village of San Pedro Las Huertas, while the procession made a pit stop or parada as they are known in Spanish. Well, I think that is the name, maybe somebody more knowledgeable in Catholic rituals can provide the actual name for the stops the processions make every so often at specific spots.

Processional Musicians Play Sorrowful Tunes

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One characteristic which I enjoy about processions is the sorrowful tunes that are played by the mournful marching bands that follow the floats. Come back tomorrow to hear a sample piece; in the mean time I can only advance to you that they sound like the Godfather Soundtrack. Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua … Read more