Semana Santa

Growing up I am sure we all had our own special ways of celebrating Easter. Personally, I was raised Catholic, which included all the excitement  of Lent, Confession, The Passion, etc. and even for those who were raised similarly I am sure the traditions and celebrations varied slightly or had their own special flavor. Of course, religious or not, this all traditionally came to a climax on Easter Sunday when children all over the US awoke to tear through their homes in search of the coveted Easter Basket left hidden by the lovable and cuddly Easter Bunny. Highlights included Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs and Starburst Jellybeans while (depending where you fall on the Easter candy spectrum) low points always included Peeps and traditionally flavored jelly beans.

Source of my childhood obesity

Anyhow, Semana Santa (Holy Week) has begun here in Guatemala, starting with Palm Sunday. Generally speaking, the same stories/history apply regarding the Catholic teachings, but the flavor down here is certainly different. Whereas the overall culture back at home in the US focuses more on the non-denominational/irreligious aspects of Easter and that cuddly Bunny, the populace here is more united under the religious meaning of the holiday. Personally, I much preferred to focus on the Easter Bunny as a child because my church held a Good Friday Mass complete with a full reenactment of The Passion of the Christ with a large group of mimes donned in all black and white face paint. Let's just say that it gave me a nightmare or two growing up....

   Scary mime

Antigua, where I live, is a hotspot for Holy Week in Guatemala and even around all of Central America. Beginning with Lent local churches begin having processions each Sunday leading up to Easter and as the date nears, the processions and celebrations intensify. With such attractions calling visitors to Antigua the city becomes alive for better and worse. A small town full of one way streets, you can imagine how fun traffic and parking is. Thankfully this gringo moves on foot.

Last night I was able to snap some photos for the Palm Sunday procession that happened at night (so excuse the dark photos).

Cucuruchos

The streets are absolutely filled (the pictures don't quite do it justice) with devoted worshippers in their purple robes called Cucuruchos, not to be confused with a similar sounding word "cucarachas" or cockroaches.

Large floats are made weeks/months in advance for these processions which depict Jesus carrying the cross. Cucuruchos take turns carrying these huge floats throughout the streets, ultimately ending at the main Cathedral. Yeah, that's right - carrying. They go old school here and carry these floats that can weigh up to 7,000 lbs on their shoulders, which I am guessing is no coincidence in regards to its symbolism of Christ bearing the cross. 

Cucuruchos and others flooding the streets

Another tradition here is to create alfombras, or carpets, in the streets for these processions to walk upon. These are decorative spreads in the cobblestone streets of Antigua made from sand, dyed saw dust, pine needles, flowers, fruit, etc. Certainly adds a nice touch to the streets.

Cucuruchos by an alfombra lit by candles

People putting together an alfombra on 5th Avenue

I took some video of the procession passing by, but lamentablamente could not post here because the file was too large/taking too long to upload. I'll have to snap some photos of these impressive floats later this week as there are certain to be more. Let's just hope I don't run across any mimes...