Semana Santa

Antigua, Guatemala hosts the largest Holy Week celebrations in the entire world. In. The. Entire. World.

Since the beginning of Lent, our little city of 25,000 inhabitants has exploded. Every week there are processionals, activities, vendors, activities, the list goes on. Last Sunday was probably the busiest we’ve seen the city with 150,000 reported visitors. Our seatbelts are securely fastened because the real events of Holy Week start today on Palm Sunday.

Each week leading up to Holy Week and Easter, you will find multiple processions. As far as I’ve observed, the processionals have a simple four-step process:

1) Close off the streets
2) Decorate the streets with “carpets.” This is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. People create large carpets on the cobblestone roads with all natural ingredients. This includes colored sawdust, flowers, plants, vegetables, and fruit. Each carpet is unique and amazing.
3) Start the processional. Men dressed in purple robes carry large floats with statues of Jesus and/or Mary atop and process over the carpets. Bands play. People march.
4) Buy stuff. Vendors follow behind and the party continues. People buy food, toys, memorabilia, balloons, and then in the beautiful Latin way I love and admire, they simply hang out.

Recently we had the opportunity to participate hands-on. My good friend Tina lives on a main street in town and her apartment building annually joins in the festivities by creating a carpet.

The children did the work (almost) entirely on their own on Día de Los Niños, in which the children carry the floats and march in the procession. Look at the pictures below and I’ll walk you through the process.

First, you have to dye the sawdust and collect the flowers or other natural material you are going to use. We did this the Saturday before the procession. This is the one part the adults helped most. This is also the one part Ruth helped least. :) On the day of the procession, the kids decorated the street with their sawdust and flowers...all by themselves! Below, the kids are showing off their finished product. Didn't they do a great job?? The two other children are Elizabeth (Tina's daughter) and their friend from school, Andrew.

After all the hard work, you have to get a good seat for the parade! Ruthie is ready for the show.

And then the procession begins!

Check out the video for the full effect! Remember that it was Dia del Nino, so all those purple robes you see carrying the float are children!