Semana Santa

After basking in the glow of our warmed egos, Joe and I were lucky enough to catch the beautiful city of Antigua, Guatemala, in the festivities leading up to its most beloved holiday: Easter, or Holy Week.




Every year, the people of Antigua perform backbreaking, elaborate, mind-blowing ceremonies deeply rooted in tradition. It goes a little something like this: First, people armed with scaffolding, colorfully dyed sawdust, stencils, and flowers decorate the cobblestone streets with vibrant 3D murals. They spend hours hovering over their labors of love, each group contributing their custom design until the streets are filled with color.




While the artists tend to their creations with fine spray bottle mists, commotion brews in the street. Oh, that's right, it's only about 200 men and women lugging around 700-pound reproductions of Jesus and Mary. They take shifts; swinging pails of incense, grunting under their burden, parading all throughout the city from 10am till 10pm. Slowly they trample each sacrificial piece of art, until the street is a ravaged mess of neon sawdust and foliage.






Insane as it seems, I really got caught up in the beauty of this tradition, as each volunteer seemed honored to be suffering under this huge weight. It meant so much more to us than many other commercialized US holidays, to see people putting their hearts and bodies into this symbolic act. That being said, beware your pockets, as Semana Santa is sadly the highest week for little rotten pickpocket hands (so we've heard).





- Rach