¡Hola from Guatemala!
It has been crazy here in Antigua due to Semana Santa (Holy Week)
being last week. It has finally returned to normal life. Guatemalans
start celebrating the death of Christ six weeks before Easter with a
procesión (parade) every Sunday with the climax being Good Friday. Each
of one of these procesións consists of a float or two that depicts a
different scene in the chronological story of the death of Christ, an
orchestra, lots of burning incense, and hundreds of Guatemalan
attendants. The huge floats (some weighing upwards of 7,000 lbs) are
carried through the narrow, cobblestone streets of Antigua by hundred of
Guatemalans. These floats are carried over very artistic and unique
alfombras (carpets) made of pine needles, colored sawdust, fruit, and
other things. Streets are often blocked off for hours with no
alternative route as the procesións slowly make their way through town.
These procesións last for 8 hours or more, often until 2am or even
later. Thousands and thousands of Guatemalans and foreigners flock to
Antigua for Semana Santa every year. Good Friday is the climax of
the celebration with 3 procesións parading through the streets at the
same time, many outdoor activities and dramas, and countless vendors
located in every park and street corner all of which turn Antigua into a
giant maze of blocked off streets.
My friend Cara and I were planning on meeting each other and then
walking to a restaurant to watch the USA vs Guatemala fútbol game with
some friends. The walk between each other's houses usually takes 3-4
minutes but apparently one needs to add an hour of time to get anywhere
on Good Friday night.
Have you seen the movie "Maze Runner"? ... We were stuck in a real life movie
I left my house to get more minutes on my phone at la tienda (the store) down the road and discovered the lines for all of las tiendas on the street were out the doors so I run back to my house weaving through the back to my house to use the WiFi to text Cara that I'm coming. I then realized that the procesión was about to block my dead end street, which would leave me trapped for an unknown length of time, so I take off running & break through the developing crowd. I make it half-way down Cara's street and discovered that another procesión is going through the intersection that I had to go through to get the next 20 feet to her house. I elbow my way through half of the crowd and get trapped. My friend was on the other side of the street and I could not get there. I wanted to start jumping up & down yelling but the orchestra was so loud that it would have useless. I fight back through the crowd and make it back to a store to buy minutes which didn't work because of how many other people who were using the cellphone towers in Antigua. I decided to try to make it to the restaurant meanwhile Cara is now a participant of the procesión breathing in all the incense in an attempt to make it down an open street. She had to fight the crowd all the way to the opposite end of town before being able to head in the direction of the restaurant. I spent another 20 minutes fighting through vendors and tourists at La Merced and then finally make it to Parque Central to fight the crowd there. After attempting to call me 23 times, Cara's call finally went through to tell me that she is at the restaurant but I couldn't even find the restaurant. It took asking several different people before I found someone who could point me in the right direction. When I finally finally saw Cara, I was so hot, sweaty, and out of breath, but I ran and tackled her like I hadn't seen her in months (which drew a crowd out of curiosity because Guatemalans don't run lol). I don't think I have ever been that excited to see someone in my life! The restaurant was packed so my group of friends ended up watching the game at the house of a delightful couple who are students at my school. We had a grand time even through USA lost miserably. So that's my crazy story! I'm so glad that Semana Santa is over!
 |
| una Alfombra made of dyed sawdust |
 |
| un procesión |
Have you seen the movie "Maze Runner"? ... We were stuck in a real life movie
I left my house to get more minutes on my phone at la tienda (the store) down the road and discovered the lines for all of las tiendas on the street were out the doors so I run back to my house weaving through the back to my house to use the WiFi to text Cara that I'm coming. I then realized that the procesión was about to block my dead end street, which would leave me trapped for an unknown length of time, so I take off running & break through the developing crowd. I make it half-way down Cara's street and discovered that another procesión is going through the intersection that I had to go through to get the next 20 feet to her house. I elbow my way through half of the crowd and get trapped. My friend was on the other side of the street and I could not get there. I wanted to start jumping up & down yelling but the orchestra was so loud that it would have useless. I fight back through the crowd and make it back to a store to buy minutes which didn't work because of how many other people who were using the cellphone towers in Antigua. I decided to try to make it to the restaurant meanwhile Cara is now a participant of the procesión breathing in all the incense in an attempt to make it down an open street. She had to fight the crowd all the way to the opposite end of town before being able to head in the direction of the restaurant. I spent another 20 minutes fighting through vendors and tourists at La Merced and then finally make it to Parque Central to fight the crowd there. After attempting to call me 23 times, Cara's call finally went through to tell me that she is at the restaurant but I couldn't even find the restaurant. It took asking several different people before I found someone who could point me in the right direction. When I finally finally saw Cara, I was so hot, sweaty, and out of breath, but I ran and tackled her like I hadn't seen her in months (which drew a crowd out of curiosity because Guatemalans don't run lol). I don't think I have ever been that excited to see someone in my life! The restaurant was packed so my group of friends ended up watching the game at the house of a delightful couple who are students at my school. We had a grand time even through USA lost miserably. So that's my crazy story! I'm so glad that Semana Santa is over!
 |
| Go USA! |
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