Semana Santa (Holy Week) starts on Palm Sunday and ends on Easter Sunday. Many countries and cultures partake in Holy Week celebrations, but the Semana Santa in Antigua happens to the be the most beautiful, fanatic, and famous of them all.
Here is the gist: everyday there are 1-3 processions that make their way in and around the city. What makes up a procession? There's lots of incense smoke and a funeral banks, and then 70-300 people in purple robes taking turns in carrying an absolutely humongous platform of solid wood on their sholders. The platform has a life-size Jesus figure on top.
Before the procession reaches a street/neighborhood, friends and family get together to decorate the street in front of their homes - they literary carpet the streets with colored saw dust and flowers (and are thus called alfombras = carpets).
Before the procession walks over these beautiful carpets, people come from all over town to admire the work of the neighborhood, and enjoys the mangos, churros, and pina coladas sold on the sidewalks.
It was a really cool week for Mickey and I. One morning we got up at 4am to make sure we caught a glimpse of Antigua's best-known carpets before the procession walked over them at 5am. Here is Mickey, me, and the Transitions dog Yogi at 4:30 that morning (please notice large crowd, and so early!):
The processions that came through our own neighborhood were the most enjoyable. It was during these processions that I realized how many friends we have in Guatemala. The whole week felt so warm, so familiar, even amongst the parking chaos and bloody Jesus figurines. But I must admit...it was pretty powerful to see a life-sized Jesus carried through our streets, and we also witnessed a crucifixion re-enactment. It was the closest I'll get to to 1st century Jerusalem, and I was left impacted and reflective on the significance of my holy week.
Nice post babe! Can't wait for you to get home!
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