We had an uneventful flight on TACA airlines to Guatemala. We were met at the airport by our driver holding a sign with my name. I have been in hundreds of airports and seen those drivers before. We always wondered who it was that used those type of services, somehow assumed they be different people than us.
The traffic in the city was not bad, but the haze and smog sort of hung over Guatemala city. And, the "chicken" buses were spewing their normal amount of soot. So, we were glad that we were heading to Antigua, the ancient capital.
The van ride also went fairly smoothly. We did not have to pass too many check points. When we got into Antigua, the traffic was a bit difficult as there were lots of blocked roads and really only one way around. There was a processional going and the traffic had to stop as they made their way past us.
We arrived at our hotel / hostel San Nicolas which is south of where we have been before in this town and near the Franciscan church. I have fond memories of this church as I really like the ironwork on the gates around it and we enjoyed watching a young priest in full robes play a game of soccer with young people. We wandered around town after a nap and oriented ourselves.
The brochure we were given said that there would be no more processionals, but there was another one in the evening. We admired the purple robed men leading the group, with their robes decorated with their church affiliation and some other designations.
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There were men with their young sons also dressed up in purple. Some toddlers in costume were walking too, but in other cases, the men held their sleeping toddlers in their arms. The processional participants pay to walk in the event.
While we were given a map and supposed starting times for each of the processionals, the map might not indicate the real starting location. If you find the start, they might not leave when they say they will leave. And, as far as the route, well, that might have changed too. There could be multiple processionals going on at the same time in different parts of town. It is a bit confusing, but all in good spirits. We have seen more processionals and been showered with more holy incense than I have been in a lifetime. The churches really like their incense.
The processional typically is lead off by two rows of men, sometimes the men may be dressed as Roman guards.
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There may also be a depiction of a group of saints or angels, sometimes this part is done by smaller floats that can be carried by four people. Sometimes children or other men or women carry banners with the passion week story written on it.
Then, the Christ float is carried down the streets on the shoulders of many men. Our first processional float had 20 men on each side and the band followed behind. The main role of the band was to keep the beat for the float walkers. The men are standing so close together that they have to be in sync with their footsteps. The bearers of the floats have done this for years, sometimes from one generation to the next. Navigating these floats around corners is quite a challenge.
Another photo of the Jesus float on Friday AM.
We didn't realize until later what the tall poles were for: pushing up the various wires (phone, electric) from getting tangled in the float. Some of the float bearers also carry poles that they can rest the float on when they have to stop (sometimes to adjust the images on the float or to change people carrying.)
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The Jesus float is followed by the Mary float and the Mary float is carried by women. The float might be a little smaller, but not a whole lot and requires the same coordination.
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Another photo of the Mary float.
We also wandered around and saw the floats for another processional. They were depictions of the passion week. Each very elaborate. We never really saw those floats go down the streets. The other processional we missed was of a float with a sculpture that has been in 450 annual processionals.
We called it a night early on Thursday. The alarm went off early Good Friday AM. We got up and out into the town again before 6 am for the first processional. We mostly tried to wander around parts of this processional prior to it getting there. People who live on sections of streets may decorate the street with frescoes, called alfombras (more examples) , made of colored sawdust and flowers and pine needles and fruits and vegetables. The work is incredible. They often put down a couple of inches of sawdust as a base on which to work. The pieces are so wide and long that they will use cinder blocks on each side of the display and put planks over the display as a walkway or seat. They often have stencils made from plywood that they lay down on top of the sawdust and then fill in with colored sawdust. Sometimes they use the stencil as a way to outline an area and then fill it in with flower petals and other items.
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Margreta admires the architecture of Antigua, the walls and windows. The houses may have also decorated their windows for the event
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The processional will go over these carpets. Sometimes a resident will salvage the items from a carpet to reuse, they have to grab the items quickly as, after the parade, they are shoveled into the scoop of a tractor and dumped into the back of dump truck and hauled away. And the whole thing starts again for the next processional. Needless to say, we took lots of pictures.
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The robes from Good Friday morning were purple, but the afternoon had changed to black. In one processional, the black hoods they wore looked way to close to the style of the KKK.
As the evening came on, if men had gloves, the gloves were now black too. I counted the number of men to keep a float going, 20 on each side. And, then often behind the float they have a roped in assortment of people, including the people to push the generator that lights up the float at night and the full brass band.
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As the day progressed, we also saw little processionals that might not include both Jesus and Mary. We saw a Mary only processional and a Jesus only one too. It really is a bit hard to imagine the hundreds of men marching in two rows down the streets before the float. I guess that I am grateful that in the churches that have sponsored these events, there doesn´t appear to be a missing generation. So many indigenous men have been lost due to the past civil unrest.
We have seen lots of the indigeneous people here in town too, in their colorful huipals (sp?). We´ve seen lots of children tied to the backs or fronts of their mothers. Turns out that the traditional carrier is just a big square of fabric that gets tied special. We bought one in the market. We figure that we should practice with a sack of potatoes first! We shopped for a few other items as well.
We enjoyed dinner a dinner of liver in a pepper sauce and pepian, a chicken dish in a brown stew broth that has hints of chipotle and other spices. We sat outside for the meal and weren´t bothered by mosquitos or other insects. We shared a joke with a young son who had managed to distract his father and steal his dad´s dessert.
The weather has been very nice, no rain, sometimes a bit overcast, and in the 70´s. The Hostel San Nicolas is pretty much a traditional Spanish style house with an inner garden. Our room is simple with tiled floors and free standing carved wood furniture: a armoire, a desk, a bench, a dresser and a cabinet for the TV, microwave and refrigerator. Those last three things we haven´t had before in Antigua. The ceiling has to be about 15 feet up. We have one wall that has left exposed the bricks and stone from the original building. Our bathroom is clearly a built in later item with a very small space used to put the toilet, sink and shower. We enjoyed coming ¨home¨ to our place in the evening where they have lit candles in the walkway around the garden to give light.
Did I mention the taxi cabs? The primary taxi cabs in the city are these little three wheel jobs that can seat the driver and two passengers. they are probably glorified lawn mowers. But, they can toodle around all over Antigua. We mostly walk everywhere. I don´t remember seeing this many of these cabs before. But, things change. We went to dinner this evening, looking for my favorite little restaurant. They are gone. It has been replaced by a ¨saloon¨ operated by a Dutch guy. This is one dutch takeover that I don´t appreciate!
We saw a few processionals on Saturday, but not as many. Yet, the one that we did see was impressive. The processional included only a few of the floats that depicted the stations of the cross. There was a very ornate silver cross, nearly life size. The float was the Mother Mary and was huge! The float is a full size one, needing 40 people to carry it. In this case, there were 40 women carrying it. You could see them straining under the load of the float. Sometimes, the priest in front had to hoist the float up and let the women regain their posture. The floats have cut outs for the carriers shoulder and really are limited to the number of shoulder spots as far as the number of people you can fit under a float. It was really hard to see them carry the load. The processional was followed by other people, some holding a mixed bouquet of flowers and corn husks, some holding peach roses.
We took a walk up the hill to the cross on the hillside. We had a great view of the city from there.
Easter Sunday we saw a more celebratory processional and the colors had now changed to yellow and white. But, there weren't as many processionals that day as on Good Friday. That afternoon we headed back to Guatemala City.
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