Alfombras

Well today is actually Easter, which I'm sure all of you already know, so that means I am a bit behind on the blogging front! Se la vie...
Another huge aspect of the week are the beautiful alfombras or carpets that are made all through-out the week. There are two type of carpets made during Semana Santa. The first are carpets in the churches that are made for the holy vigils and are made by the brotherhoods.
The carpets are made in front of the religious figure on display and are surrounded by fruits, vegetables and candles brought as offerings to the church the day before.

So much food going to waste - eek!

Jesus cake and lizard bread

The second type of carpets are along the processional routes in the streets. These carpets are made by residents or businesses and express both religious as well as contemporary messages in the designs.  Preparations for the carpets begin weeks, sometimes months, ahead. Sand or sawdust is generally used to level the cobblestone roadway.  Sawdust is then collected and dyed in different colors.  Favorite colors are purple, green, blue, red, yellow and black.  Flowers such as bougainvillea, chrysanthemums, carnations, roses and other native plants and pine needles are also used.
Carpets are started the day before the procession and the construction is timed so that the carpets are finished just before the carriers of the float arrive so that carpet looks its best.
The carriers of the main float are the first ones allowed to walk over the carpet.  They are followed the rest of the procession. These are a few of my favorites that we have seen this week:

yes those are bank pens, free advertisement!

bottle tops, cheetos, and tea bags. por que no?

toilet paper rolls and mayan worry dolls

no quite as pretty after the procession

So that is Semana Santa in a very small nutshell. We had a great time this week hanging out with friends in Antigua and soaking up the cultural experience. God had truly blessed us with an amazing community here in Guatemala and we are already getting sad to leave them in only 2.5 months :( On a happier note we are excited for tomorrow when we will be adding to our awesome community by welcoming the new Mano Con Mano missionaries, Gerry and Barbara to Guatemala! Stay tuned for more on that front...

Happy Easter and He is Risen!

Semana Santa

Buena Pascua! All this week Gregg and I have been in Antigua to join in the out of control celebration that is Semana Santa or Holy week. These Guatemaltecos sure do know how to party - well the Catholic ones at least. 

Antigua is famous for its Catholic celebration of Holy Week, which commemorates the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The entire city participates in the event, and thousands of national and international visitors flock to Antigua to witness the dramatic happenings. The main events are the daily (sometimes twice or thrice daily) processions that depict Jesus and Mary in the events that led up to his crucifixion. Processions generally begin with incense carriers and the brotherhood's banner, followed by the carriers and the float. The floats can weigh as much as 7,000 pounds! Carriers will carry the float for a block and then a new group will take their turn. A block behind the main float, the women carry a smaller float with the figure of the Virgin Mary. Following behind is a funeral march band. There is even one day of children's processions. 

Semana Santa: brought to you by Pepsi

Although there are a lot of beautiful aspects of this week, at the heart of the celebrations is the Catholic sacrament of 'penance'. Believers actually have to pay for the privilege of carrying one of the Jesus floats. It's considered to be a special form of penance, that wipes away their actions of the previous year and lets the person start the coming year with a zero balance in the sin department. When you learn that, the whole event becomes a little less appealing. Especially when you see the poor little niños struggling under the weight of the floats. One article I read said that the weight will feel lighter or heavier to each person, depending on how much one sinned during the past year. Gracias a Dios that we know we have been saved by grace and not works!

Vamos a Belize!

Tomorrow we will be heading here...

To meet these lovely folks...

We're pretty excited :) Except for the fact that our shuttle to the airport leaves at 3:30AM tomorrow. Oh well, vale la pena (its worth it). Hope everyone has a fun and safe New Years Eve - especially those going to the annual Eastvold extravaganza - we'll miss you guys :(
See y'all next year!

Kite Runner, Guatemalan style

Dia de los Muertos in Guatemala is quite a bit different than the Mexican version we usually hear about in the states. 

 Here the main aspect of the celebration happens in an actual graveyard (which I suppose is more appropriate considering its called the Day of the Dead). Though it might sound morbid, the festival is actually a colorful and very entertaining celebration in which locals build extravagant kites (barriletes) and fly them in their local cemetery. The kites usually have messages or picutres on them to serve as a symbolic link between the living and the dead. There are kites of all shapes and sizes ranging from the normal kids ones you see in the states to 50ft monsters that are propped up on huge bamboo poles. The most popular however are about 12 ft and usually have multiple flags from around the world on them to symbolize relatives who moved away and died in another country. Needless to say it was impressive. Except when one of the 12 footers lost its air and dived bombed to the ground a little to close for comfort!

And what would a celebration be without food? Fiambre, the traditional dish of the festival, is made only once a year. And trust me, once in a lifetime is about all you can handle! Fiambre is somewhat like antipasto but with a mix of cheese, meat of all kinds, and vegetables cured in vinegar. We were lucky(?) enough that our house mom made some and we had a HUGE bowl of it for lunch. Ours contained beets, hearts of palm, carrots, turkey, ham, bologny, hot dogs, 3-4 different kids of sausage, black chorizo and much much more. It was a gut buster! 

Check out our Picasa web album for more Dia de los muertos photos...Hasta la vista