Semana Santa or Holy Week/Easter Week is a big celebration in Guatemala. I didn't realise this until I was in Gautemala City and everyone was asking where I was going for Semana Santa. I ended up spending the first part of it in Antigua, a town famous in Guatemala for their Semana Santa celebrations and the remaining days in Lake Atitlian traveling by boat between the various towns on the lake.
The biggest celebrations were in Antigua, all day everyday there were processions throughout the town. Large processions that involved hundreds of people and lasted all day. In advance of the processions they prepared colorful carpets called alfombras along the processional route. The alfombras are very colorful and quite intricate with lots of details.
Once the procession passes over the alfombras they are destroyed. A cleanup crew generally follows the procession and cleans up everything in a matter of minutes. The first part of the procession was all guys carrying some big floats.
The latter part of the procession was all female, dressed in black and white. They also carried some floats which appeared to be quite heavy.
The biggest celebrations were in Antigua, all day everyday there were processions throughout the town. Large processions that involved hundreds of people and lasted all day. In advance of the processions they prepared colorful carpets called alfombras along the processional route. The alfombras are very colorful and quite intricate with lots of details.
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| Preparing the alfombras |
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| Lots of detail |
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| Alfombras in lake atitilan |
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| This is at the entrance to the church |
Once the procession passes over the alfombras they are destroyed. A cleanup crew generally follows the procession and cleans up everything in a matter of minutes. The first part of the procession was all guys carrying some big floats.
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| The start of the procession. |
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| The float is quite heavy |
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| Turning the corner with the float was difficult |
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| Girls carrying the float |
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