World’s largest Easter celebrations in a quaint colonial city – isn’t that hard to resist? The Spanish missionary bought the Easter celebrations to Guatemala in the 16th century, and Antigua continues to carry forward the Andalusian tradition of celebrating the resurrection of Christ in style. Easter in Guatemala attracts a lot of visitors annually to Antigua as well as other parts of this beautiful country.

Semana Santa, the Easter week

I timed my visit to Guatemala during the Easter week, to photograph the vivid celebrations. Known as Semana Santa in Spanish, the Easter week is considered holy and commemorates the Passion, the Crucifix, and the Resurrection of Jesus. The Mayan influences come together beautifully with Catholicism to create a mystical and spiritual environment.

Colorful processions bring the people together

There are various processions throughout the week, with Friday being the peak of it. The procession consists of multiple ‘floats’, carrying a statue of Jesus or Virgin Mary, with each float requiring many hands to lift up. The procession consists of many men and women carrying these floats, moving slowly through the carpet-adorned streets.  The carpets are often so elaborately designed using saw-dust, flowers, dyes, fruits etc. that they are nothing short of artwork.

Every place in Guatemala celebrates Easter its own way

Large celebrations take place in Guatemala city and Chichicastenango as well. However, each little village has it’s own way of celebrating Semana Santa and I was quite keen to check out a more intimate setting. Hence, I rented a motorbike and drove from Antigua to San Juan, a tiny hamlet on the shores of Lago Atitlan. I arrived in the evening, and checked-in with a local family and they essentially pointed me to the local church. Seeing the village get ready for the procession: the floats getting decorated, girls lighting candles, musicians rehearsing their bits – it was definitely a very intimate setting, and I felt instantly welcomed.

Each little village has it’s own way of celebrating Semana Santa

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About Praveen Maloo

Praveen is currently based out of Seattle, United States. He loves coffee, conversations, micro-brews, and intimate jazz music scenes. When its not raining in Seattle, he can be seen enjoying the beautiful outdoors of the Pacific North-West.

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