Semana Santa in Antigua

Semana Santa (the Catholic celebration of holy week) is one of the most significant times of the year for the people in the city of Antigua, Guatemala. Semana Santa occurs every year between March 22nd and April 23rd and goes from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday. Tourists from around the world come to watch the elaborate processions, see the brilliant alfombras (traditional carpets), and watch the entire city participate in activities that imitate the passion, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The event begins on Palm Sunday when holy figures of Christ and the Santisima Virgen de Dolores (Holy Virgin of Sorrow) are carried from the churches and through the city streets, by men dressed in purple robes with white waistbands. It has a festival vibe with music and food to celebrate Christ’s last days on Earth and it continues until that Thursday.

On Thursday of Semana Santa, residents of each street work together with close friends and family to create the beautiful alfombras (traditional carpets) out of colored sawdust and sand, flowers, native plants, and pine needles. The origin of the carpets goes back to the early days of Semana Santa when the locals would throw pine needles on the cobblestone roads for padding on the procession route (that would come the next day). Each year, they would add something new, such as different kinds of flowers, and it grew to a competition between each street on who could make the best one. Today, the alfombras incorporate beautiful colors and intricate designs that express religious and contemporary images, and still each year they become bigger and better.

Preparations begin at 3:00 am on Good Friday for the mock trial and sentencing of Jesus. Participants dress up as characters from the trial such as Roman soldiers and Pontius Pilate, and reenact the scene. At 7:00 am, a religious figure of Jesus carrying his crucifix (which can get up to 3 and a half tons) is carried on the shoulders of a team of 80-100 men (who work in shifts) who parade through the carpet-covered streets of Antigua. Behind that group is another group of women dressed in white carrying a smaller float of the Holy Virgin Mary. Following Virgin Mary are smaller groups who carry the figures of San Juan and Maria Magdalena, and the funeral march band. In the afternoon, the figure of Jesus is replaced with an image of him being laid to rest and carried around the city. Before any of these holy figures are used in the procession, there is a special ceremony held for them at the church. The hermandades (brotherhoods) are each assigned to a figure, and they construct alfombras in front of the display and a decorative backdrop made of paper behind the display. The church community then makes offerings such as fruit, candles, bread, and flowers around the alfombra. At 4:30 on Good Friday, the city is covered with black paper and everyone dresses in black to symbolize the death of Christ. A silent procession is led by someone bearing the crucifix and is followed by hundreds who carry banners engraved with Christ’s last words on Earth and the pronouncements of God. Bystanders of the procession pray and mourn as the crowd goes by, and the image of Christ is put to rest at the churches at 11:00 pm.

Holy Saturday continues with more funeral processions and is led by an image of a devastated Virgin Mary and followed by many women dressed in black. On the last day of Semana Santa, Easter Sunday, the city rejoices with festive processions to celebrate the ressurection of Christ. Masses are held in all churches and firecrackers can be heard throughout the day.

Our group was in Guatemala when the processions were very upbeat were still celebrating Christ’s last days on Earth. The first time I experienced it was when we first got into Antigua and were walking to our host family’s houses. We could hear the music from about a mile away and when we reached the procession route, it just hit us. It looked like a sea of purple marching to the same few songs that the band played. The vibe gave me a feeling of how much determination and effort was put into this celebration, and how connected the city became to pull it all off. There are so many adjectives that I could use to describe the experience but the first that comes to mind is inspiring. What these people do every single year is amazing, and I would love to return to Guatemala someday and witness the whole week celebration of Semana Santa.

Rachel DeNoble

High Tech High International