Semana Santa en La Antigua, Guatemala

During the Easter holiday, we took our first vacation in a long time (since 2006 - certainly our longest stretch!) and traveled to La Antigua, Guatemala. La Antigua is a Spanish-colonial city about 45 minutes southwest of Guatemala City and served as the colonial capital for 233 years until it was transferred to Guatemala City in 1776 when Antigua was razed in the earthquake of July 29, 1773. Due to its Spanish and Catholic history, Antigua is full of impressive colonial buildings, churches, and ruins. La Antigua is both a national monument and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is an impressive city with great charm and the week from Palm Sunday through Easter is filled with religious ceremonies, processions, and images to remember Christ’s Crucifixion. The streets come alive with alfombras (carpets) made by residents for the processions to pass over. They consist of grass, flowers, colored sawdust, sand, fruits (lots of yummy mangoes and aguacates), breads, eggs, and other things lain out to express religious and contemporary messages. Each is ornate and beautiful and no two are alike; the people who make them spend several weeks, even months, planning for their carpets and time them to be completed just before the procession passes so they will be fresh and look their best. We saw several carpets being put together and the time and dedication put into each one is a testament to the honor they place on the meaning of this week and its religious significance.

Here are some alfombras in our hotel main area

The fountain in the center of the Soleil hotel

We got right into the festivities of the processions on Palm Sunday when we wandered into town to get an idea of where things were and saw people making their alfombras. We headed down the streets lined with alfombras and just followed them through town. We ended up following the crowds and watching the procession of men in purple and white robes carrying a sculpture of Jesus of Nazareth (Jesus Nazareno) followed by women in white and black carrying a sculpture of the Holy Virgin of Sorrow (Santisima Virgen de Dolores) along with musicians and a lot of incense. It was a beautiful procession and just the start to what we would see for the remainder of the week. It is difficult to describe these processions, but the people who carry the sculptures (the brotherhoods, or hermandades, organize the processions and are responsible for the sculptures their members carry {the carriers are called cucuruchos}).

Church on the corner of 5a Calle Poniente

A view of a street in Antigua where an alfombra is being made

The reverend at TMS just did a lesson for the children on the symbol of the butterfly representing the resurrection of Jesus
Carrying a float of Jesus Nazareno

Los cucuruchos en la procesion

Two bystanders enjoying a refreshing Red Bull...

Throughout the week we stopped to watch the processions from the various churches, with the busiest day being Good Friday as the processions focused on the final moments of Jesus’ life and the cucuruchos wore black to symbolize mourning. There was also a Ceremonia de la Crucificcion at La Catedral de Santiago on the east side of Parque Central. We watched as they reenacted Jesus’ Crucifixion and later as they removed Jesus from the cross and carried him in another procession to be laid to rest at another church. Good Friday was the most packed day during our time in Antigua as people came to take part in the religious activities and show their devotion to Jesus. It was an impressive day and we enjoyed being part of the experience. Antigua really cleared out by Saturday and on Sunday as the final day of processions focuses on rejoicing the town was quiet again.

In addition to walking to see alfombras and processions, we visited ruins, churches, the Mercado de Artesanias, and several other sites in the city. We also enjoyed some down time relaxing by the pool and eating delicious foods we cannot get in Belize (because what would a true PCV vacation be without food as the central theme?). The week was a perfect trip for relaxation, cultural exploration, and traversing the cobblestone streets of this beautiful colonial town.

Seeing the Sites

We visited the ruins of Iglesia y Convento de la Recoleccion and were in awe at the ways in which the structure was destroyed by the 1773 earthquake. While several structural walls remain, the roof is collapsed and the area solely stands as a monument.

We also spent time in La Iglesia y Convento de Nuestra Senora de La Merced, said to be Antigua’s most striking colonial church. The baroque facades on the church are ornate and beautiful, but are not original as the church was destroyed by two earthquakes and reconstructed in the 1850’s. Inside the church was an elaborate carpet set up for holy vigils (velaciones) to be held in the church prior to its processions. The monastery ruins house a 27m diameter fountain – one of the largest we’ve ever seen and purported to be the largest in Central America. We also had a nice view of Antigua from the top of the monastery walls and enjoyed the peace of the area. The monastery is adjacent to a primary school, so we were able to peak at that as well.

Arch on 5a Calle Norte; La Merced Church is seen through the arch

Exterior of La Merced at West Entrance & adjacent to monastery entrance

Alfombra inside La Merced

27-m diameter fountain inside the monastery ruins

El Parque Central is surrounded by el Palacio de Los Capitanes (the governmental center of all of Central America until 1773 and now home to the national police, the tourist office, and the governor of Sacatepequez department) to the south, Catedral de Santiago on the east, and Palacio de Ayuntamiento (home to city hall and two museums) to the north. It is filled with visitors and was often a central point for us as we traveled the streets.

View of Catedral de Santiago from Palacio de Los Capitanes

Fountain in the center of El Parque Central (note the lack of crowds, this will change by Good Friday!)

Just hanging out in El Palacio del Ayuntamiento overlooking el parque

We also visited art galleries, a delicious cookie shop, and several other churches, including Iglesia de San Francisco (said to be the town’s most notable church) where we saw the preparations for their Good Friday procession and watched the start to their procession on Holy Thursday (along with our friends Todd and Ashli who were also in Antigua and who we managed to bump into throughout town, which was nice since we wondered if we’d see any of the other PCVs in town with the large number of people there). We also stopped in at Escuela de Cristo church as we followed carpets to the entrance and saw a crowd of people awaiting the start to a procession on Wednesday. We went in the church to see their carpet and the scene set for their velacion. On Good Friday, we met up with Mica, John, Todd, and Ashli in the crowded Parque Central for the Ceremonia de la Crucificcion.

Sculptures lined up and ready for their coming procession from Iglesia de San Francisco

Inside Escuela de Cristo just before a procession on Wednesday afternoon

A jubilant young incense swinger in la procesion del Escuela de Cristo

Waiting for the procession to begin

Las Cucuruchas en la procesion del Iglesia de San Francisco - Holy Thursday

Reenacting the Crucifixion

Carrying Jesus to be laid to rest

Throughout the week, we often found ourselves strolling through streets encountering several markets where we saw artisans selling their crafts and women weaving, children and adults playing instruments, and women doing their wash in the large clay basins at the Plaza on Sexta Calle Oriente. The beauty of the colonial architecture and the vivid dress of the Maya women kept us walking for several hours each day, which also made us hungry, so we did eat quite well on this trip (and we'll definitely share in a coming post).

More Views of Antigua

A stairwell in a courtyard of cafes and galleries

Plaza on Sexta Calle Oriente

Doing the wash

Dulces! Anthony's favorite

Fun bread

The outdoor corridor to our room at the Soleil

How to describe this fountain? - Just look closely at the symbol on top...

This is just too cute

Putting the final touches on alfombras throughout the city




A little street music for our enjoyment

El Palacio de Los Capitanes under a full moon

El Parque Central on Good Friday - much different from early in the week

Scarlet Macaws at Iglesia de Santo Domingo