Antigua, Guatemala

I'll begin with a few photos from my trip...

Here's a view from the rooftop of my first hotel.

Volcano "Fuego" (meaning "fire") in the background.

The Golden Arch of the city.

A Cathedral and fountain at night. The details are missing, but in the lower part of the statue, the water is pouring out of a goddess' bosom... how risque!

We happened to be in Antigua during the Semana Santa (Holy Week), the week preceeding the Easter holidays- and these carpets were all over the churches (and on the streets during the parade which ornately depicted the stations of the Cross).  They are made of sawdust!  The detais were astounding.  Also, the array of fruits and vegetables surrounding it represents the offerings presented to God.

This photo was taken in the morning, when people were preparing the grass and sawdust carpets in the streets.  There were probably at least a hundred of these scattered all through Antigua.  As the parade marched through the town, the carpets were destroyed and only colored sawdust remained in the streets.

The tiles on the undersides of the roofs have the city's symbol painted onto them.

The men dressed in purple were part of the parade.  In the distance beneath the purple tree you can see part of the float.  Each float was made of styrofoam and carried on the backs of 50 or more men.

The parade began with a group of men carrying these hanging incense burners.

People from all over Central America flock to Antigua to get in on this parade- it is famous for its carpets especially.

 

Here is a corner detail of one of the carpets.  This one, as you can see, is made of grass, with some cucumbers, onion rings, seeds & dates... among many other fruits and vegetables.

Here is one of the 13 floats- this one is Jesus carrying the cross.  The men carried these floats down every street of the city, from the afternoon until 3:00 the next morning.

Each float was followed by its own band... which sounded like a middle school band... during warm up.

More to come soon!