Trama Textiles issued the following announcement on April 1.
Have you ever been in Guatemala during Easter?
If so, then you know it is can be quite the event. A cozy hardboiled egg breakfast at home or your mother’s best Easter egg hunt are not going to top it. I have only been in Xela 3 weeks--and I’ve already experienced the excitement.
Semana Santa—also known as Holy Week—is the week prior to Easter. During this week, the Passion, the Crucifix, and the Resurrection of Jesus are celebrated. It comes from Spanish tradition, brought over when the Spanish colonized Guatemala around 1524. Over the years—with the spread of Catholicism—Guatemalans have completely embraced it and added their own twist. Catholic or not, Semana Santa remains a very exciting and worthwhile experience for everyone…no matter your religious background. Festivities for Semana Santa here are amongst the biggest in the world.
This is my first time in Guatemala and I’m lucky enough to be here this upcoming Holy Week. In the weeks prior I’ve been surprised with some kind of procession almost every day.
Picture this:
On my morning walk to Trama Textiles I bump into a large group of hundreds of students slowly strolling over the pebble stone streets of Xela. All the kids in this procession look their best, dressed in uniforms with accents of purple. The people leading the long parade carry a wooden float with statues of Jesus atop them. This happens to be the first procession I stumble across here in Xela.
Or just like any other Friday in Amsterdam, I hit up my colleagues and meet them for a drink in the city center. But this time, on my way there I hear an unusual amount of noise.
Here’s an unrelated fun fact: Xela’s historical center—where we all live and work—is not that big. Everything is within walking distance, thankfully. I walk to Trama, then at 1pm walk to my favorite lunch spot, only to continue walking to Spanish class I take later in the afternoon. If you ever make it to Xela, you’ll love the easiness of walking everywhere!
There appears to be a fair in the Parque Central. And here there are many different market stands offering various local cuisines such as pupusas(corn tortillas filled with cheese, bean and pork), tortillas covered with mixed vegetables and soy, or licuados or atol de elote, a sweet, thick corn-based beverage. Nearby the marketplacethere’s a stage,and something is going on this evening! Then I bump into some young men in purple gowns with religious hoods raised over their heads. I quickly make it to the rooftop bar we’ve chosen to enjoy a nice view of the square and spectate the proceedings. More and more young men drive up in chicken buses (formerly North American school buses, now reborn and recycled and reused here, painted in fun vibrant colors), then they walk down the streets with sticks, singing loudly together and lighting off tons of very, very loud fireworks. Emphasis on the loud part.
So what is going on around me? If you’ve followed the picture—let me just say—even I truly don’t know. But it’s fun to observe and learn more. So I booked a tour to visit some churches and explore these Catholic rituals in Xela, a historically Mayan civilization.
Original source: https://tramatextiles.org/blogs/news/semana-santa-holy-week-in-guatemala
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