SEMANA SANTA IN ANTIGUA GUATEMALA

Holy Week in Antigua is a major religious event in Guatemala. Celebrated throughout the country, it is taking on unprecedented proportions here. The whole city and its inhabitants live only to the rhythm of the festivities. On Palm Sunday, Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday and Friday, the population participates in the processions, richly dressed in purple and white tunics, some wearing halberds, others carrying spikes used by the conquistadors to put down their guns. Thus dressed, the Antigüenos (inhabitants of Antigua) accompany along the streets, covered with beautiful coloured carpets, the huge tanks and platforms carried on the shoulders of men or women where the statues and relics of the city's large parish churches are located. The platforms require eighty load-bearing platforms for men and forty for women, who carry lighter ones.

As for the magnificent carpets (alfombras de aserrín) covering the paving stones of Antigua, their life is ephemeral. Composed of flower petals and sawdust, they are trampled on as the actors of the various processions pass by. These start from the Merced or the cathedral. Ask the Inguat office for information on the program.

Tips for those planning to spend Holy Week in Antigua. First, book your hotel well in advance and plan for a rate increase of up to 200% of the usual rates. Then get up early on Good Friday. What makes these processions so popular are the magnificent carpets made from sawdust, flowers, pine needles and even fruit or vegetables. They are prepared in the night between Good Thursday and Good Friday and will be destroyed as the first procession passes early on Friday morning. We therefore recommend that you join the crowd at 5 a.m. (mostly local at this time) and enjoy this very special atmosphere, before seeing these works of art melt before your eyes. Late risers should know that the beauty of carpets is at its peak on Friday at dawn.