Last year at this time I was studying Spanish in Guatemala. It was lent when I was there and, during Semana Santa, Holy Week, the days leading up to Easter and the month before, daily religious processions and colorful sawdust alfombras filled the streets. Men,...
"This reminds me of a music festival," my friend Charlotte said to me as we sat on a color-stained curb with four brochures outlining the day's Semana Santa procession routes open in front of us. "We need to figure out where each procession will be...
Throughout Lent, and throughout Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Antigua, the streets would be covered in elaborate alfombras carpets, made out of colored sawdust, fruits, vegetables, and a wide range of other materials. Some were quickly thrown together. Some took hours upon hours of work....
Horns were bellowing a death march. A loud drum kept the beat. Boom. Boom. Boom. It was an eerie orchestration that had been the soundtrack to Antigua, Guatemala, throughout lent, throughout Semana Santa. If you weren't hearing the deific tones from one of the frequent...