SEMANA SANTA
(Easter Week in Antigua, Guatemala)

(click image for slideshow)

One of the most profound spiritual opportunities you could ever experience happens every year in Antigua, Guatemala, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter.  During Semana Santa (Holy Week), the population of this normally docile Colonial city swells to hundreds of thousands as people come from all over the world to participate in or witness the magnificent celebrations surrounding the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. 

Semana Santa inspires the soul on several levels.  The intense religious pageantry exhibited is breathtaking. But, the underlying elements are just as powerful.  Holy Week is a festive family time when, through the re-creation of ancient rituals, traditions pass from one generation to the next.  

Taking part in Semana Santa requires a good deal of advanced planning.  Be prepared to make reservations for accommodations a year in advance.  Regardless of how long your stay, you’ll want to purchase tickets for one of Elizabeth Bell’s Antigua Tours.  An ex-patriot who has resided in Antigua for over 30 years, she is the city’s premier guide for antiquities, culture and religion.  Her book Lent and Holy Week in Antigua serves as a helpful resource regarding the history of what you’ll observe.  She gives an in-depth orientation to the events of the week and shares some valuable tips on maneuvering through the maze of activities in order to enjoy them more.

Processions

The celebration of Semana Santa in Antigua is the largest in the Western Hemisphere and second in the world only to Seville, Spain.  The custom of religious processions came to Guatemala in 1524 with the Spanish conquest and remain today as a sacramental centerpiece for the period of Lent.  Each procession is organized by hemandades, or brotherhoods, which coordinate all of the logistics including the cucuruchos (carriers) for the andas (floats).  Some of the major processions begin before dawn and conclude after dark requiring upwards of 8,000 participants along the route.

Although some processions are more elaborate than others, all of them include two
traditional andas.  The first, bearing a statue of a cross-laden Jesu Nazareno and weighing almost 8000 pounds, is carried by up to 100 men.  The second is a smaller float, born by women, transporting Virgin de Delores who represents the Virgin Mary grieving over Jesus’ crucifixion.  This anda usually weighs around 3000 pounds. 

According to Elizabeth Bell, cucuruchos historically carried the floats with their faces covered.  It is believed that the carriers previously participated solely for penance.  But, during the 1950’s because of political attitudes, carriers were required to show their faces. The significance of participating in a procession may have changed from that of purely penance to a position of social status today.  Regardless, there is an overwhelming air of devotion throughout the procession by the carriers.

For observing a procession, it is best to find a corner to witness a turn where a change of carriers takes place. Because of the weight of the anda, they usually only carry the float for

one block when a new group of carriers replaces them. Each turn is determined by the carriers’ shoulder height. This is to ensure that the weight of the float is distributed equally. The coordination of these turns (for both andas) is the responsibility of the brotherhood and the womens’ auxiliary.  It takes tremendous detailed planning.  Each participant wears a badge indicating the number of the turn where he or she will begin the carry.  His or her position on the float is also numbered and indicated on the badge.

Preceding the anda in the procession is a man holding a pole with a sign declaring the turn number the procession is getting ready to make.  When the float makes the turn, the carriers designated for that turn are waiting on either side of the street and, as it slowly stops, subtly take the place of the carrier in their assigned position. This maneuver happens so fluidly, you can hardly discern it even knowing that it’s happening.   

The order of every procession follows a similar pattern.  The float of Christ appears first with the figure of Virgin de Delores trailing about a block behind.  Accompanying her are a funeral band and two smaller floats with sculptures of Saint John and Mary Magdalene.  These are carried by four men who make change turns but not at every corner. 

Some of the processions are more comprehensive in the re-enactment of the last days of Christ’s life.  Many participants portray Roman soldiers. The roles of Pontius Pilate and Judas Iscariot are paid positions because no one wants to volunteer for them and they must march the entire route without replacements.  One of the most stunning processions happens on the morning of Good Friday, originating from La Merced Cathedral.  Along with the typical andas, there are incredibly lifelike wooden statues of Christ depicting His torture and suffering leading up to the crucifixion.

Regardless of the day, time or church, spectators line the streets several bodies deep along the processional routes.  Children perch high up on the shoulders of their fathers or stick their heads through the front row to get a better view.  On one block, residents of a rest home sit side-by-side in their wheel chairs waiting patiently for the procession to pass.  A vibrant murmur stirs in anticipation.  But, when the smoke from the incense fills the air signaling the procession’s beginning and the cadence of the funeral march beats its dull thud from a distance, a silence falls over the crowds that can only be described as reverence.
 

The Alfombras

The carpets of Antigua are unique in the world for their use as part of the celebration of Holy Week.  The word for carpet, alfombra, is of Arabic origin as are all words that begin with “al” in the Spanish language.  This would indicate that the contact with Arabic cultures during the Spanish conquest introduced the tradition which later became absorbed into standard Western religious practices.  By the 14th century, carpet making had become a popular component of the celebration of Corpus Christ in Barcelona where colored earth was the major medium.

Alfombras are used in two ways throughout Lent and Holy Week.  Many of the churches conduct holy vigils throughout Lent which are scenes displaying holy figures inside the sanctuary.  Carpets are made in front of the figure and surrounded by fruits, vegetables and candles brought to the church as offerings. 

The more extensive use of the carpets can be seen on the routes of the processions during Holy Week.  If a procession goes by one’s home or business, friends and family members are invited to make a carpet in the street to be sacrificed as the floats of Christ and the Virgin Mary march over them. These labors of love range from a very simple bed of pine needles with scatterings of flower petals to elaborately designed works of art in dyed sawdust that take hours to create and execute.  Regardless of their construction, the symbolism is the same – the cycle of life is beautiful yet fleeting and its renewal is celebrated every spring.         

According to Lent and Holy Week in Antigua, preparations begin months in advance with the creation of designs by alfombreros (carpet makers).  Some carpets will cover the entire block of a street while others only take up the space in front of a home or business.  Materials are calculated and purchased well ahead of time. 

Sawdust carpets require particular preparation.  Stencils for special designs are made out of heavy cardboard on wooden frames for easy use.  Sawdust is dyed in large plastic bags or barrels with local dyes and alcohol.  The colors are vivid purple, green, blue, red, yellow and black.  When the time comes for construction, the workplace is hosed down with water and sand poured over the site to level out the cobblestone street and create a workable palette. 

Often families will begin work on a carpet ten to twelve hours before the procession is scheduled to pass.  Utilizing two-by-fours raised slightly above the surface as crude scaffolding, the “artists” carefully follow the curlicues and patterns of the stencils as they sprinkle the dyed sawdust over the sand.  All the while the carpet is under construction, younger family members mimic the craftsmanship by creating small designs of their own under the watchful eye of a grandparent, aunt or uncle. 

Tourists meander through the streets amazed at what they see.  Some of the sawdust alfombras are stunning works of art with precise shading to create three-dimensional affects.  The themes are predominantly religious, but some incorporate other perspectives such as the abundance of life exhibited under the sea and in the fields.

Precautions are taken to protect sawdust carpets such as watering periodically to keep it from drying out and blowing away.  But, every now and then, something can happen like a stray dog deciding to walk across it as he strolls down the street.

Interspersed among the sawdust carpets are alfombras made of other materials - thousands of flowers, vegetables and fruit.  Although they don’t require stencils, these designs necessitate architectural precision as well utilizing tools as elementary as a garbage can top for a perfect circle to the more sophisticated measuring tape to determine the spacing for Birds of Paradise around the carpet border.  

Whether large or small, complex or simple, every carpet serves as a meaningful expression of devotion.  The processions will demolish them in minutes; the clean up crews will sweep them away.  But the commitment to family and faith with which they were made endures.

The Crucifixion

At noon on Good Friday, the sanctuary of Escuela de Christo is packed with people who have come to witness a re-enactment of the crucifixion of Christ.  Young and old alike wait patiently until chimes somberly ring the hour.  The service starts with the introduction of the patrones from the church who comprise the committee to oversee the service.   They are led by priests to a vault at the front of the church where a sculpture of Christ called Senor Sepultado rests on a bier. 

With tympani beating and incense burning, the priests raise the Christ figure off of the bier and place it in the extended arms of the patrones.  The Senor Sepultado typifies Colonial sculptures prevalent throughout Antigua with his body carved meticulously from fine cedar wood and a ceramic face that creates a flesh-like appearance.  Real hair flows from the top of his head.

The patrones deliberately make their way through the crowd to the steady cadence of a snare drum.  With eerie reality, they progress toward the altar where a three-story backdrop depicting Calvary hangs from the ceiling covering the entire wall.  The images of the two crucified thieves flank a brilliant sunburst on either side.  Once at the altar, the patrones relinquish Senor Sepultado to the priests.  Quiet envelopes the crowd like a holy mantle; the only sound comes from the drum.  The priests place the figure on a cross.  With each haunting roll of the snare, the cross is raised until fully upright with Christ hanging there centered in the sunburst. 

There is a final roll from the drum.  After standing for a few minutes to absorb the scene, people begin to file out of the church.  The reverence and respect is palpable.  Outside the church, the atmosphere changes as well.  By 3:00 PM, the color black will replace the passion color of purple worn all week during the processions.  Thus, the community of Antigua begins an expression of collective grief that lasts until the celebration of the resurrection on Easter Sunday.   

(click image for slideshow)