Semana Santa, Holy Week, the week before Easter, is a time of amazement and passion in Latin America. I’ve had the good fortune to be in Chiapas for this special time once, and in Guatemala twice. The memories are vivid and indelible.
Nebaj, Quiche, Guatemala
It’s early morning before dawn, and a throng of people stream down the street outside our hotel. Scores of women in their characteristic huipils, each with a lace veil and a folded handwoven shawl on her head, are following the priest riding on a white ass.
San Andres, Chiapas
An effigy of Mary Magdalene, wearing layer upon layer of handwoven huipils, is carried through the streets and around the square three times, having made a long journey from her home in Magdalenas. Clouds of incense and a brass band accompany her.
Coban, Guatemala
Heavy wooden platforms bearing statues of Jesus, Mary, and various saints are carried through the crowded streets. Onlookers weep with the emotion of the occasion. And so do I, a nonbeliever.
San Pedro el Contento, Chiapas
This small community of exiles from Tenango consists of not much more than a bright blue church and a few scattered homes. As we wander up the road to see what we can see, we hear a band, a tiny one with just a trumpet, a tuba, a drum and a couple of guitars, marching toward the church carrying a small effigy of St. Nicolas. A crowd of people follows the band, and ice cream vendors ply their wares as people jostle to enter the church. Where could they all have come from? We are miles and miles from any town.
Rabinal, Guatemala
On the road to visit Catarina Amperez Siana, an ancient and delightful old cotton spinner, we’re stopped by a procession of men dressed as Roman centurions with whips and swords. They seem to have traveled a long way, and to have a long way to go. We don’t know why.
Quinta Obispo, Chiapas
We come to an ancient stone church sitting out in the middle of nowhere. Men and boys dressed as 18th century French soldiers, but with the addition of pointed fur hats, fake beards, and Zapatista-style face masks tread around in a circle, marching to a dolorous monotone music for what seems like hours – after which they set fire to the field and proceed to run through the flames repeatedly.
Oh, there are so many more images, expressions of faith and tradition and community, blending Roman Catholicism and ancient Maya ritual – a live rooster crowing three times in the cathedral; hundreds of candles, thousands of flowers, ritual dances that hark back to the Aztecs. Pope Francis recently visited Chiapas, and while there, he conducted mass using the three most prevalent Mayan languages of that area: Tzotzil, Tzeltal, and Chol. He wore a vestment embroidered in the lavishly floral style of Zinacantan. It was a graceful gesture that acknowledged the cultural blending and persistence of tradition that characterizes these parts of the world. I’ll think of all this as I wander the aisles of my local supermarket, stuffed with chocolate eggs and Peeps and fuzzy bunnies.
—Linda
Learn more about the beautiful rituals and the textiles of Semana Santa from these Thrums Books:
Lovely Linda,
Great photos of course by Joe Coca! Reminds me of a week in Cuzco marveling at the devotion and crowds during festivities and especially processions to celebrate The Lord of the Earthquakes and Santa Semana. Photos lost but memories remain!
Thank you for sharing the pictures from smaller towns and villages, rather than the heavily touristed sites like Antigua. The trip to Nebaj and other villages is not easy or smooth, at least when I was there 20 years ago. The beauty is outward and inward. In my various travels in Guatemala starting in 1970, when even the Pan American Highway was just a dirt road, and I mostly hitch hiked riding atop banana trucks or rode on second class buses or pickup trucks, I have visited many of the places you feature here and in your books. Thank you for making my memories continue to live, along with the colors, sounds, and smells that come with them.
Although I have never been there, your words made a vivid picture in my mind. Thank you.
Hello Sharon, I remember vividly a workshop I took with you years ago, and I always read your articles in Handwoven with great interest. Nice to see a note from you. I am no longer weaving but still have dreams of it. I have my share of health challenges but am keeping as physically active and creatively interested as possible. Good wishes to you.
In 1970 I traveled in Guatemala after graduation from college with 2years of Spanish under my belt. I splurged of a huipil from Quiche just like the one on the cover of the Traditional Weavers book. $30 was a fortune to a college student then. I’m so glad I did. Though most of the memories of that trip have faded, the colors on that huipil are as bright as ever they were. It’s a treasure.
As always Thrumming is so full of heart for people and traditions. Thank you
Beautiful. Thank you, Linda.
I remember the first time I saw a procession in a tiny little dusty town, as full of love and dedication as the more famous and showy ones in the big towns/cities. Last night I watched the one in our neighborhood, which is only two streets wide and three blocks long. This one was all children (and some moms who did not want to miss out), plus a band made up of a saxophone, a drum, and a keyboard with a blow-tube for making it into a wind instrument. A good piece of Guatemala.