There are special moments when the sheer exuberance and joy of the human spirit, shining so brightly, transcend all the negative forces and we find ourselves walking on air!

Another in a long list of Guatemala’s best-kept secrets is the fantastic annual Carnival of Mazatenango: an event virtually unknown to those outside the Pacific Coast region.

I do not recommend “Mazate” for those who need luxury accommodations and require that everything be according to an orderly schedule. Mazate is typical of the Pacific coastal towns in Guatemala, the hustle and bustle of the multitudes in the sweltering heat can be daunting, and the cacophony of children shouting, buses honking and vendors hawking creates a kaleidoscopic, swirling, sensory barrage that can be disarming for a lightweight or rookie traveler. But for those of you who are adventurous or wish to begin to be so, Mazate may become for you, as it is for me, a magic wonderland.

Carnival is a period of public revelry typically held the week before Lent in accordance with the Catholic calendar. According to some sources the word “carnival” comes from the phrase: “carne para baul” or “meat for the devil” because it was the last lustful celebration and feast before lengthy fasting.

Lent is the period preceding Easter that in the Christian Church is devoted to fasting, abstinence and penitence in commemoration of Christ’s fasting in the wilderness. It runs from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday.

Carnival is celebrated all over Guatemala with small parades and events. If a little child sneaks up behind you and breaks a colorful egg stuffed with confetti on your head, this is to be taken as a sign of affection. It is a tradition in Guatemala. So, when you notice people all over the place with confetti in their hair, now you know why. Only in Mazate do we find big carnival parades. They cannot compare in opulence with the events held in Trinidad, Veracruz or Merida. But what the “Mazatecos” lack in financing they make up for with their exuberant spirit. If you look closely, all the costumes are homemade. Mother’s work all year to do the very best with what the family has to create costumes of incredible color and variety for their chil-dren. One costume may be made of white satin adorned with painted peanut shells and other common objects made magical through the ingenuity of its creator. Other girls will be wearing real grass hula skirts likewise painted in psychedelic colors. It is all for maximum fun and the big party of the year for the entire population. 

I know now why kings of old were entertained by dancing girls. In my normal life I am a wildlife photographer and it is my job to seek out and photograph the incredible beauty I find in nature. But nothing is more beautiful than to see the girls of carnival dancing through the streets of Mazatenango. During carnival week every day there is something different. There is the children’s parade in the morning, the parade of carnival floats, a horse parade and the wild nocturnal adult parade. The carnival culminates with a masked ball at the municipal salon.

Feb. 3-17: cultural activities and the election of the queens.
Feb. 18-26: more cultural events and parades.
Feb. 21, Tues 9am: Carnival! Beginning at 1a
av., z. 1 the parade ends at the Campo de la Feria. This carnival has been celebrated for 127 years. (For more details/times see DateBook on page 22 and RevueMag.com)

Photos by Rudy Girón

Everything offered won’t be new to a traveler who’s at least trolled the occasional market: fruit and knick-knacks, dance troupes and shows, and carnival rides that may have been assembled with scrap wood.

What sets Xela’s apart is the sheer scope of it all: This is Vegas for someone used to pulling airport slots.

If you’ve mastered the coasters at your state fair back home, these will take you to a whole new level. Tickets buy you three times as much time upside down than you’re used to, so save the (surprisingly good) peanut smoothies until after.

The countdown for next year begins now, when Guatemalans from all over experience a unifying week of great tacos, endless shopping and the largest Ferris wheel you’ve ever seen.

Communities large and small marked the occasion with torch-bearing runners, drumbeats of school bands, concerts and speeches. Food vendors served a mouth-watering variety of dishes as locals and tourists alike joined the annual celebration.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent congratulatory remarks to the people of Guatemala:

“On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Guatemala on the 190th anniversary of your independence this September 15.

“As Guatemalans the world over celebrate this special day and honor the heroes of Guatemala’s independence, we stand with you in celebration. Americans have long enjoyed the beauty of Guatemala – from the ancient ruins of Tikal to the stunning volcanoes that surround Lake Atitlán – as well as the warmth and hospitality of the Guatemalan people. Your rich culture, diversity of languages, and traditions steeped in history are a special part of our region.

“During my visit last June for the Central American security conference, President Colom and I renewed our commitment to building strong democratic institutions, promoting the rule of law, and expanding economic growth and opportunity to our nations’ citizens.

“On this historic day, I send best wishes to all Guatemalans – in Guatemala, the United States, and around the globe. We look forward to deepening the ties between our two countries as we work to build a safer, more prosperous and democratic future for our peoples.”

Also celebrating their independence along with Guatemala were Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. On Sept. 15, 1821, representatives from all those regions formally accepted a plan drafted by Mexican Gen. Agustín de Iturbide that declared them free from the crumbling Kingdom of Spain. Mexico celebrates its break from “la madre patria” on Sept. 16.

This month is doubly patriotic

Brace for a double dose of patriotic fervor this month in Guatemala. In addition to the Sept. 11 national elections (see page 54), Guatemala celebrates its 190th Independence Day on Sept. 15 with ear-shattering fireworks, resounding drumbeats from marching bands, festive concerts and more.

Guatemala is hardly alone in its jubilation this day—also celebrating their independence are Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. On Sept. 15, 1821, representatives from all those regions formally accepted a plan drafted by Mexican Gen. Agustín de Iturbide that declared them free from the crumbling Kingdom of Spain. (Mexico celebrates its break from la madre patria a day later, Sept. 16.)

Guatemala, however, did not gain complete independence with the declaration in 1821. After Spain, further entanglements—with Mexico and El Salvador, primarily—had to be undone before Guatemala was truly an independent republic two years later.

Nevertheless, Sept. 15 is the big day, and the celebrations get under way the day before when, in many communities, people carrying torches run through town to announce independence.

Fireworks and concerts commonly usher in the holiday the night of Sept. 14, followed noisily the next morning with predawn firecrackers and bombas. School bands take to the streets later, and town squares overflow as ceremonies continue into the night.

As Independence Day approaches, expect a proliferation of blue-and-white Guatemalan flags and bunting in windows, rooftops and balconies. Eager vendors will ensure there is no shortage of national colors. (Banks and other businesses close early, so plan accordingly.)

In May, the fancy for mothers turns to roses—which have more than meets the eye or nose.

Not all plants sport flowers, but those that do use them to mate with others of their species. Appropriately, we use them to hail and express love, especially in February and May. Roses in particular are favored: red and burgundy roses in the former month as passion signatures for el Día de cariño, and white roses in the latter for el Día de la madre.

But floricultores in Guatemala and El Salvador credit violet roses with the strongest aromas. The aroma science of flowering plants is irreducibly complex, since the first purpose of the aromas is to ensure that nature’s largest symbiosis never breaks down. This is the interplay between tens of thousands of plant species and many more species of pollinating insects. Without this, life in general would cease.

Insects, then, are the flowers’ first real customers, and they are even more discerning than humans. While some insects are drawn to their flower symbiotes by visual cues, most depend on a specific chemical or combination of chemicals generated by the flowering plant. Snapdragons and petunias each produce “only” about 10 complex aromatic chemicals. This, according to Purdue University researcher Natalya Dudareva, makes these flowers practical for the study of aromas. Roses, on the other hand, generate 300 to 400 such chemicals—which explains their popularity with insects. More scents, more bugs.

It also means that while new color varieties for roses are constantly obtained, the cultivation of aromas in flowers (unlike in wines) is a hit-and-miss proposition. Either way, rose production is big business in the Guatemalan Altiplano, which provides optimum soils, temperatures and altitudes for roses. In addition to domestic demand, there is a thriving export market for about 60 varieties of roses; another flower, the bird of paradise, is also a major export. More Guatemalan flowers are exported to Holland than to any other country, with the United States being a close second.

Most Guatemalan roses are grown in greenhouses in elevated beds called tablones. A standard tablón boasts 320 rosales (rosebushes) in regimented rows. With proper pruning, each plant will yield a new flower about every three weeks. All rosebushes need relatively cool air, but there is a tradeoff related to temperature. At the higher end of the cool range, rosales are more prolific. At the lower end, they produce better flowers. The quality of a rose is gauged not only by color and aroma, but also by the integrity of the petals.

Either way, the pruning removes thinner branches, so that the rosal puts more energy and more “transcription factors” into the thicker stems. These special proteins are thought to be the element that switches on the genes that entail the generation of aromas.

Transcription factors no longer operate once a rose has been cut, but if the cutting was done right, the aroma endures, and the rose itself, when potted in water, will bring a fortnight of pleasure to its owner. For this longevity, and also for the same branch to generate more flowers, the stem must be between 40 and 70 centimeters—the length varies with variety—and the cut must be below the foliolus, a cluster of about five leaves that radiate from a point a few inches below the flower. This is why the roses we buy always wear this green garland.

Other keys to a hardy cut rose are timing and warehousing. The cut should be made at the so-called “whistle point,” when the flower, more bud than corona, is just about to open; a tiny aperture at the tip is the indicator. Also, freshly cut roses are refrigerated for 24 hours at around 54°F before going to market.

The roses are sorted and bundled, with the best flowers going to florists and the export market. Those of middling quality find their way to public mercados, and those remaining are scooped up for sale by pedestrian vendors on the Avenida Reforma and at stands near the Trebol, Guatemala City’s main traffic interchange.

The yield of a rosebush can be, and usually is, staggered by cultivators. A rosal branch needs seven or eight weeks to generate a flower, so in order to meet the high demands in February and May, specialized attention—locally called pinchado—begins in December and again in March. It is not a single procedure but a combination of grafting, vigilant pruning, hand watering, humidity modulation and intensive policing against pests and fungi. The rosales consequently produce extra flowers in the days leading up to Valentine’s and Mothers’ Day. They cannot do this year-round, so the rest of the year is their recovery period, during which they produce slightly fewer flowers.

Rosebushes are perennials, with a lifetime averaging eight years. But their gift to us may enhance our own longevity. It is one thing to give roses to your sweetheart or mother; this enhances life and—who can say?—may extend it some. But roses do even more for the sick; anyone who has endured a long, dreary hospital stay, or who has brought roses to someone else who is, knows this. Few things rally the ailing like the beauty and aroma of roses, an oasis for the eyes and the nose.

Nearly 500 volunteers, members of host families, Peace Corps staff and special guests gathered at the ambassador’s residence in Guatemala City on Friday, March 25, for the occasion, which included the swearing in of many new volunteers.

“I’m excited, I’m ready to get started,” said newly sworn volunteer Michael Lohmuller, 23, a recent Boston College graduate from Iowa. “Training was a good learning experience, but I’m ready to get out there.”

In addition to Ambassador McFarland and the Guatemala Peace Corps leadership, special guests included Peace Corps Chief of Staff Stacy Rhodes, who told the audience: “You represent the best of our country.”

Volunteer Samra Brouk, 24, who just finished two years of service in Totonicapán, helped open the celebration by singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” and received a lengthy ovation for her stunning performance. A native of Rochester, N.Y., she later summarized her Peace Corps’ experience succinctly: “challenging, surprising, satisfying.”

In neighboring El Salvador, volunteers were treated to a ceremony that featured President Barack Obama, who was on the final leg of his three-nation, Latin America visit. The president and Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams met with a group of volunteers at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in San Salvador on March 23.

Established by President John F. Kennedy on March 1, 1961, the Peace Corps is commemorating 50 years of promoting peace and friendship around the world throughout 2011.

Historically, more than 200,000 Americans have served with the Peace Corps to promote a better understanding between Americans and the people of 139 host countries. Today, 8,655 volunteers are working with local communities in 77 host countries.

The Peace Corps dispatched its first volunteers to Guatemala in 1963. Since then, some 4,800 volunteers have served here, including the current contingent of over 200. About 150 volunteers serve in El Salvador.

For more information visit www.peacecorps.gov.

An eye-catching assembly of plumed, beaked and beaded guests converged outside La Merced for a parade to the ruins of San José El Viejo, where the Venetian-style charity event was staged.

Dozens of participants enjoyed a night of fine dining, cocktails, music, an art auction and much more – all to support a cadre of nonprofits serving worthy cases in Guatemala.

As for the pimped-out piñata – well, she was smashing!

While Santa Claus and Christmas trees may be symbols of the Christmas season, nacimientos (nativity scenes) are a Christmas custom the world over.

Saint Francis of Assisi built the first one in 1223 after returning from a trip to Bethlehem. It quickly became a tradition and spread throughout the Catholic world, including Spain. The Spanish brought the custom to Guatemala.

Depicting the legendary scene where Christ was born, Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus hold court in the center of the action. However, the supporting cast isn’t limited to an ox and burro anymore. From volcanoes to palm trees, Guatemalans have combined imagination and environment to make this tradition their own.

Nacimientos photos Rudy A. Girón

The celebration of La Concepción in Ciudad Vieja, near La Antigua Guatemala, is incredible!

Everyone enjoys beginning the Christmas cycle by “burning the devil” on Dec. 7. Many will gather at La Concepción in Antigua at 6 p.m. to burn an effigy of the devil enhanced with a sign notating local gossip. After the reading of his “will,” the image goes up in flames. Custom requires the burning of paper trash in front of houses to ward off bad spirits.

The fiestas feature a convite in Ciudad Vieja on Dec. 7 at about 1 p.m. with dozens of carriages/vehicles with religious, cultural and sports decorations. Convites are allegorical parades the day before a procession and are great fun to see.

On the following day, Dec. 8, Ciudad Vieja celebrates its virgin patron’s day—Día de la Virgen de La Concepción—with incredible dances and more fireworks than I have ever seen all at once in Guatemala. Mass is held at the church in the central plaza at 10 a.m., followed by the burning of granadas for about an hour. Folkloric dances are performed all day for one of the best fiestas in Guatemala!

The Dance of the 24 Devils, dedicated to the Virgen de Concepción, is a satire with men dressed as women, political tirades and daily issues.

Many of Guatemala’s folkloric dances originated in the Iberian Peninsula and have certainly acquired characteristics of their own in local towns. The Dance of the 24 Devils appears in Cataluña as early as 1150 and was probably introduced in Guatemala in colonial times. It is a theatrical dance between good and evil with moral satire. Two of my favorite figures are death and the monkey, amongst others, who sing at the end of the dance, asking the Virgin for her blessing.

Another favorite is the Dance of the Seven Vices and Seven Virtues. This medieval dance originated in Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries and became very popular in Madrid at the end of the 16th century for Corpus Christi. While we find this dance in Mexico, it is very popular today in Ciudad Vieja.

The male devil figures represent arrogance, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, laziness and the monkey; the virtuous female figures represent humility, generosity, chastity, patience, moderation, charity, diligence and the virgin.

Many other dances will catch your eye, including the Baile de los Moros y Cristianos and the loas with the Indian, the devil, the mayor, the farm administrator and others represented in this dramatic theatrical presentation.

Fireworks, invented by the Chinese in the 12th century, may certainly be associated with the devil, but all Catholic religious activities are celebrated with fireworks today in Guatemala. All fiestas include great meals prepared and eaten at home.

GRANADAS: these bundlesof fireworks are set off as part of the Día de la Virgen de Concepción in Ciudad Vieja.

Kids flying kites (photo: Iván Castro/ivancastroguatemala.com)

Written by Ignacio Ochoa

The history of kite making in Santiago Sacatepéquez

On November 1 and 2, a powerful force stirs in all the towns of Guatemala. Traditional markets are filled with flowers of sempa (orange marigolds), chrysanthemums, wild daisies and the smell of copal—a pre-Columbian incense made from pine resin. People clean family graves and adorn them with cut-out tissue paper called papel picado, wreaths of fresh flowers and candles. They also honor the dead with festive foods such as candied fruits, tamales and fiambre (a cold meat and vegetable dish prepared only at this time of year). These days mark the celebration of El día de los difuntos or the Day of the Dead, a very important festival throughout Guatemala, especially in the predominantly indigenous town of Santiago Sacatépequez, where it is the occasion for a unique kite-flying ritual of the Kakchiquel people, integrating the Catholic feast of All Saints with pre-Columbian Mayan practices of remembering the dead. The kites are made as a way to communicate with the dead, symbolically attracting the spirits to earth at this special time of the year, when family members, living and dead, are reunited.

In Santiago Sacatepéquez, there are six cofradías (religious brotherhoods) dating from the 17th century, each dedicated to a different saint. Catholic missionaries instituted these brotherhoods to involve the laity in the spiritual life of the church. Indigenous populations, struggling to maintain their cultural traditions and languages, blended traditional Mayan practices with Christian rituals in the cofradías. It is the cofradías that organize and carry out all public religious celebrations.

The leaders of the cofradías are called mayordomos. Villagers choose the lead or primer mayordomo for a one-year term during which he and his family must finance everything related to the feast day. The celebration of Day of the Dead takes a year to plan and involves not only religious obligations but also coordination with municipal services and local political leaders, bestowing on the cofradía a great deal of political and social clout. The more services the cofradía provides to the town, the more esteemed its leader. Over time, this practice creates a network of reciprocal obligations among town members. Different cofradías are in charge of organizing different religious celebrations.

Preparations for the celebration begin 40 days before November 1, when young people begin the construction of the kites, a tradition dating back at least 109 years. Customarily, young men did most of the work, but today young women join them in selecting themes for the intricately designed kites, which may be political, religious or cultural. There is now a female kite-making contingency in Sacatepéquez that competes in the annual kite-making competitions.

Before the kites can be made, the unmarried men of the village rise at 4 a.m. to travel to the coast to hunt for bamboo for the frames. In the eyes of the town, this pre-dawn journey marks young males’ passage from boys to men. The journey to the coast is difficult, and once the youths arrive, the work of cutting the thick bamboo is laborious. The youths return from the coast to find the townspeople waiting for them, eager to hear their stories of adventures on the coast. The bamboo is distributed to the kite-making groups to begin making frames, a process that continues every day until the Day of the Dead.

Women’s role in the celebration has historically been less public than that of men, but crucial. They participate in the measurement, design and construction of the kites, preparing the ingredients and materials, as well as helping to decide on colors, designs and themes. Women also do the bulk of the festival food preparation, as well as the decorating of churches and public squares.

All kite materials are natural. The glue is made from yucca flour mixed with pieces of lemon peel and water. Ropes used for kite strings are made from maguey, the plant from which tequila is extracted. Kite tails are made from woven cloth (to which people often attach hand-written messages to guide the spirits in their journey from heaven to earth). Woven stalks of castilla, a plant similar to wheat, form the frames of smaller kites, while the largest frames are made from the bamboo gathered on the coast.

The kites display three main styles, each with a characteristic design and size, and are made of tissue paper, seemingly too thin to withstand the rough winds of the sky. “Crown” kites measure from three to five meters in diameter and have a circular frame around an empty center, like a donut. The inner and outer circles are connected with four bamboo stalks. “Diamond” kites range from a half to 10 meters in diameter and have a diamond-shaped frame, long tails and fly on strings of fishing line. “Moon” kites are large circles of bamboo framing with a circular paper center and range from 10 to 15 meters in diameter. On the last Sunday in October, the people of Santiago choose their favorite kite, usually showing the greatest appreciation for intricately detailed kites with themes from ancestral Maya culture.

On November 1, people begin to fill the cemetery at 4 a.m. While cleaning, repainting and decorating their family tombs, neighbors fondly reminisce about the deceased and catch up on the latest news. Community bonds are renewed and strengthened as people work side by side, sharing paint, tools and brushes to refurbish tombs, while they water flowers, pray and picnic together.

The young people await a strong wind to raise their giant kites to the skies. The kites brighten the skies and signal the traveling spirits until 4 p.m., when they are lowered and the townspeople return home to await the arrival of the souls. Families may set up home shrines or altars in honor of deceased family members, and extended family and neighbors visit each other to pay their respects. Visitors are offered boiled güisquiles (a vegetable which looks like an avocado and tastes like a potato), sweet corn, chilacayote (sweet squash) and jocotes (like a sweet olive), along with chicha, a hot fermented corn beverage that is indigenous to Mesoamerica.

Eventually, the cofradía of St. Michael the Archangel leads a procession through the streets carrying an anda, or life-sized wooden statue of St. Michael. (Because this particular cofradia is in charge of organizing the town’s Day of the Dead celebration, they get to showcase their patron saint.) Members of the procession play the harp and accordion to the delight of the public. The townspeople travel with the procession from house to house throughout the night, sharing traditional foods and alcohol along the way.

At 4 a.m. on November 2, everyone moves toward the cemetery with candles so the spirits can return to their celestial home. The townspeople raise the giant kites one final time to guide the spirits back to heaven. Later that evening, the kites that were torn by the winds are burned inside the cemetery, the smoke showing the way back to heaven for any vagabond spirits. The surviving kites are exhibited in the local Catholic Church during a novena for the deceased, after that they are burned, and the ashes are buried in the cemetery, completing the annual ritual for the Day of the Dead in Santiago Sacatepéquez.

Ignacio Ochoa, M.A., is the Academic Advisor for the Study Abroad Program at the Center for Latin American Studies of the Nahual Institute for Global Studies in San Diego, California. He holds MA degrees in Latin American Studies and Philosophy and has worked in indigenous, rural, and refugee communities in Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Mexico and Guatemala. Mr. Ochoa has taught at San Diego State University, the Harvard University School of Business, Northeastern University, and the Schools of Medicine and Public Health at San Carlos University in Guatemala. He was one of the judges for the Santiago Sacatepéquez kite competition from 2005-2007.

Giant Kites (photos: Smith & Riegel/atitlan.net)

Coyol leaves have been part of the Palm Sunday tradition since 1547

Coconut palm…royal palm… date palm…coyol palm…uh, coyol palm?

WordWeb Online calls it a tropical American palm with edible nuts and yielding useful fiber. In some countries of Central America, especially Costa Rica and Honduras, it is known for the sweet liquid that flows inside its trunk and is extracted to drink as a 100 per cent natural liquor. Be careful, though, it’s said to be strong stuff, even lethal.

But the straight, tall tree that grows wild on Guatemala’s south coast has a higher purpose. It substitutes for the date palm common in Palestine for Palm Sunday celebrations that commemorate the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem and, here in Guatemala, initiate the magnificent Holy Week traditions.

Coyol leaves are cut a week or so before—tricky business because of the many long, ominous spines on the branches. The narrow leaves are bundled and hauled to church plazas throughout the country, where they are looped, braided, twisted and woven into bouquets (photo). That wonderful Guatemalan creativity kicks in as artisans sit surrounded by piles of flowers, crosses, medallions, images and ribbons to trim and tuck and attach. Then the finished bouquets are sold for as little as Q3.

Worshippers lift the coyol bouquets to be blessed in the Sunday mass and take them home. Some are kept to be burned for the ash used on Ash Wednesday the following year.

Traces of coyol have been found in ancient Mayan sites, but it would be tough to determine when this tradition with the coyol leaves began in Guatemala. Fray Antonio de Remesal recorded the first Palm Sunday celebration in Guatemala in which the natives participated. The year was 1547. As told in Luis Luján Muñoz’s book, Semana Santa Tradicional en Guatemala (1982), “(the natives) enjoyed those holy ceremonies, it being the first time they saw them.”

Remesal writes that the first lent and Holy Week were not as peaceful as had been hoped “…because one Spanish neighbor thought that peace comes in drunkenness, but in the end it finished well.” Hmmm… Wonder if that Spanish neighbor discovered the coyol juice.

The history of St. Valentine—its patron saint—is shrouded in mystery. Valentine’s Day contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. These legends go back to the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, a priest, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

He was imprisoned and later beheaded on Feb. 14, 269 A.D. Another legend has it that Valentine was a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. Pope Gelasius set aside Feb. 14 to honor St. Valentine in 496 A.D.

In Spanish-speaking countries, Valentine’s Day is known as Día del Cariño, and it is common for friends, family members and lovers to exchange hugs and small gifts. Chocolates and roses seem to be the favorites. Showing your affection to those you care about by a phone call, text-message or even a flower reminds us of, truly, those who are close to us.

¡Feliz Día del Cariño!


While hanging the stockings with mucho cuidado,
In hopes that old Santa would feel obligado, 
To bring all children, both buenos and malos,
A nice batch of dulces and other regalos.

Outside in the yard there arose un gran grito,
and I jumped to my feet like a frightened cabrito. 
I ran to the window and looked out afuera, 
And who in the world do you think that it era?

Saint Nick in a sleigh and a big red sombrero, 
Came dashing along like a loco bombero.

And pulling his sleigh instead of venados,
Were eight little burros approaching volando.

I watched as they came and this quaint little hombre,
 Was shouting and whistling and calling by nombre: 
“Ay Pancho, ay Pepe, ay Cuco, ay Beto,
 ay Chato, ay Chopo, Maruco, y Nieto!”

Then standing erect with his hands on his pecho,
 He flew to the top of our very own techo,
 With his round little belly like a bowl of jalea,
 He struggled to squeeze down our old chimenea.

Then huffing and puffing at last in our sala,
With soot smeared all over his red suit de gala, 
He filled all the stockings with lively regalos,
 None for the niños that had been very malos.

Then chuckling aloud, seeming very contento,
He turned like a flash and was gone como el viento, 
And I heard him exclaim, y ¡esto es verdad! Merry Christmas to all, ¡y Feliz Navidad!

photos by Victoria Stone

Santa Catarina and San Andrés

Late November brings us the opportunity to celebrate and observe another round of distinctly Guatemalan festivities, the ferias or town fairs of towns whose patron saints are St. Catherine (Santa Catarina), St. Martin (San Martín) and St. Andrew (San Andrés). In keeping with the colonial Catholic system of assigning patron saints to all sizable towns, Catholic-saint days are still celebrated all over Guatemala.

Every feria has its own distinct flavor, depending on a number of factors, chief among them is how devout the town is. This determines to what degree the feria is a religious occasion focusing on ceremonial processions or whether it is chiefly a fun fair. Most ferias are a combination, featuring processions of the statues or imágenes of the town’s patron saint and—often in a separate area—rides such as Ferris wheels and food vendors, plentiful games of chance and other forms of entertainment and diversion.

Santa Catarina Palopó and San Andrés Semetebaj

The feria of Santa Catarina Palopó, just down the road from Panajachel, can make a wonderful excursion on a visit to Lake Atitlán. Santa Catarina can be reached by pickup truck leaving from Panajachel— traveling in the back with the locals—or by private car or taxi, a short 20-minute ride along a country road that affords some of the most spectacular views of the lake and volcanoes. This is a one-day feria, occurring on November 25. The procession of the statue of Santa Catarina follows the one main street parallel to the lake and ends at the recently renovated churchyard, where women attendants sit with the statue while ceremonial shots of Quetzalteca are offered to the saint and to those involved in the ceremony, including her cofradía.

In previous years ceremonial dances, such as the dance of the conquistadores, have taken place in the same churchyard and at the sports field down by the lake. Being as small and hilly as it is, Santa Catarina accommodates just a few fun fair games and a single small Ferris wheel. Everyone in town is in a celebratory mood and takes time to stroll and sit down by the lakeshore.

These relaxing activities are also highly recommended to visitors, as Santa Catarina has one of the most beautiful lakeshore areas, as well as one of the most magnificent views of Lake Atitlán’s volcanoes. The lakeshore also has several restaurants with lake views. Visitors familiar with Panajachel will recognize the elaborate blue, green and purple huipiles of the women of Santa Catarina, many of whom sell their weavings in Panajachel and La Antigua. A visit to Santa Catarina also offers the opportunity to shop for textiles right where they are made, and perhaps to see the traditional backstrap-loom weaving in process.

Santa Catarina offers two lodging options, both luxury hotels. There are also a few lodging options on the road between Panajachel and Santa Catarina, as well as numerous hotels for every budget in Panajachel. Visitors should check on the departure time of the last pickup truck for Panajachel before nightfall.

While in the Panajachel area, visitors can also make it an easy visit up the hill from Pana to San Andrés Semetebaj, whose feria occurs between November 28 and December 1. Also reached by local pickup or taxi, a mere 30 minutes from Pana, San Andrés is a small town which sees very little tourism. But during the feria the community thrives with activity in its large central plaza and at the church farther up the hill. The procession of the statue of San Andrés in his red shrine—bedecked in mirrors and peacock feathers—to the hilltop yellow church is a colorful and purely Guatemalan sight. And upon arrival one finds a breathtaking view of the lake.

Zunil and San Andrés Xecul

For those living in or planning to visit Quetzaltenango (more commonly known by its Mayan name of Xela), Santa Catarina’s feast day can best be celebrated in Zunil, which has a very impressive colonial church, whose patron is also Santa Catarina. In Zunil the main day of the feria is also November 25, but the feria lasts from November 22-26. Here the procession of Santa Catarina is far more elaborate as many women and girls—all dressed in their finest — carry the statue throughout the town to the candle-filled church.

A trip to Zunil would not be complete without a visit to one of the balnearios where guests can enjoy the natural hot springs waters and steam baths. Two of these, Las Cumbres and Fuentes Georginas, offer lodging, but at only 30 minutes from Xela, Zunil can also make a fine daytrip. Located in a fertile agricultural valley, Zunil is also the site of a bustling wholesale vegetable market. Buses leave the Minerva Bus Terminal in Xela for Zunil every 30 minutes. Returning buses depart Zunil at the main road at the entrance to town by the bridge.

San Andrés Xecul, about 40 minutes northwest of Xela, holds its feria from November 20-30, with the main day on the 30th. San Andrés Xecul is known for its shocking-yellow church decorated with colorful vines, angels and beasts of many varieties, and even sporting a neon-framed altar inside. The people of San Andrés really know how to celebrate and include everyone, and the two plazas between the municipalidad and the church offer plenty of space for festivities, as well as marvelous views of the surrounding hills.

Buses for San Andrés Xecul leave from Minerva Bus Terminal and The Rotunda in Xela, or one can take a bus bound for San Francisco del Alto, and ask the driver to let you off at the road to San Andrés Xecul at the Esso station. Pickups leave from there to climb the three-kilometer hill up to town. Once again, visitors should check on the departure time of the last pickup truck for the Esso station junction before nightfall.

Programs of feria activities are often available, and visitors should feel free to ask for one at the municipalidad or church.

Día de los Muertos Giant Kites (photo Victoria Stone)

The end of October and beginning of November bring us Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. Celebrated in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints Day on November 1 and All Soul’s Day on November 2, this holiday is especially important in Latin America. While Mexico is best known for its Día de los Muertos celebrations, which include pageantry, processions and public display of altars to the dead, in Guatemala it is more often celebrated as a family holiday, and usually called Día de los Difuntos.

Here it is a time for families to gather together and go to the cemeteries where they paint and clean up the graves of family members, honor their ancestors with flowers, candles and prayers, burn incense and bring picnics to share. On these days, especially November 1, the cemeteries are full of life and celebration, and food and flower vendors set up shop outside the cemetery gates. For some, especially those who have family members who have died in the last year, it can be quite a solemn occasion—a time not only to celebrate that person but also to tell stories of their life and to mourn.

A trip to any market at this time of year will find it filled with flowers, especially the orange marigolds or sempa that are the most popular gifts for the dead. Many markets, such as the one in La Antigua, will also be filled with kites for sale, as the flying of kites is used as a means of communicating with the dead and showing them where to come down to visit their family members.

One of Guatemala’s two most spectacular Day of the Dead celebrations occurs in Santiago Sacatepéquez, just outside of Antigua. Here the cemetery is filled with people and is the site of the astounding and impressive display and flight of the famous giant kites. The main street is clogged with kite sellers, food vendors and carnival-style game tables. But where ever you may be in Guatemala, a trip to the local cemetery as a respectful observer will give you a visual feast and some insight into this important local holiday.

A time for families to gather together and go to the cemeteries where they paint and clean up the graves of family members, honor their ancestors with flowers, candles and prayers, burn incense and bring picnics to share.

photos by Victoria Stone