The most important day, interestingly enough, is Good Friday, not Easter Sunday. The crucifiction of Jesus is heavily emphasized and less so, the resurrection. There are enormous processions through the streets of people all dressed in purple carrying huge "andas" - floats that resemble huge tombs decorated to celebrate Jesus' death. It takes sometimes 100 of these men carrying them. The floats emerge from a cloud of incense so thick that one night it seemed the whole town was on fire. The processions last for days. People in them walk over the intricate and beautiful alfombras (carpets), a symbol of reverence, like rolling out the red carpet for Jesus. Locals and visitors spend hours making the alfombras out of colored sawdust, flowers and fruits. Apparently they cost like $10,000 Quetzales each, or $1,300 - a lot of money here!
We were sad to miss celebrating Easter with family, but it is nice to be with our friends, Andrea and Luke Wallenbeck. They didn't make any alfombras, but they did roll out the red carpet for us! They've been here several months, and the transition to a new life of sorts is certainly easier with good friends who know their way around and are familiar with the language, culture, and traditions. We were lucky to have Ryan and Emily in Belize, too, but once Andrea and Luke leave, we're on our own!
This is a very typical anda. The men in purple are carrying it on their shoulders amongst crowds of people.
The andas at nighttime were particularly beautiful.
This is one of the most beautiful alfombras that we saw. Making one seems to be a labor of love; an offering of sorts.
There was so much incense that it was like walking through a cloud.
Lisa with our friend, Andrea, at Central Park during Semana Santa.
No comments:
Post a Comment