Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Processions!

Every Sunday in Lent in Antigua there is a procession from a church in an outlying village.  The procession, consisting of a large float or anda carried by 50-100 purple-robed men, leaves the village around noon and processes into and around Antigua, arriving at the Cathedral after dark.  It continues back to the village, arriving around midnight.  Carriers are changed periodically.  It's considered very somber, since it's leading up to Christ's death, and the anda is always followed by a large, loud brass band playing Guatemalan funeral music.  Faithful businesses and families along the way create flower carpets or alfombras out of colored sawdust, flowers and vegetables.  The alfombras are trampled by the procession as it passes over them.  To really get the flavor of a procession, I'm posting two videos, one focusing on the anda and carriers, the other on the brass band that follows.  Also some photos of the ill-fated alfombras!


















bye, bye alfombras!
 

Ladies float of the Virgin Mary follows
 

2 comments:

  1. What a procession! What a wonderful and passionate experience of the local community.

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  2. I can barely stand the thought of the flowers being destroyed - I guess that's the point... Great movies!

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