Easter celebrations in Antigua
- 12 years ago
ROUGH CUT NO REPORTER NARRATION
In in the beautiful colonial city of Antigua, Guatemala, the faithful kicked off Holy Week celebrations on Thursday (April 5) with a vibrant and colourful procession, much to the delight of thousands of Guatemalans and tourists.
Antigua - formerly known as Ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de Goethemalan - has been celebrating Holy Week with a procession since 1543, just 19 years after the city was founded by the Spanish. Since then, its Semana Santa-- as Holy Week is known in Spanish-- activities have become some of the largest and most visited in Central America.
The faithful wore Biblical costumes, such as those of Roman soldiers, to re-enact Christ's crucifixion at Calvary.
A unique aspect of Antigua's Semana Santa is the "alfombras", or carpets that are strewn across the cobblestone streets. The street is first covered in sand or sawdust, which is then painted, dyed, and covered in floral and plant arrangements to produce colourful designs along the route.
Holy Week in Guatemala is characterized by a mixture of Christianity and Pre-Columbian influences and beliefs. Much of Guatemala's population continues to identify as indigenous, and the country is home to 23 officially recognized languages, most of them variants of the Mayan language.
Although there is no religious census data in Guatemala, the country's Roman Catholic Episcopal Conference estimates that between 65 and 70 percent of Guatemalans are Catholic.
In in the beautiful colonial city of Antigua, Guatemala, the faithful kicked off Holy Week celebrations on Thursday (April 5) with a vibrant and colourful procession, much to the delight of thousands of Guatemalans and tourists.
Antigua - formerly known as Ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de Goethemalan - has been celebrating Holy Week with a procession since 1543, just 19 years after the city was founded by the Spanish. Since then, its Semana Santa-- as Holy Week is known in Spanish-- activities have become some of the largest and most visited in Central America.
The faithful wore Biblical costumes, such as those of Roman soldiers, to re-enact Christ's crucifixion at Calvary.
A unique aspect of Antigua's Semana Santa is the "alfombras", or carpets that are strewn across the cobblestone streets. The street is first covered in sand or sawdust, which is then painted, dyed, and covered in floral and plant arrangements to produce colourful designs along the route.
Holy Week in Guatemala is characterized by a mixture of Christianity and Pre-Columbian influences and beliefs. Much of Guatemala's population continues to identify as indigenous, and the country is home to 23 officially recognized languages, most of them variants of the Mayan language.
Although there is no religious census data in Guatemala, the country's Roman Catholic Episcopal Conference estimates that between 65 and 70 percent of Guatemalans are Catholic.