The Day of the Dead is celebrated by all Latin American Countries as well as some other countries around the World. Here in Guatemala there are festivals held all over the country. One of the largest is held in Tzumpango, about 20 miles from Antigua. It is marked by a large contingency of kites (bariletes). The first part of the day is spent in the cemetery cleaning, painting, and decorating the graves of loved ones. It is a very festive atmosphere with food vendors and music all over the cemetery. Everyone then heads to the top of the hill to view the kites. Some of the kites are 40’ in diameter. It takes anywhere from eigh to twenty people just to get themin the air and hold on to them. The larger kites take up to 3 or 4 months to construct.
Unfortunately, there was not sufficient wind to fly the big ones, but there were around 70 to 80 smaller ones. The kites are made of bamboo and tissue paper and held together by tape. It did not look like they would fly, but I’ve seen pictures! Some of the kites had a theme but most were just very colorfully decorated.
The kites are meant to communicate with the dead.
The festival in Tzumpango is attended by around 5,000 people.
We were pretty fortunate with the weather. When we returned to Antigua that evening, the sky opened up. The streets became rivers. I now understand why there are one to two foot barriers to all of the doors of the houses, shops, and restaurants.!
Quite a spectacular day…
Unfortunately, there was not sufficient wind to fly the big ones, but there were around 70 to 80 smaller ones. The kites are made of bamboo and tissue paper and held together by tape. It did not look like they would fly, but I’ve seen pictures! Some of the kites had a theme but most were just very colorfully decorated.
The kites are meant to communicate with the dead.
The festival in Tzumpango is attended by around 5,000 people.
We were pretty fortunate with the weather. When we returned to Antigua that evening, the sky opened up. The streets became rivers. I now understand why there are one to two foot barriers to all of the doors of the houses, shops, and restaurants.!
Quite a spectacular day…
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