One of the benefits to living in Antigua, Guatemala for almost half a year was being able to take part in SO MANY Guatemalan celebrations and holidays. When we originally got an apartment in Antigua, we had no idea what it meant to live on one of the main streets near La Merced church and how often parades would be walking past our little casa. During Easter time in Antigua, there are more processions passing through town than we knew what to do with! Even a trip to the market during this time requires a camera because procession preparation begins at all hours, with small groups and families from different religious congregations carefully marking out streets for specially designed alfombras (carpets) of flowers and colored sawdust to be crafted into designs. Community members can be seen in colored robes lined up to carry andas (floats) in changing groups throughout town. We were told the processions re-enact Christ’s last days in Jeruselum, and get larger with higher attendance by tourists from all over the world each year. As a traveler living in the area, we were lucky to hear band practice every morning before processions began, and could actually smell when the processions were nearing by the clouds of sweet incense rolling under our apartment door when the groups were getting near. Easter in Antigua, or Semana Santa, was a perfect example of why we love to live in new destinations and an incredible end to our long visit to Central America. During this time especially, we met new friends, got to enjoy piping hot street-food and see families enjoying their lives together on the cobblestone streets of Antigua.
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