For Christians around the world, Holy Week and Easter are the most important days of the faith.
In Antigua, Guatemala, numerous processions organized and executed by Brotherhoods (Escuela de Cristo, Merced, San Francisco, etc.) fill Holy Week with a ritual that is both spectacular and deeply moving. It is the largest such massive display of faith in the New World, established in the time of the Spanish Conquest.
The processions feature gigantic andas (floats) with figures of Jesus and Mary that are carried by the Brotherhoods through the historic section of Antigua. These andas can weigh 8 tons and up to 100 cucuruchos, or carriers, are required to carry them. Each procession has an andas featuring Sacred Images of Jesus carried by men and an andas featuring Mary carried by women. The men wear purple and white robes until Good Friday, then switch to black robes. The women wear black in all processions.
Each procession is accompanied by musicians, who play mournful dirges, led by a large drum pounding the beat which sets the slow pace of the carriers, three steps forward and one step back. Various other characters are included in some processions, such as Roman guards.
Many of the processions are conducted at night, adding to the solemnity and mystery of the ritual. Some of those nighttime processions feature huge incense censers swung on chains and candles distributed to the faithful on the route.
The processions last for hours. The cucuruchos are seamlessly relieved by a fresh crew about every 15 minutes. The load they carry is about 100 pounds. The routes cover many blocks in the old historic center of Antigua. And the streets are cobblestones, adding to the pain and effort required of the cucuruchos.
A very special feature of the processions is the creation of beautiful carpets on the route of the procession, requiring intense artistic detail and hours of work by the faithful. The carpets are made from colored sawdust, pine needles and flowers. Each one can take many hours of hard work in bent positions over the carpet. The spectacular carpets are sacrificed and destroyed when the procession passes over them. The photos of the carpets in my show were taken between 1 and 3 am, just before the start of that procession at 3am.
The streets and central park are packed with the faithful who come to experience this unique and beautiful ritual, lining the route with tens of thousands of Christians.
It is simply the most powerful ritual honoring the Passion of Christ I have ever experienced.
