Semana Santa in Antigua

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Hello,

After spending my last night in Costa Rica at Susan and Harry's place outside San Jose, I took a taxi to the airport yesterday morning and flew back to Guatemala without a hitch. Then shared a shuttle bus from the airport to Antigua. Am staying with the first family I stayed with several weeks ago for four nights. And then I'm off to Tikal (Mayan ruins in northern Guatemala) by plane for two days and a night on sunday morning at 4 am! Will be spending my last night in this country at an airport hotel and heading out for Boston via Miami on Tuesday, March 25. Back to France on March 30 from Quebec.

Semana Santa here in Antigua is really colorful and lively, and the town is packed with people from all over Guatemala and the rest of the world. One guidebook said it's the biggest Semana Santa outside of Seville. In any case, every day there are processions in the streets that trod on lovely flowered or painted sawdust "alfombros" (sp?) or carpets made the night or morning before by volunteer families in the different "barios" where the processions pass. Tomorrow is Good Friday, and there will be things going on all day. Hubert (Vietnamese American boy ), Mariana (Swiss girl) and I attended mass this evening with "our" family. Very colorful and moving, esp. as they had a ceremony where the parish priest washed the feet of the 12 apostles. Ignacio (father in the family) was one of the apostles, and Kimberley (his granddaughter) was an acolyte. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Before I close, a little publicity for my Portland-based, musician son, Eric.

He'll be interviewed at 5 PM French tim, on Saturday, March 22, on France Inter's program, "Systeme Disque".
If you miss it live you can also listen to a podcast later on at
http://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/em/systemedisque/ .
He'll be back in France for a concert
on Friday April 4th at La
Scène Bastille with his friends (Tétard, Feniksi from the Saïan
Supa Crew and Rio Taxi). Tickets can be bought at
http://www.fnacspectacles.com/place-spectacle/manifestation/Pop-rock-ERIC-JOHN-KAISER---FRIENDS-SC4AV.htm
or
http://www.digitick.com/ext/billetterie2/index.php4?site=scenebastille&p=11&idRep=71096

La Scène Bastille : 2 bis rue des Taillandiers, 75011 Paris, Métro
Ledru Rollin ou Bastille, 7 h 30, 12 euros

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Photos

cleaning up
the garbage truck comes right behind

Comments

[seb]

concert
can't be with you in guatemala but will be with eric in paris! love, bonne paques seb

[Sheri]

reminds me of Honduras
I remember an Easter in San Pedro Sula with a vibrant procession. The carpets in your photos are lovely! When are you coming back to SoCal?

[Sanchia Scott]

Flowers and Music
I loved your photos of the flower carpets - what a fascinating tradition. Wont be in Paris for Eric's concert but am very much looking forward to listening and sharing his CD when it arrives downunder.