On my final day in Guatemala, after a fairly intense week on the human rights delegation, I took some time out to relax and visit with an old friend, Jorge. He picked me up from the hostel I was staying in and we drove out of the old, run-down zona 1 into some of the more commercial districts, where his family works in car dealerships. I saw some very prosperous parts of the city I hadn't before come across, and we drove out one of the main highways towards Mixco, which is adjacent to Guate and after the capital it is the second largest city in Central America. The whole way, the road was lined with expensive shopping complexes and modern businesses.
Meeting up with some of Jorge's family and friends who were rappelling down a cliff in the suburbs, we headed up to a golf course on the outskirts of the city for lunch. Here we had a nice meal and then walked out over the impeccable grounds to get a breathtaking view of Guate, with Volcan Agua looming far off in the distance. Apparently it has this name because after an eruption in the 16th century, thousands of gallons of steamy water that had been lodged inside came flowing down over Antigua Guatemala in one of several natural disasters that led to the relocation of the capital to its present-day site.
After lunch, we drove the hour or so out to Antigua, to spend a very nice evening walking around and having dinner. The town is in a really gorgeous setting, with very picturesque colonial Spanish architecture lining cobblestone streets, and archways framing impressive views of Volcan Agua. Meanwhile two other volcanoes rim the town to the other side.
Wandering around some of the little alcoves that host art galleries and coffee shops, we stumbled upon a lesson of harpists. In a nearby cafe, we were the only customers on a rooftop balcony looking right into the ruins of an old Jesuit monastery.
On the Sunday we visited, we had the added good fortune to catch the first of the Lenten processions, for which Antigua is quite famous. Around sunset, hundreds of people began to line up on the procession route near the Cathedral, as hordes of befrocked capuchos ("hoodies") began the march in their purple smocks, accompanied by people dressed as Roman soldiers and other characters in the Passion play. A very large float with Christ and the cross came by, held aloft by hand, followed by a large Virgin Mary and some attendant saints. A few times the parade slowed down because they had trouble wheeling a generator attached to a floodlight along the cobblestone streets. Some call it progress... Besides the religious procession and the requisite accompanying sale of religious relics, there were many vendors trying to make a buck out of lollipops, candy floss, balloons and other items along the procession route. Seeing some children watching from up in a tree, I was reminded of a childhood play I did in school with a vignette about Zaccheus, the tax collector, who climbed up a tree to watch a procession of Christ into Jerusalem. In a place like Antigua Guatemala, the 2,000 time difference seems negligable. Much like in Palestine they used to line procession routes with palm leaves, in Antigua there is a tradition of laying ornate straw and reed mosaics along the parade route, some of which I witnessed being made by large teams of craftspeople.
Though Antigua is blatantly touristy and hosts many language schools, I was very glad to catch this bit of local culture that was quite unique and unexpected. And especially since I was with Guatemaltecos, it made going there so much more enjoyable.
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