November 1st marks Day of the Dead and in the city of Sumpango they have a huge celebration to honor the deceased. Like most areas of Guatemala, families go to the cemetery the night before and place flowers and foods around the family tombs. It is also common for people to fly kites in the cemeteries as a way of carrying messages to loved ones in the world beyond. The difference is that in Sumpango they have a contest to see who can make the biggest and most elaborate kites, which are then flown in the soccer field above the city cemetery. In the pictures above you can see the kids from the host family I lived with for 3 months in Sumpango. Their great grandma had recently passed away and they wanted a picture of themselves in front of her decorated tomb.
Here is one of the mid-sized kites taking off. As the kites start to barrel back down to the ground the crowd would sway and run in different directions. It was really exciting...and dusty. It was a lot of fun to see the family again and the kids each wrote cards for Lizzy and me.
It takes an average of 3 months to make each of the larger kites at a cost of up to 5,000 dollars. Which is quite significant when you take into account the fact that the average daily wage is about 6 dollars.
It was a really exciting day, the streets were packed with vendors of all sorts and we sampled the traditional dish Fiambre as well (which is basically a bowl full of cold cuts, sausages and pickled vegetables). We both really like the kite tradition and the idea that kites somehow communicate with deceased loved ones. Oh, we also learned that the tails on the kites are there to keep the bad spirits at bay so that the good spirits can enjoy the messages on the kites. So that is how Day of the Dead is celebrated in just one town. Next year we are hoping to go to Huehue where they have the drunken horse race...stay tuned.
Here is one of the mid-sized kites taking off. As the kites start to barrel back down to the ground the crowd would sway and run in different directions. It was really exciting...and dusty. It was a lot of fun to see the family again and the kids each wrote cards for Lizzy and me.
It takes an average of 3 months to make each of the larger kites at a cost of up to 5,000 dollars. Which is quite significant when you take into account the fact that the average daily wage is about 6 dollars.
It was a really exciting day, the streets were packed with vendors of all sorts and we sampled the traditional dish Fiambre as well (which is basically a bowl full of cold cuts, sausages and pickled vegetables). We both really like the kite tradition and the idea that kites somehow communicate with deceased loved ones. Oh, we also learned that the tails on the kites are there to keep the bad spirits at bay so that the good spirits can enjoy the messages on the kites. So that is how Day of the Dead is celebrated in just one town. Next year we are hoping to go to Huehue where they have the drunken horse race...stay tuned.
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