Greetings from Antigua…wish you were here!
Photos taken March 10th inside a church in Antigua, Guatemala.
The alfombras, or colorful carpets, elaborately decorated on the grounds of churches and streets throughout Guatemala, especially in the days leading up to and following Semana Santa, are quite impressive. Made of colored sawdust the colors are so brilliant that they often hurt your eyes. Each one is unique and each one a work of art. Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Guatemala is one of the largest celebrations in the world and Antigua has quite an offering of processions and events.
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Beautiful Nicole! I´m so happy you got to see at least one! The alfombras in churches during Lent (Cuaresma) and Holy Week (Semana Santa) are part of what is called a velación. Each one is different with an alfombra surrounded by a garden of fruit, flowers, veg, shaped loaves of bread and sometimes even caged birds. There is also a colorful giant backdrop of a biblical scene on the wall behind. Check out my blog post on velaciones http://loca4motion.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/holy-week-in-antigua-velaciones/