Thursday, May 14, 2009

The Purely Practical side of Processions....

For days I admired in awe the solemnity and intensity of the Easter Processions in Antigua, Guatemala, with floats carried by a hundred bearers or so, wending their way through the cobbled streets in a haze of incense....

And then on the final day of the processions, I noticed for the first time the practicality of those Roman soldiers who headed every procession. Firstly the poles they carried had an extremely important function of lifting the numerous (and often dangerously low) overhead electricity cables out of the way of the statues of Christ and the Virgin Mary being carried aloft...

Forgetting the lavish nature of the spectacle for one moment, I then started looking a bit more closely at the costumes and helmets of these Roman soldiers...

Yes, here the practical side is clearly on display as obviously many ordinary household brooms had been sacrificed for these soldiers' helmets, some more threadbare than others....
Don't you just love the practical ingeniousness and resourcefulness of these processions??
What have you noticed this week to make you smile??

8 comments:

Fly Girl said...

That's really inventive! What makes me smile today are all the spring flowers blooming. I bought a bright yellow hibiscus plant to go with my red one and to keep that bright spring feeling all year!

Cecile/DreamCreateRepeat said...

Great post!

My daughter is home from law school (for a day) on her move into a sublet for a summer job. Her pup Tucker is with her. He has had a terrible habit of "marking" in my house. : ( She found boy-puppy control bands on Etsy for him to wear when he visits people and I think they are clever and silly at the same time! ; )

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19222372&ref=sr_list_6&&ga_search_query=dog+pee+bands&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title

Wendy said...

This is really funny.

Unknown said...

ha ... hilarious ... geat little post

Dave-CostaRicaDailyPhoto.com said...

You have an interesting blog. I have been to mexico City only once, after one of our trips to Oaxaca, where we like to go. We collect Oaxacan art, particularly the carved wooden figures, and like to buy them directly from the artists in their villages.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I did leave an answer to your question yesterday, but was not able to do so until today, so I wanted you to know that I had not ignored your question. If you would like additional information, please let me know. I am sure you will love visiting Costa Rica.

Cecile/DreamCreateRepeat said...

Catherine--

Here is a link to a news article. Even if the flu isn't directly traced to this farm, it certainly sounds like a health issue in general:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6182789.ece

Indrani said...

Great post! Necessity is the mother of invention they say. :)

Catherine said...

dave, cecile - thanks for getting back to me with information..much appreciated..
Indrani, Flygirl,Wendy, reread - thanks for stopping by..your comments are always appreciated..