A Remote Culture??.....Nicaragua

Meet Fatima who is transforming the age-old cultural skill of carrying her wares upon her head into the modern age; a slight technological glitch perhaps, but there is something about this photograph which really appeals to me. Of course there is no shortage of the more traditional shots to be found in Nicaragua.....

Or these...
And when I was in Guatemala at Easter, the women from a local textile cooperative even enjoyed giving us a demonstration of the said balancing act, trying to encourage us to acquire the skill. They enjoyed emphasising the cultural difference whereby, if they had something to carry, without thinking, it would automatically go straight to their heads...

I like to think that Fatima may be striking a new note for Nicaragua; a time to look with fresh ideas beyond the traditional images. The country is still perceived by many as being a remote and distant far off place, perhaps still troubled and unstable, perhaps still too under-developed and lacking infrastructure, certainly not at the top of most people's travel wish lists. But I would like to strike a note in the coming posts for its charm and beauty, its grand Colonial architecture, scenic lakes, islands, and volcanoes, tranquil laid-back coast, vibrant markets and artisans, and the friendly welcome given to visitors...... There are many, many reasons to enjoy travelling here...

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??

Shadow Shot Sunday 11 : Antigua

Rather an accidental shadow shot this week to coincide with all my recent posts about the amazing Easter celebrations in Antigua, Guatemala.....Here is a purple-robed float bearer looking for his Procession and float with the statue of Christ to carry...A serendipitous spear-tip shadow shot found whilst trawling through all my Antigua photographs!!

To see more deliberate shadow shot hunting don't forget to check out Shadow Shot Sunday over at Hey Harriet by clicking here.... Enjoy!!

Purple Robes at Play - The Lighter Side of Easter in Antigua...

After all the intense solemnities and religious fervour of the Passion and Easter Processions, it comes as a welcome relief that there is also a lighter side to the celebrations in Antigua, a more human side to the festivities, perhaps initially signalled by the souvenirs for sale....

You can still display your own extrovert personality and look cool and trendy in sunglasses and a purple robe...

And indeed, after the processions it is perfectly acceptable to get on with the ordinary things in life, which may involve making those all important phone calls on your mobile...

Reconnecting with your girlfriend.....

Even indulge in some canoodling in the public plaza....

In the plaza after the Processions, a more festive atmosphere reigns with everyone eating, drinking and chatting with family and friends...

Families are on the move, walking back along the cobbled streets after their duties have been performed in the Processions...

Many are on the move by motorbike, an increasingly popular form of transport in Antigua.....

Or by scooter...

But I think my favourite shot of all that best exemplifies this theme of the wonderfully human side to celebrating Easter in Antigua, Guatemala, is this shot of the clear devotion and love a parent has for his child - shown in this image of father and son....

Which really brings us back full circle to the religious meaning of Easter celebrations. If you get a chance to go to Antigua, Guatemala to witness it all for yourself...Don't miss it!!

A life in the day of an Antiguan alfombra...

One of the most unforgettable aspects of the way in which Easter is celebrated in Antigua, Guatemala, is the visual spectacle of all the amazing alfombras (carpets ) created for the occasion by the local community.

Made of pine needles and fresh flowers, or coloured sawdust in intricate stencilled designs, they start to appear at 2 or 3am along the major route of an Easter Procession. Whole families are up and out beginning the process under spotlights, laying the foundations, crawling precariously on crawl boards so that the complex design is not compromised...

Complete concentration is focused on creating the most beautiful of flower carpets..

And the most stunning of sawdust carpets along the narrow cobbled streets....

Everyone gets involved - young and old, family and friends, tourists and locals....

Then, before the Processions arrive, the main task is to keep the flowers as fresh as possible with a constant spray of water from the family hosepipes.....

The odd dog or too has to be shooed away from spoiling the holy effort and pristine finished product...

As the monumental Processions draw near, the carpets are first blessed by numerous incense bearers who create an atmospheric haze of smoke swirling along the streets...

And then in the very next instant they are trampled to dust and crushed to nothing by the feet of the float-bearers carrying the gigantic statues of Christ and the Virgin Mary...

Local people following the Procession rush to gather what remains of the trampled flowers as they are now holy and blessed, and then it is time for the final stage...

And with astonishing and somewhat ruthless,clinical efficiency, rushes in a team of sweepers, who without further ado, brush up the remnants of pine needles and sawdust unceremoniously dumping them into the convenient dumpster - the final float in the Procession....

All that remains is a faint smudge on the cobblestones and a stray wisp of incense... as if all this had never really been......

Until of course the next Procession is due, and the whole cycle is repeated all over again...and again...and again!! I was fortunate to be staying on a main Processional route at Posada LaMerced, Antigua, and so was involved in making the hotel carpet out on the street under the strict design orders of hotelier and good friend Gail Rogers... An unforgettable experience!!! ( Posada LaMerced at Avenida Norte 7 , 43a is a highly recommended, friendly and great value place to stay.)

Amazing Easter Processions in Antigua

If you haven't yet witnessed the visual spectacles of the Easter processions in Antigua, Guatemala, here is a quick taster which I am sure will get you heading for Central America before too long..

It takes 100 men " Los cucuruchos" to carry a float this size, and they proceed along the Processional route with a coordinated hypnotic swaying movement - to literally keep it all afloat. Places are assigned by strict height measurement from ground to shoulder, and each bearer is given a "turn" and "shoulder" position on the platform issued on a postcard pinned to their purple robe.

Next come the women in black lace mantillas and stilettos stoically wielding the Virgin Mary aloft. The haze of the incense and passionate fervour is palpable in the strong, harsh sunlight...

The giant carved wooden figures of Christ carried on high in Guatemala are world renowned for the intensity of their Passion...

An intensity and religious fervour which is mirrored in the faces of the Procession leaders...

And of course the float bearers themselves...

The Easter Processions in Antigua are on an unprecedented scale in terms of religious devotion and visual spectacle. Don't miss this experience if you get a chance to go.... More posts to follow this week... In the meantime check out other windows on the world by clicking here for MyWorldTuesday posts.