1st Weekend, meet Corpus Christi

Sábado (Saturday)

I've been really excited about my 1st weekend because being in class has eaten up every minute of my 1st week. I can still remember getting back from class on that 1st day and just passing out before dinner, thinking I'd never have energy for anything but school. As with all things, it got better and I am really looking forward to the ruins tour that I am going on at 9 am on Saturday. We meet at Máximo Nivel and the tour will be solamente en Español.

The 1st image that you see is the University of San Carlos, founded in 1675. It spread culture and education to the colony of Coathemala. This was during the time of Spanish colonialism in Guatemala, and Antigua was the 1st city as well as the first Capital of independent Guatemala, which was founded in 1847. The second photo is of the central-local market square in Antigua. No, your eyes do not deceive you, that is a woman holding her breasts with water squirting out. I am constantly amazed by what art is considered appropriate in a culture where over 80% of the population is conservative Christian and 25% of the women still cover their heads during Catholic mass. Those of you who know me best know this is not a criticism but a legitimate musing about the way that religion, culture, history, and art come together for a rich society in which I am immersed for the first time. The last photo is of a church that I will definitely attend on another Sunday. It is a church hospital, Iglesia San Pedro Apóstol, that was founded by Hermano Pedro de San José (1626 - 1667) who is beloved by all Guatemalans for his piety and work with the poor during his short life. More on this after I've attended mass. 😀

The last place... before we get to the ruins... was Tanquel la Union. This is a fascinating park. You can see the 3rd photo on the right shows beautiful palm trees with volcanoes in the background. Many locals come here to take quinceañera pictures or to walk after a date, but the park has a much longer history of use. It was built in colonial times to allow families without water to have a place to come and do laundry. You might think that this use is in the past, but it's not. I saw multiple families come to use it just in the short time that I was visiting.

When you enter the courtyard to visit Ruinas Del Convento San Francisco, you are greeted by the grandeur of Santuario San Francisco el Grande. Unfortunately, I was not able to go inside as you can see the lovely little girl in white in front of the church. It was her private 1st communion today and of course, out of respect, you don't interrupt mass. Again this is another church that I will come back to visit so look for beautiful photographs of the inside next time. Trust me, there's enough to see in the ruins to fill two blogs and we haven't even touched on Corpus Christi!

Most Americans will immediately think of the horrific use of the capirote, and what it has become associated with in American history. It does, however, have a rich history in Spain and the new world colonies. The hat was used to hide one's face, so that attention was not given to themselves, but to God instead. It originated during the inquisition, but the use of the capirote has died out except in a few locations, which include Guatemala. The different colors were originally associated with which sin they represented. Only members of a confraternity of penitentes are allowed to wear them during solemn processions.

I had no idea that they did such an extensive parade in this town but evidently, it's quite famous. You can see the traditional costume on the left and a photograph of the wooden paso in use on the right. When you 1st enter the convent you are greeted with one of the enormous wooden structures that are used in the Easter festivals in Antigua. The large one takes 68 men of similar height to carry, and they take it through the streets for an 11-hour tour. Some day Mike and I will see this Holy Thursday ritual.

I think by the time I get back from Guatemala you are all going to be very sick of seeing volcanoes, but let me tell you, they've not lost their magic for me. The one in the background is Fuego and it was erupting when I was at the ruins. Several of my friends are hiking this weekend and it's a possibility that I will do it another weekend. Spoiler alert, I met them on my way home, and sadly there was no view after their 8 hr climb because of clouds... tough in the rainy season.

Here are a few more shots from the cloisters. I love the beautiful Palm tree on the left-hand side not that you can tell it from this shot but it's right next to what would have been the monk's cold food storage seller. Then in the middle, you can see the Volcano Agua, and on the right-hand side our amazing Máximo guide who told us so much about the history and architecture of the ruins. You're going to find a common theme in Antigua. Many of the beautiful buildings you see were destroyed by either earthquakes or mudslides. This one is no exception as an earthquake finally put an end to its use as religious housing in 1773.

After the tour of the convent ended, I ran into Matt, who is one of my friends from orientation. He was going up to see Cerro de La Cruz and I asked to tag along. This vista provides breathtaking views looking south over the cityscape of La Antigua toward Volcán Agua. The prominent cross at the head of the lookout point is devoted to the city's patron saint Santo Santiago. It was originally wood and put up in 1930. I can't seem to find when it was changed to cement, but there are 333 steps up to it which Matt laughed at because it is, "La mitad del número de la bestia", or half the number of the beast.

Domingo Día Festivo de Corpus Christi

Sometimes I just get lucky, and this experience is one of those times. In the US Catholics do not have a serious celebration for Corpus Christi. Just a little background on this: This celebration is associated with Jesus's Last Supper with his Apostles before his crucifixion. Many people think that this means it focuses on the crucifixion of Christ, but it does not. Instead, the focus is that he is here among us for all time.

I went to Spanish Mass at Iglesia de Merced. It is a stunning yellow and white church in the baroque style with Moravian accents that gets dressed up for this festive day.

The green background is pine needles, and the colored objects are dyed wood shavings, flower petals, and sand. It is incredibly reminiscent of the Tibetan sand drawings that remind me of how temporary beauty can be.

The mass was incredibly consistent with everything that I know from home, except of course that it was in Spanish. Also when the gifts were brought up to the altar they were much more numerous. Not just the bread and the wine, but numerous baskets of fruit as well. They also use an incredible amount of frankincense. It will be interesting to see if both of these things are true in a typical mass which I will get to do next week. After the mass is over, a gold and white processional canopy is erected at the front of the church. Under the canopy, a priest carries the body of Christ out of the church in a monstrance and parades through the streets. At the end of mass the priest gave really specific directions about what to do, but being bad at Spanish means I just had to wing it.

Here is the host coming out of the church, carried by one of the priests. You can hear the fireworks in the background, which are very common in Guatemala. They shoot them off for just about any occasion and call them Bombas. There are real mixed feelings about these fireworks as there seems to be no rhyme or reason to when they are deployed. All I can think is that Luna would have a nervous breakdown if she lived here as she doesn't even like fireworks just on the 4th of July.

Little did I know what I was getting into when I started out on this parade. Of course, it leads from the church and returns to the church but I had no idea how much time would be in between. Turns out about 4 hours! Let me show you some photographs of what happens between leaving the church and returning to the church.

Eventually, I find out that there are going to be 14 stops. Each one is at a person's private altar... Except for the photo on the far right, that one was a group of houses that had a communal altar. You always wonder what's behind the big metal gates, and today they were thrown wide for the Holy Eucharist. The procedure at each stop is the same, the priest and the cover walk up to the door and all the priests go inside and say a series of prayers. Then the altar and the family are blessed and the entire community says several prayers. The only one which I knew was the Hail Mary. Luckily, I was smart enough to memorize this one in Spanish before I arrived. Then the priest and the Eucharist come out and the entire congregation progresses to the next location. It's quite a slow go but no one who's caught behind us in traffic seems to mind at all! Guatemalans are known for being very peaceful and calm. So peaceful in fact that they don't generally have stop signs or red lights because everyone just lets everyone else go in their turn. Quite a bit different from most of the places in Central America that I have visited.

As you can see, all of the children are dressed as angels. They parade along with the adults and throw flowers in front of the procession. They also collect flowers after the Eucharist has passed, because an incredibly efficient municipal cleaning team comes along behind and everything you see on the ground disappears within minutes. This really is a feat because all of Antiqua's central district is cobblestone streets.

Overall it was a pretty magical weekend. Seeing the ruins, the cross, and Corpus Christi makes me wonder what next weekend will dish up. I'm excited that my private Spanish lessons are now 2 pm to 4 pm because this week I'll be able to do the photo walk, cooking class, and Salsa class!!! Also, I have 2 new instructors this week Kelly and Sandra. Wish them and me luck :) Until next time, stay curious readers.

Just thought I'd add one more procession video from later in the city so you can see the vastly different street art that the families put down.