Days 3 & 4

Buenos Dias!

In an attempt to not get too far behind on our blog here, I'm gonna combine some days (as they're hard to separate in my head anyways). Monday was our busiest day so far - we had two tours and a presentation with three different people. Steven Dove was the lead-off batter in that line-up. He has been living here for about two years and is finishing up his doctoral thesis on religion in Guatemala as a UT doctoral student. As we walked to the church of San Francisco, Steven gave us some great insight to the city. In a 10x10 block of the city, there are over 80 churches! At Iglesia de San Francisco, we learned about Hermano Pedro, the adopted saint of Guatemala, and how he came to be canonized in 2002. In addition to the story of Hermano Pedro, which was elaborated on later in the week, we viewed some contemporary murals. One of these murals included images that connected traditions from the indigenous peoples in Guatemala with the ceremonies and beliefs of Catholicism. One of these traditions of the Catholic faith practiced here is the lighting of candles as a blessing for loved ones. Among usual candles to be lit, were molded wax in the shape of body parts. If you or someone you knew had trouble with your eyes, you bought an eye figure. If you or someone had a broken leg, you bought a leg. Abby's boyfriend is in medical school so she bought him one of each, and said that he should tell his patients with a problem he cannot fix to take a body part and go pray! (I'm not sure I'll be going to him).

 This is a dedication to Hermano Pedro outside of Iglesia de San Francisco.

When we returned to Casa Herrera, we were lucky enough to have a presentation from a local surgeon and prominent alfombra maker named Dr. Jose Humberto Gonzalez Arenas. His family is so well known for their unique and beautiful alfombras that they were invited to make one for the Pope in Vatican City! Pretty impressive! He elaborated on many techniques and materials used in constructing the alfombras on the cobblestone streets.

After lunch, Elizabeth Bell gave us a wonderfully detailed tour of parts of Antigua that we had yet to see. Elizabeth Bell is the number one, expert resource on Lent and Holy Week (Semana Santa) in Guatemala. This woman spat out facts and answered questions like Bing.com; there wasn't a question that she didn't have a story for. Along the way, we toured City Hall, the ruins of the cathedral in the Central Park- where we went into the crypt, contemporary art galleries in Hotel de Santa Domingo, and a jade factory and jade museum (where many of us bought presents - you might be a lucky recipient if you continue to read our blog).

Inside the old walls of the Cathedral in Central Park, open skies shine light on pieces of the fallen building.

Back at Casa Herrera Elizabeth Bell gave us a photo lecture on the local traditions of Semana Santa, primarily the alfombras and the processions. She flashed photos that she has taken over the past few years of some of the best alfombras in town, while explaining the history behind them. One of the most interesting notes that I took from the lecture was that no matter how ornate, how big or small, or how much money it cost to produce your alfombra, everyone who participates is equal. There is no judging involved.

Dinner on Monday night was a real home run (despite the fact that I personally and accidentally ordered two soups)! Posada de Don Rodrigo not only provided great food, but entertainment as well! Dressed in traditional, wooden masks and colorful, sparkly gowns (which Dr. Bolin said reminded him of some of Elton John's flamboyant costumes), they shook their booties on the dance floor! I'm only kidding, but they did shake maracas as they performed along with a band playing traditional music on what looked like giant xylophones. Liz and Sara Tess got invited to join in the dance and show off their moves :)

Tuesday (3/3) started off with more, much needed information on how to master the making of an alfombra. A family in town who has produced some of the most intricate designs we have seen yet agreed to invite us into their home to show us some of their work, including the dye for sawdust, wooden and cardboard stencils, and a video documenting the making of one of their alfombras from start to finish. We learned that it's typical for a family to start preparing for their alfombra three months in advance! Here is where we bought some dye for our sawdust. A few of us were seriously contemplating how we could fit some of their stencils into our suitcases to take home.

Here is a photo of a sawdust alfombra in the mid-stages of production. Wooden beams are used to reach the center parts without damaging the work already done. Large wooden stencils are used to create the ornate detail throughout the carpet.

Steven Dove came back to speak with us about the role of cofradias, or religious brotherhoods, in Guatemala. Being that this is his area of expertise, we discovered how these many brotherhoods were used as means to organize the religious activities in the city when there were not enough priests, and how the cofradias function within society today. Being that our time was a little rushed on our visit to the church of San Francisco on Monday, we returned with Steven to check out the ruins in the back, as well as the museum dedicated primarily to Hermano Pedro. I wish we had pictures to share of one of the rooms in the museum (photos were not allowed), because it was incredibly moving. In this hallway hundreds, if not thousands of pictures of people who were healed by Hermano Pedro, plaques of gratitude for his miracle work, and objects, such as crutches, eye glasses, baby shoes and drawings, were left as a memory of his saintly work.

As I mentioned earlier, many alfombras are began around three months in advance, and with the making of our alfombra on Thursday, we cut that down to three days. Most of the day on Tuesday was dedicated to dying sawdust. A messy process (for us at least), we dove in hands first to large buckets of super fine wood chips, massaging liquid dye into every last grain. A detailed blog is coming soon that will elaborate on this part of our day!

The rest of the night was filled with eating amazing leftovers, stencil cutting, and preparing for Wednesday's art activity with local children at the Cultural Center!

Check out our next post as we talk about this once-in-a-lifetime experience collaborating on an art project with Guatemalan children :)   (Not sure who enjoyed it more, the children or us!)