cuaresma

lent.  it's been around for a long time - like 2000 years.  it is called cuaresma here.  most people know what ash wensday is but the significance here is amplified.  this year the begining of a time of austerity and internalization for catholics lands on a day otherwise known best for a celebration of lovers.  february 14. so a bit awkward.

mardi gras isn't really a thing here but they give lent a whole new meaning.

i haven't commented on this because i've been watching and trying to understand the unique relationship Antigua and Guatemala has with lent [cuaresma].  also, as an outsider it is really easy to see the rediculousness of the traditions.

when i first arrived i was creeped out by the veneration of the religious statues in the churches.  i'm not sure why, i grew up in the catholic church, i had been around them all my life.  maybe i have spent too much time in the east.  

these religious statues are kept year round is specific churches.  each week during lent there are processions as statues are moved from church to church or on sundays, they are just taken out for a really long walk.  so more on the processions next....