Easter is now an expensive business

The rising cost of the Catholic procession in Guatemala is turning the event into more of a spectacle than a celebration.

Catholics carry a float during Semana Santa in Antigua, Guatemala.

ANTIGUA, GUATEMALA // Thousands of visitors will crowd the colonial town's cobblestone streets this weekend to watch men and women struggle under the weight of three-tonne religious floats in an Easter week celebration that goes back generations. More than 400 years after the Spanish brought the tradition to Guatemala, Semana Santa's pomp is still on display in Antigua, known as one of the most elaborate celebrations in Latin America.

Catholic church groups sponsor 30 religious processions during Lent. Purple and black-robed men, women and children carry floats through the 468-year-old town's streets. Clouds of incense envelop the groups, which are followed by marching bands playing sombre funeral tunes. And decorative "carpets", made from sand, dyed sawdust, pine needles, flowers or vegetables, line streets and sidewalks. Despite the resonance of tradition, some said Semana Santa celebrations, Spanish for Holy Week, which ends on Easter Sunday, have started to lose their purpose.

"It's become a big tourist event. It's not for the people of Guatemala. It's not to honour our religion. It's business," said Jose Gonzalez, 58, who used to participate in the processions. Antigua's tourism industry has long done a brisk business during the week. The town of about 35,000 permanent residents draws more than 40,000 foreigners and hundreds of thousands of Guatemalans, according to government statistics. Hotels charge special "Semana Santa" rates and restaurants bustle. In the past few years that entrepreneurial spirit has spilled over to religious celebrations, observers said.

Participants in one procession are charged 300 quetzales (Dh870) for the privilege of carrying a two-tonne float one block. In a country in which more than half of the population lives in poverty, the fee represents more than an average week's pay. As many as 10,000 people participate in each procession. "It's outrageous. Who can afford it in this country?" asked Elizabeth Bell, the author of a book on Semana Santa in Antigua and owner of a tour company. "It goes against the intent of the celebration."

The group that organised the procession said the money allows the group to plan for future years. "Things are more expensive these days and charging more helps us save for next year's procession," said a representative for the church, San Bartolome, who declined to give his name. "Just for the bands, we have to pay 50,000 quetzales [Dh23,000]." The group is considering raising its fees to 500 quetzales next year, the representative said.

Other church groups have raised their fees, but none as drastically as San Bartolome. The rising fees are the most blatant examples of the changing nature of the celebration, said Mr Gonzalez, who teaches theology part time at a Guatemala City university. "I think it's widely accepted that people no longer go to Antigua to observe the religious celebration. It's about the spectacle," he said. "When I was a carrier [in a procession], it was something you did out of obligation to the church. Now, you have to wait in line just for a chance to do it."

Participating in the processions - a painful experience some walk away from limping - is a sign of faith, Catholic leaders said. But today those wishing to participate will sometimes wait for hours to pay a fee for their time slot. Few Guatemalans, Mr Gonzalez said, can afford a hotel room, which can cost upwards of US$500 (Dh1,800) per night with a three-night minimum stay. "I think what we're seeing is the processions and the celebration growing enormously. Over the past 10 or 12 years, the event has become enormous," Ms Bell said. "We are bound to experience some growing pains along the way."

The event began to grow in popularity after the end of the country's civil war, Ms Bell said. One of the longest and deadliest civil wars of the many in Latin America, it spanned from 1960 to 1996 and killed about 200,000 people. In many ways Antigua and the Semana Santa festival reflect the situation in Guatemala, a country finding its way after a devastating war. Mayan women sell hand-beaded necklaces for less than $1 in front of jewellery stores that sell jade necklaces for more than $10,000. Horse-drawn carriages share the cobbled streets with new SUVs. And boys with fist-sized holes in their shoes charge 50 cents to shine shoes.

It is a microcosm of a country in which the gap between the poor and wealthy is one of the most extreme in Latin America, according to the United Nations. The event's growth is a blessing for Julio D Rodriguez, 26, who waited in line for four hours to pay for his turn to carry a float during a Good Friday procession in the town's central plaza, a prized spot. "I think it's a good thing that all these people will be here on the sidewalk taking photos," Mr Rodriguez said. "I was 15 when the war ended and now we have all these people coming to visit and to know Guatemala. What's wrong with that?"

* The National