Guatemala celebrates Holy Week with new Unesco heritage status

The festival mixes Mayan rituals with Catholic fervour and culminates in colourful processions and street carpets

Tourists make carpets with coloured sawdust before the passage of a Good Friday procession, in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala. AFP

Thousands of Guatemalans are participating in this year's Holy Week celebrations, which have been granted Unesco heritage status since November.

The week-long festival actually stretches over six weeks, culminating at Easter with processions, vigils, and brightly coloured carpets lining the streets of the Central American country.

This year's Good Friday processions in particular have special meaning, given the new Unesco recognition.

The customs, music, food, and art of Guatemala's Holy Week reflect a “cultural fusion” between the Catholicism of Spanish conquistadores and the ancestral beliefs of the Indigenous Mayan population.

The festival's blend of Mayan rituals and Catholic religious fervour distinguishes it.

“Guatemalans experience Holy Week differently from the rest of the world,” said Culture Minister Felipe Aguilar.

Street vendors in Antigua, the colonial capital, sell food, soft drinks, and other products to thousands of faithful and tourists flooding the streets to participate in the processions.

The Jesus of Humility procession in Antigua, which marks the final part of Christ's life, is particularly noteworthy, with some faithful dressed as Roman soldiers.

The Good Friday procession in Bensheim, western Germany, re-enacting the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus. The tradition began among Italian immigrants in the 1980s. Getty

A Christian holds up a cross during the Good Friday procession along Via Dolorosa in the Old City of Jerusalem. It took place amid an increase in violence in the area, after Israeli police raided Al Aqsa Mosque. EPA

A worshipper lights a candle during the Good Friday procession at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem. EPA

Indian Christians re-enact the crucifixion of Christ to mark Good Friday in Guwahati, in the north-eastern state of Assam. AP Photo

Pilgrims carry crosses over the causeway to Lindisfarne - also known as Holy Island - in north-east England, on the final leg of their Good Friday pilgrimage. Getty

A young Christian at a Good Friday re-enactment of the crucifixion of Christ in Chennai, eastern India. AFP

A re-enactment of the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday in Mumbai, western India. EPA

Worshippers touch an image of Jesus at a Good Friday procession in Dili, the capital of East Timor, which is also known as Timor Leste. EPA

The Good Friday Walk of Witness at Tunstall Hill, Sunderland, north-east England, re-enacting the journey made by Jesus when he carried the cross. PA

Worshippers carry a cross as they take part in the Good Friday procession in Jerusalem's Old City. Reuters

Christians mark Good Friday outside St Joseph's Cathedral, in Prayagraj, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. AP

Nuns attend the Good Friday procession in the Old City of Jerusalem. EPA

East Timorese Christians during a Good Friday procession in Dili, East Timor. EPA

The Virgin of La Esperanza de Triana is carried in a series of processions through the centre of Seville, Spain, on the night between Holy Thursday and Good Friday. EPA

Participants in the procession of the Virgen de la Esperanza de Triana in Seville, Spain. EPA

Roman Catholics carry a cross during the Good Friday procession at St Francis De Sales church in the Dalugama suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka. EPA

A devotee of the 15 Mysteries Catholic Lay Missionaries sect during a ritual on Good Friday in Bulacan province, Philippines. Reuters

Filipino Catholics in San Miguel, Bulacan province, Philippines. Reuters

Rafael Haddad dressed as Jesus Christ at Martin Place during a Good Friday street theatre performance by Wesley Mission in Sydney, Australia. Getty Images

A re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday at Jawi Wetan Christian church in Mojokerto, Indonesia. Reuters

Residents of the town of Iztapalapa participate in the 180th representation of Holy Week in Mexico City, Mexico. EPA

Traders prepare seafood at the fish market in Sydney, Australia. Fish is a traditional meal on Good Friday. EPA

Catholic devotees at a Black Nazarene procession on the eve of Good Friday in Manila, Philippines. EPA

A vendor unloads fish for sale on Good Friday at the Companhia de Entrepostos e Armazens Gerais de Sao Paulo market in Sao Paulo. Bloomberg

“The Jesus of Humility has always blessed us … we don't want to lose this tradition that identifies us as Guatemalans,” said restaurant cook Jose Perez.

The Holy Week celebrations have a rich history in Guatemala, dating back to the 16th century when Spanish colonisers brought the festivities to the region.

The local Mayan population soon syncretised the celebrations with their own traditions and worldview.

For many Guatemalans, participating in the processions is a significant part of their spiritual lives.

“I feel very satisfied … and I will remain here to be with this devotion,” said farmer Jorge Pines.

The festival is not just celebrated in Antigua. Mayan neighbourhoods also mark Holy Week by wearing traditional outfits and carrying images of their saints through the streets.

In the north-western San Andres Sajcabaja municipality, indigenous people from the Mayan K'che' ethnicity crawl on their hands and knees about five kilometres through the streets to mark the Passion of Jesus, wearing thorns on their heads or backs to atone for their sins or give thanks to God.

This year's Holy Week celebrations have special meaning for many Guatemalans, as the Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of last year's events.

“People are happy because it has been three years” since the last such procession due to the pandemic, said Susana Leimi, a trader in the village of Santiago Atitlan.