Barriletes Gigantes - Giant Kites

Yesterday was Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Day) in Guatemala. The guatelemalans honor their dead by cleaning, decorating, and visiting the gravesites. We went on an excursion via minibus organized by the school to Sumpango. It’s about a half hour drive from Antigua on a highway that is remarkably nice compared to all of the other roads and infrastructure around here. As an aside, it’s an odd experience to have such a mixture of very modern and very antiquated infrastructure. On the one hand there are cell phones and great highways and internet access while on the other hand trash is picked up by carts and food delivered by little old ladies who tote it on their heads. It’s as if some aspects of the infrastructure development were completely missed! But to get back to Dia de los Muertos: it is a very important day and in our drive to Sumpango, it seemed as if every person from miles around was present to participate. Cars lined the highway and roads leading to the cemetery, reminding us of a big music festival or sporting event. In the cemetery, families were hanging out at the gravesites, eating picnics, drinking, and socializing. Ice creams carts rolled up and down the rows of graves with the proprietors dinging the bells incessantly. Hawkers sold bunuelos, toys, and candy bars. Very colorful and noisy, but not a solemn event whatsoever.

Another particularly Mayan custom associated with Dia de los Muertos is the kite festival. This tradition originated years ago with a Mayan village that was experiencing bad harvests, sicknesses and other unfortunate events. The spiritual leader of the village told the people that perverse spirits were disturbing both the dead and the living inhabitants of the village. He suggested that they build kites to chase away the evil spirits with the noise from the crashing of the wind against the paper. The villagers made kites, flew them and their luck changed. Since that time, the tradition has been passed down and each year kites are flown to chase the evil spirits away and send peaceful message to the heavens.

In the village of Sumpango, the tradition has grown to include an International Kite Festival where barrileteros (kite builders) compete for prizes based on design, size, and flying ability. The kites are built by hand from bamboo, tissue paper, and glue. Each team travels to southern Guatemala for the bamboo and spends 2 or more months building their design. We saw some beautiful creations in Sumpango. Many of the kites measured up to 6 meters across and had elaborate and colorful designs depicting Mayan themes integrated with modern messages about climate change, environmentalism, etc. After the judging for the designs is completed, the teams attempt to launch their kites. It was thrilling to see these great beasts trying to catch the wind. The crowd of thousands cheered and groaned with the successes and failures as one after another tried to make it up. Some of the giant kites flew for a few seconds then turned upside-down and crashed, some folded in half instantly before even making it off the ground, and one or two actually launched and flew for hours. When one of the early kites folded up, one of the guys in our group blurted out, “Hecho in Mexico (made in Mexico)” which amused all of the Guatemalans around who instantly became friends with the funny Americans. The giant butterfly (above) was absolutely stunning, but unfortunately delicate - it was crumpling even before the team tried to get it off the ground.

It was even a hoot going to the bathroom even: some enterprising town folks put up a cardboard sign that said, “Sanitarios”. For 1Q each (about 12 cents), we were ushered into the courtyard by one of the children. While we were waiting there in line, another man gave us TP, and afterwards, granny showed us where to wash our hands. Our compatriot Dr. Joe quipped that he’d never had a team assist him in going to the bathroom before!

Those who know me well know that crowded dusty festivals are usually last on my list of to-do events but I surprised myself by finding I didn’t want to leave when 4:00 came around and it was time to meet the bus. It was a very fun day and an event that is well worth experiencing.