Across the country on December 7^th, Guatemalans burn the devil. Market stalls fill with paper mache devils for families who want to personally show the devil his due, and at the only place in La Antigua where two gas stations sit across the street from each other, people gather to watch La Quema del Diablo – The Burning of the Devil.

As I walked through swarms of people wearing devil horns and past kiosks selling sizzling meat and devil apparel, I passed a fire truck parked protectively in front of one of the gas stations. On a platform in the center of the crowd stood the bowing devil weighed down, not by a cross, but by red wooden wings. A cigarette shot from his mouth and his horns pointed menacingly towards the audience. Two men on a ladder were packing his wooden frame with firecrackers and dousing him with can after can of gasoline. The devil’s petroleum perfume rose robustly across the anxious crowd. A man, with alcohol pouring from his mannerisms and a cigarette in his mouth, stumbled over the protective barrier. He walked right up to the devil and looked the fiend straight in the eyes. There was something intimate about the exchange. As man and demon locked sights, the two men on the ladder just laughed and told him to go away. He remained until one of the news reporters put his microphone in his pocket and helped lead him back to the growing masses.

I asked one of the volunteer firemen why anyone thought it was a good idea to burn a devil effigy in between two gas stations. He twirled his helmet with his fingers and shrugged, “They’ve been burning the devil here since even before the gas stations were here. It’s tradition.” The reason this particular spot was chosen to burn the devil is that it’s in front of the ruins of La Concepción (the church and convent of the Immaculate Conception of Mary). When you burn the devil, you make way for Mary. The tradition of burning the devil began in colonial times. In anticipation of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a day which honors the Virgin Mary, those who could afford it adorned the fronts of their houses with lanterns. The poor, who could not afford such lanterns, would clean out their homes, gathering all their garbage, and would burn the year’s rubbish in front of their houses – the idea being to burn all of the bad from the previous year and to start anew from the ashes. Over time it was formalized and in addition to individual piles of garbage, communities started to burn effigies of the devil to clear the way for Mary’s feast.

In cities throughout the country, the devil is burned at the stroke of six o’clock in the evening. In La Antigua, head early to the east end of 4a Calle Oriente to secure a spot to view the spectacle. In Ciudad Vieja, one of the former capitals of Guatemala, a devil three stories tall is constructed and burned in the city square!

As the hour approached, a bearded man with a bullhorn in one hand and a torch in the other began reading the charges being leveled against the devil. The crowd started roaring. Children’s faces danced between fear and excitement. Everyone was on their toes, leaning over the crowd to get a slightly better glimpse. Then the devil’s hour came and as the torch touched him, he burst into flames. Children screamed. The firecrackers packed inside the devil began to blow. The darkened street was alive with a brilliant red light. A cloud of smoke diabolically covered everyone downwind. Every injustice of the previous year was now being corrected and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception could begin the next day without the devil’s interference.

As the flames continued to burn, the devil was reduced to ashes. One reporter standing too close was nearly hit as the Devil’s flaming body parts began to fall. The flames waned. Soon only cinders remained. When the fear of a fire disappeared with the final flames of the devil, the fire truck was quickly appropriated as a dance floor for the band that played in the wake of the burning. With their demons faced down, the crowd danced vibrantly into the night, perhaps to later lay safely in their beds and dream of a harmonious Guatemala with no devils to burn.

Photos by Luke Armstrong

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Make sure to go out and soak up the celebratory mood; it’s an opportunity see the myriad ways that chapines celebrate this important holiday.

*The last line of the Guatemalan National Anthem.

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Check out Qué Pasa’s La Antigua Calendar on page 42 for Semana Santa events.

La Antigua is world-famous for its very elaborate Catholic religious celebrations during the 40 days of Cuaresma (Lent), leading up to the culmination of the season with Semana Santa (Holy Week) and Pascua (Easter) which commemorate the Passion, Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The entire city participates in the event, and tens of thousands of visitors – both national and international – flock to La Antigua to witness the dramatic happenings.

Here is a basic guide to some of the sights, smells, and vocabulary of these captivating celebrations.

Velaciones (or Holy Vigils) ornament churches around La Antigua and the surrounding villages throughout Cuaresma (Lent). Each parish’s brotherhood, known as an hermandad, organizes its church’s velación, displaying their religious processional statue in front of or near the main altar. Usually a backdrop is made and a biblical or allegorical scene is created using the parish’s processional image of Jesus, other statues, and additional props. In recent years, many of the more elaborate velaciones have also employed soundtracks and timed lighting displays to add to the spectacle. At the foot of the display lies a vibrant handmade alfombra (carpet) made of brightly dyed sawdust, edged by a huerto (garden), an eye-catching display made of a beautiful combination of flowers, fruits, vegetables, bread, candles, and a large native seed pod with a unique odor that is traditionally evocative of Cuaresma – the corozo.

To find out how you can participate in a procession, see the interview “A Cucurucho for a Day” (from our April 2011 issue) on our website.

Each Sunday during Lent, and then during Holy Week itself, different local parishes sponsor procesiones (religious processions) through the streets of La Antigua. Each procession leaves its church and follows a pre-planned route before returning to the church several hours later.

Procesiones generally begin with men dressed as Roman Centurions leading the way (in a reference to Jesus’ crucifixion at the hands of the Romans), then come incense carriers and banner carriers. Behind them is the central attraction of the procession, the anda (a large wooden platform) bearing the parish’s religious processional sculpture of Jesus set amid lavish decoration. Many of these statues were made during the Spanish colonial period and can date back as far as the mid-17th century. The anda is carried on the shoulders of cucuruchos (carriers), who wear purple full-length tunics in the processions up until 3 PM on Viernes Santo (Good Friday), then black in the procesiones after that.

The largest of the andas can weigh as much as 7,000 pounds (3,150 kgs).

Each group of cucuruchos will carry the anda for a specific distance (a turno or turn) and then a new group will take over. The members of each turn are determined by the carriers’ shoulder height to ensure that the anda is level and balanced. This is important, as the largest of the andas can weigh as much as 7,000 pounds (3,150 kgs) and are carried by as many as 100 cucuruchos at a time.

In the past, the cucuruchos participated solely as a form of penance. Today there is some degree of social status involved, but the principal motivation is still a show of devotion by the carriers.

About a block behind the main anda, women carry a smaller anda with the figure of La Virgen María (The Virgin Mary). These female carriers are known as dolorosas or cargadoras. They also have turnos throughout the various hours of the procession. The women wear black skirts or dresses and also a mantilla (a head-covering, usually lace). Following behind the anda of the Virgin Mary are a funeral band and two additional, very small andas (usually carried by only 4 cucuruchos each) carrying the sculptures of San Juan (St. John) and María Magdalena (Mary Magdalene).

Elaborate and beautifully artistic alfombras (carpets) made of aserrín (sawdust) or viruta (wood shavings) dyed in bright colors, pine needles, flowers such as bougainvillea, chrysanthemums, carnations, and roses, and even fruits and vegetables are constructed during the hours prior to adorn the route of the procesiones. Sand or sawdust is generally used to level the cobblestone street, then the decorative elements are painstakingly arranged on top. The alfombras are made by residents along the route of the procession who invite friends and family to assist them in their construction.

As the procession passes over an alfombra, it is destroyed in the scuffle of feet, leaving nothing but a pile of debris which is quickly cleaned up by municipal cleaning crews that follow the procesión. The fact that the hours of labor and artistic talent that went into the making of the alfombra are wiped clean in a matter of minutes is a reminder that all beauty in the world is transient.

Photos:
Guillermo Gedé
Raúl Illescas

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A sketch of the moon phases by the Italian astronomer, philosopher, physicist, and mathematician Galileo Galilei.

Here in Guatemala, each year during March and April, we begin to make preparations for Easter. Some buy their turns to carry in the procesión of their choice. Others are preparing to make pilgrimages through the streets and once again feel the fervor that stirs their souls. And, of course, there are those who start planning their next vacation.

Whatever decision we make, there is something that affects all of us: When is Holy Week and Easter this year? Of course, it’s easy to find the answer: look at a calendar, check the internet, or just ask someone. But the issue goes beyond that. Why is it that the date of this holiday varies from year to year? Why isn’t it on a specific day, like Christmas, Mayan New Year or Valentine’s Day? The answers can be found back in time, back in the very foundations of Christianity – when it was gaining strength in the Roman Empire and fought to distinguish itself from Judaism, when it was emerging from the obscurity in which it had been immersed due to persecution at the hands of the leaders of the time.

Christianity ceased to be a cult of only a few believers and became the official religion of the Roman Empire by decree of Emperor Constantine, and it was at the 1st Council of Nicaea in

AD 325 where agreements were reached about the future of this new form of religious consciousness. It is at this point that certain astronomical events, the commemoration of the Jews’ escape from Egypt, and the Resurrection of Jesus are merged into a new celebration, which over the years has become the tradition we know today as Holy Week and Easter.

In one corner of this triangle are two specific astronomical events, which directly affect this tradition, the spring equinox and the first full moon afterward. The first relates to the position of the earth in its orbit around the sun: the point at which both of earth’s hemispheres are the same distance from the sun, so that sunlight falls equally across the globe. On this day, the equinox, night and day are exactly the same – this means that, in the northern hemisphere, winter is over, snow melts, the cold diminishes, and the sun’s rays begin to warm the region, bringing new life and the renewal of nature. The cycle begins anew. In the southern hemisphere, the exact opposite begins to happen.

The illumination of earth by the sun on the day of the equinox.

The other astronomical event that affects the date of Easter is the first full moon after the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere. Since each moon cycle takes about 29½ days, the date of the full moon can vary from year to year. This full moon can occur as early as March 22 and as late as April 25. Remember, the calendar that we use is based on a solar count.

The Jews, the Chinese, and other cultures use a calendar based on a lunar system, which leads to the second point: Easter is a celebration based on the commemoration of the Jewish Exodus, the departure from Egyptian bondage of this people for their promised land. In other words, the Christian Easter is a celebration with Jewish roots, but was modified so as not to be confused with the celebration of Passover.

Finally we have the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is celebrated by the Christian world. Jesus was crucified and after three days rose from the dead, proving that he was the true Son of God. All this is known as the Passion, and is one of the most important foundations of Christianity.

Images depicting the Resurrection of Jesus.

So, to recap: there’s the spring equinox, which reminds us that even though everything ends, it will begin again and life always continues; the full moon gives us both the hope to see even in darkness and the certainty that there will always be light, even in the darkness of night; the Exodus of the Jews tells us that not all bondage is forever and there is always the chance to start anew; and finally there’s the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which shows that triumph over death is possible and that there is hope of life after death.

The conjunction of these events at Easter suggest that the true message remains from its beginning: when there is life, there are colors, there is light, there is a continuation from one stage of life to another; we are never tied to anything forever; everything flows like the waters of a river to meet the vast sea; if there are no flowers today, there will be tomorrow; if we‘re sad today, that too shall pass. Simply put, it is this cycle that gives us the possibility to start again. Make the most of the opportunity.

Photos by:
Wiki Commons

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It’s a magical time, full of lights, colors, aromas, and expectations that take us back to childhood, that period of our lives when the impossible is possible, and it reminds us that there are mysteries in the world worth remembering. So join the collective Guatemalan frame of mind that is sure to be a pleasant surprise; let yourself be seduced by the fragrances, flavors, and folklore of this land. Below is a sample of what to expect.

The Posadas
These are representations that tell the story of the journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, and their search for a place to spend the night. The posadas begin on December 15 and continue through the 23rd of the month. They consist of a small platform which is carried on the shoulders through the streets and is accompanied by a group of people with lanterns, who sing or pray to the rhythm of turtle-shell percussion or a drum and flute, and which can also be accompanied by marimba. The group makes the trip from one house to another to another during the nine nights of the celebrations. At the end of each night, there are refreshments for the participants.

Nativity Scenes
These are scenes depicting the birth of Jesus Christ, which are exhibited in homes, in churches or in public places. They usually show the Baby Jesus in a manger with Joseph and Mary at his side, often accompanied by an ox and a mule. Guatemalan nacimientos (nativity scenes) differ from those of the rest of the world with the inclusion of native folk art, where clay figurines represent shepherds, sheep, farm animals, houses, and even entire villages. Often sawdust dyed different colors is used, as is green and white moss, colored pebbles, miniature trees, pine needles, and manzanilla, among other items. All these ingredients combine to create the most varied scenes, where Guatemalan landscapes, Mayan folk art, and the influences of Hispanic and Catholic traditions mix.

Coupled with this tradition, there is another called “The Theft of the Baby Jesus,” but don’t be alarmed, it’s just one more way to celebrate the season. The game consists of waiting for the homeowner (and owner of the nacimiento) to be careless and off-guard and then a member of the family or a family friend removes the figurine of the Baby Jesus and “steals” it. When the owner of the figurine becomes aware of the theft, he must wait for the “thief” to return the Baby Jesus by offering a feast to celebrate its “reappearance.”

The Burning of the Devil 
This tradition, which begins on December 7th at 6 PM, starts off the Christmas-season celebrations. People collect unused objects and junk from their homes, preferably those that burn easily, as well as piñatas that represent the popular image of the devil. These are placed in front of the home and set alight. In addition to this, within the home, care is taken to thoroughly sweep every nook and cranny, and then holy water is sprinkled throughout. This ritual, with the idea of burning out all evil, symbolizes the cleansing needed in order to start a new year better than the last one.

Day of the Innocents / All Fools’ Day
This day, December 28th, commemorates the slaughter of thousands of innocent children by King Herod’s soldiers in an attempt to kill the Baby Jesus. But instead of being a sad remembrance of this tragic event, it’s a day where pranks are played on those “innocents” who aren’t paying attention. The pranks can sometimes be cruel, but they’re always funny. If you overhear something like: “¡Inocente palomita que te dejaste engañar!” (“Innocent dove, you let yourself be fooled!”) or “¡Caíste por inocente!” (“You fell for it, ’cause you’re naive!”), don’t be angry!  The whole purpose is for everyone to share a smile.

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Photo by Claire Bourgin

Horseracing in the Highlands - Immerse yourself in tradition for the Día de Todos los Santos
In Guatemala, there are many festivities on November 1st in celebration of All Saints’ Day (Día de Todos los Santos), and the town of Todos Santos Cuchumatán is one of the places to be for the occasion. It’s a small village in the Cuchumatanes Mountains in the northwest of the department of Huehuetenango. Over the centuries, they have kept their traditions alive and the horserace on the 1st of November is one of them.

At 2,500 meters above sea level (8,200 ft.), Todos Santos Cuchumatán is surrounded by mountains. Located three hours north of the city of Huehuetenango, Todos Santos is one of the places in Guatemala, along with Lake Atitlán, where men, women and children alike wear the fashions of their ancestors. The majority of men are farmers and most of the women are weavers. The language of the area is Mam, one of the 23 indigenous languages of Guatemala, and most residents also speak Spanish as a second language.

The origin of the November 1st horse race is vague. It could be the celebration of the triumph of a group of Mam who took horses and escaped from the Spaniards. Or it could be linked to the ritual purification of the soil, as participants sacrifice chickens and spill their blood. It is not a competition; people just ride for fun and out of tradition, which sometimes confuses foreigners: there’s no “winner.” But it’s certainly fun to watch.

Photo by Claire Bourgin

Most of the riders have stayed up the night before drinking in celebration with their friends and family. Many are so intoxicated during the race that it’s a wonder they can stay on their horses! But sometimes they don’t, and they fall off. If someone dies, supposedly it means that it’s going to be a good year for the town. The riders dress with plumes and a special belt and jacket, and they race the length of a hundred-meter track – back and forth, back and forth. And so it goes, all day long. According to local superstition, the horsemen have to participate in the race for four consecutive years. No more, no less, or else it brings bad luck. For their last year, they have to eat an entire chicken the night before the race. During the race, each rider carries another chicken with him on his horse, and at the end of the day, the chicken’s head is cut off as a sacrifice. Some people can spend up to Q20,000 (around $2,600) during the three days of the celebrations in Todos Santos Cuchumatán; this represents a huge outlay of money in this impoverished community, but it’s all in the name of tradition and celebration.

The sale and consumption of alcohol was banned by the mayor of Todos Santos about four years ago. Now it’s only allowed during the week of the festival. With alcohol prohibited during the rest of the year, many make the most of this limited period of availability, and those who have imbibed too much can be seen trying to stay on their feet or sleeping in the streets.

On November 2nd, the entire population of Todos Santos Cuchumatán goes to the cemetery to celebrate their dead; they decorate the tombs with garlands, flowers and candles, and they improvise small ceremonies accompanied by the sound of firecrackers and marimba.

WHERE TO STAY
Todos Santos Cuchumatán does not have many hotels and they tend to fill up quickly for the celebration.
So it’s best to make a reservation.

CASA FAMILIAR
Cost: 1 person – $20 (Q150); 2 people $26(Q200) Telephone:  4791-1412
It’s the most luxurious hotel in Todos Santos. There are 10 rooms with both double and single beds. Each room has a private bathroom with hot water, and some of the rooms have TVs. They offer shared meals and they show movies about Todos Santos. There is a shop where coffee is served and chocolate, and products from the weaving cooperative are available. The hotel is located on the left-hand side of the street that climbs the hill to the left of the park.

HOTELITO TODOS SANTOS
Cost: 1 person, shared bathroom – $12 (Q90);
2 people, private bathroom – $16 (Q125).
Telephone: 7783-0603 or 5327-9313
This hotel has 15 rooms, 6 of them with private bathrooms. The single, double and triple rooms are comfortable, and extra blankets are available upon request. The private bathrooms have hot water and towels. There is a cozy communal living room, as well as a dining room where breakfast is served (not included in the room price). The outside door is locked at 10:30 PM, but there is a bell for late entries.Take the street to the left of the park. Take a left at the first street. The hotel is located on the right-hand side about 30 meters down.

HOTEL MAM
Cost: 1 person – $5.00 (Q40);
2-3 people – $4.50 (Q35) per person.
Telephone: 5192-1794
Hotel Mam has five rooms with double beds which all have shared bathrooms. All bathrooms have hot water. There is also a traditional Mayan sauna (chuj) available for use for an additional charge. Take the street to the left of the park. Take a left at the first street. Hotel Mam is located on the right-hand side about 20 meters down.

HOTEL EL VIAJERO
Cost: Per person, shared bathroom;
$4.00 (Q30).
Telephone Number: 5789-3175
This hotel has 5 rooms, only one of which has a private bathroom. All are equipped with queen-sized beds. The bathrooms have hot water. You can use the kitchen for Q5/day. You can also climb up to the roof to eat or just enjoy the view.

To get to this hotel, take the street to the left of the park. Take a left at the first street. You’ll pass Hotel Mam and Hotelito Todos Santos. Continue until the next street. Take a right up the hill. The hotel is located on the right-hand side about 10 meters up the hill.

For more information about other festivities taking place on the
Día de Todos Santos (November 1st),
see page 20.
For more information on transportation and guides, contact Adrenalina Tours at 7932-5858 or info@adrenalinatours.com, or visit adrenalinatours.com.

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All Saints’ Day - Cementery Decoration

Depending on when during the month of October you’re picking up this edition of Qué Pasa, All Saints’ Day, which is celebrated on November 1st, is either right around the corner or almost a month away. Either way, mark your calendar now, because you won’t want to miss these events!

All Saints’ Day is a Roman Catholic holiday and dates from the Middle Ages, when Pope Gregory IV declared November 1st a feast day to commemorate saints in Heaven. In Guatemala, it’s a national holiday and is marked by various traditions and festivities.

Cementery Decoration
Guatemalans flock to the cemeteries to celebrate All Saints’ Day.  For this one day, the image of cemeteries as places of peace, sadness, death, and the ideal setting for horror films is replaced by a completely different ambiance, becoming the meeting place for thousands of the living, carrying flowers, food, drinks of all kinds, and even enjoying mariachi music.  Family members and friends congregate at the tombs of loved ones to tidy up and adorn the graves with wreaths, flowers, garlands, and candles.

Just outside the cemetery in La Antigua (as well as outside of the majority of cemeteries in the country), you can also find all types of vendors with a wide array of typical celebration foods as well as flowers, wreaths, and other items to decorate the graves.

On November 1st, cemeteries are places full of life, while paradoxically most places where the living go about their daily lives, such as shops, offices, and entertainment centers, are closed.

Both towns are in full fiesta mode for All Saints’ Day, with hundreds, if not thousands, of people celebrating.  According to tradition, giant kites are flown to raise the souls of the dead to Heaven and to turn away evil spirits. The giant kites are a mix of art, tradition and color, through which, the locals carry messages of unity, love, faith, and respect for Mother Earth.  Many also believe that they can communicate with their dead and send good messages to them on the kites. So the designs employ all the colors of the rainbow to communicate messages of happiness.  The families of the towns work for months on the construction of these giant kites – which can be as large as 10 meters (about 32 feet) in diameter!  A single kite can be worth up to Q60,000 (almost $7,900), taking into account the price of materials and the builders’ labor; however, beyond the economic cost, the true value is the symbolic and spiritual value it contains.

Towards the end of the day, a jury selects the best kite design and gives a prize to the winning family.  There is also music, companionship, and the vendors’ stands with many things – flowers, food, beverages, candies – and much more to enjoy!

Fiambre
Some foreigners have called fiambre a “type of chef’s salad”; this is like saying that the Hope Diamond is just some kind of rock.  Fiambre is so much more.  Although each family has its own recipe for fiambre, and each version tastes a little bit different, all versions have as many as 25 different cold-cuts and about the same number of vegetables.  Each ingredient is cut into a different shape and is cooked separately before being assembled into the glorious whole.  Because of the immense quantity of work, all members of the family help out.

Qué Pasa is not a cooking magazine and we’re not going to print a recipe, but here’s a sampling of the items you’ll need if you want to make your own: ham, lettuce, radishes, various kinds of sausages, green beans, carrots, mortadela, onions, asparagus, multiple kinds of chorizo, olives, cauliflower, chicken, cabbage, pacaya, capers, multiple varieties of cheeses, chiles, parsley, cilantro, vinegar, celery, hard-boiled eggs, salt, pepper, and various spices…etc.  And of course, the one ingredient that defines whether it’s fiambre blanco (white fiambre) or fiambre colorado (red fiambre): beets. (For those of you not from North America, that’s “beetroot.”)

Obviously, unless you have a good kitchen, lots of time and inclination, and great cooking skills, you might be better off buying a plate (or two) from various businesses around town that sell fiambre around November 1st.  Or better yet, wrangle an invitation to the house of a Guatemalan friend (to help with both the preparation and the eating) and enjoy!

Kite and cementery photos by Ajita Chowhan and Keri Peyton.

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This festival was founded in 2003 by the Spanish Cultural Center of Guatemala, and has gained in popularity each September. It has become the most important forum about photography in the country, and it aims to help strengthen the image as a document, a record, and primarily as a means of expression, thought, and form. The festival also seeks, through the visual medium, to provide a means toward reflection and debate on subjects related to Guatemalan society.

This year’s FOTO>30, which occurs during National Photography Month here in Guatemala, will celebrate its ninth anniversary with the theme “Nation.” The competition is open to all persons and cultural institutions wishing to participate in activities related to photography and to images in general. All reflective observations of reality are welcome in either analog or digital formats.

© Sergi Camara

The theme of “Nation” refers to the historical, social, political, cultural, and even territorial constructs which determine identities and political groupings of people within a state.  This particular definition does not just mean the country’s tales, its landscapes, its people, or any other particular element, but emphasizes reflection and debate on those aspects which make a nation more that its physical characteristics or geographical boundaries.

Via photographic images, the festival’s activities seek to answer the questions “Is Guatemala a Nation?”, “What Nation is being/has been built?”, “What does ‘Nation’ mean in Guatemala?”  These questions of nationhood will be explored through many different sub-themes and formats. The aim is to reflect on the different legal and political aspects that enable nationhood within the Guatemalan state.

In a statement, the FOTO>30 organization says, “In a year of change associated with the general election, we think that visual reflection on these issues can contribute to the strengthening of civic consciousness and the change of administration in regards to the dynamics and parameters that govern a country.”

© Dulce Pinzón

With such an important issue and interesting proposal, once again the FOTO> 30 Festival is breaking new ground this September and will provide unique insights and a revolution of conscience through images and other visual activities.

There will be show openings, exhibitions, and celebrations throughout the entire month in the Historic Downtown area of Guatemala City, as well as at other various galleries and art venues in the capital, in La Antigua, and in Quetzaltenango.

For more information:
www.foto30.com
www.cceguatemala.org

Photos from Spanish Cooperation

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Independence Day

This September 15th, Guatemala and the rest of Central America will celebrate the 190th anniversary of their independence.

The year was 1821 when, after two previous attempts, independence was declared from the Kingdom of Spain.  Due to the instability of the Spanish monarchy, the attainment of independence for Central America was relatively peaceful. Unlike other countries in the Americas, which fought fierce battles to become independent states, Central America was the exception.

But apart from the particular details that resulted in the region’s independence, and whether or not the grand ideas of that day have been fully achieved, each year we have the opportunity to celebrate in the city streets, to the sound of drums and the roar of marching bands.  We can run from our birthplace to Central Park and take the torch, the flame, the light of hope back to our people, or we can just enjoy the excitement, knowing that on this particular day there was a fresh start on the road that led us to this point.

This day also gives us the opportunity to reflect on what it means to be a country – a singular place; what it means to have the blood of this beautiful country flowing through our veins. Perhaps we can learn something and can look to the future with new eyes. The essence of independence is to leave behind what binds us and to find within us the vision that points the way to becoming better individuals and thus a better society, a better country, a better continent, and a better world.

Photos byVíctor Gonzalez and Nora Demattio

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