Party at the Cemetery

Because I'm a semi-perfectionist by nature, I really don't like that things are getting out of order here on my blog, but there are some things that really just need to be documented before I forget. 


One of those things is the day I went to a huge party in a cemetery.


Yes. You heard me right.


Here in Guatemala, November 1st is a big day. People had been talking about November 1st since I got here on September 1st. However, all I knew was that you fly kites on that day. Naturally, I started referring to it as "kite day" or "dia de los barriletes." Later, I found out that it is actually called All Saints Day....also, Day of the Dead. The reason they fly kites is the tradition that you can send messages to your dead loved ones via big, beautiful kites.


There was a short-term team from Chicago at The Oasis and they were headed out to Santiago Sacatepequez for the kite festival, so I decided to join for the sake of a cultural experience. 

And a cultural experience, it was. 


When I heard "kite festival at the cemetery," although the idea sounded a little strange, I was picturing something pretty laid back...a few people, some small kites, and a somber atmosphere (considering it would be in the cemetery). Well, I was way off.


The streets of Santiago were brimming with people, all walking toward the town cemetery. When we got to the cemetery, there were people sitting on all the above-ground tombs. A lot of people were drinking beer. People were trampling the graves on the ground. There were vendors selling ice cream and cotton candy and little boys yelling "Agua aqui! Agua aqui!" And kites were everywhere. All in a cemetery. 


I just kept thinking (as I was trying to avoid stepping on the graves), 


"What happened to wanting to honor the dead?"

There were about 5 really huge kites that weren't built to be flown. There's some kind of a contest were groups of people get together and construct kites. I'm not sure what the prize was or anything, but their work was pretty amazing.

I took this picture after this huge kite took a nose-dive about three feet from me. Not sure what the outcome would have been had it been any closer!