You may know it as the Day of the Dead in Mexico. In Guatemala, November 1st is called All Saints Day. Families flock to cemeteries to decorate graves and visit their ancestors, but the wonderful surprise about this special day is the kites. Guatemaltecas create colorful kites, tiny and gigantic, artistic or whimsical or with socially conscious themes, and fly them high above the cemeteries to release the spirits in a joyous celebration. (This post reprises a story and photos from 2022.)
The small town of Santiago Sacatepequez is known for its beautiful kites on this day. Sacatepequez is the name of an area, like a county. Many of the towns with saint names bear the name of the saint then the geographic area: the school where I taught from 2003 through 2006, on the outskirts of Guatemala City, was in Santa Catarina Pinula; the villages surrounding Lake Atitlan all end in Atitlan. During my years there, I visited the kites of Santiago twice.
The town is close to Antigua, less than an hour drive. At the turnoff from the main highway, buses released people who would walk the long winding road to the village. Riding with some friends, we drove in closer to town, found a dirt parking lot in a finca (farm) and walked the remaining mile or so to the cemetery, passing kite and craft vendors, aromatic food stands. One of my friends turned to me with a smile and said “There’s nowhere I’d rather be today than here doing this,” and I had to agree.
At the top of the hill, before the cemetery, festivities were already under way. Music and a loudspeaker drew us to a stage where the lovely reigning Señoritas of the nearby villages sat, surrounded by a backdrop of kites. A banner and a kite announced one hundred five years of this tradition in Santiago Sacatepequez.
A gigantic kite was under construction, with huge bamboo poles supporting a fifteen-meter frame.
We threaded our way through tight crowds at the cemetery entrance to see a panorama of kites, spectators, and kite operators, amid vividly painted grave markers and memorial structures covered with fresh flowers.
I wandered the grounds visiting the elaborately designed kites before flight to admire their handiwork. Geometric patterns, religious icons, many topped with flags. Some bore slogans for social justice or political messages:
El hombre y la mujer tienen iquales oportunidades
Man and woman have equal opportunities
Conoscamos nuestra propia historia para luego conocer al resto del mundo
We must know our own history in order to understand the rest of the world
Estamos heridos pero no de muerte
We are wounded, but not dead
Young and old men carried kites to high places in preparation for lifting them into the air, some standing on tall grave monuments, working ropes tied with rags trailing behind. Strolling through the cemetery was like crossing an obstacle course; I stepped with care to avoid taut ropes and running men who leaped over and tromped on burial mounds. Kites fluttered like so many exotic birds, their brilliant plumage looping and twisting above. Ancestral spirits, feeling light and appreciative, were surely soaring into the blue sky, floating upwards. Along one side stood several huge kites on display. Poles were used in the center for leverage to raise the big kites. It was quite a spectacle to see one go up!
Not long after noon, a brisk wind swept through the cemetery giving a welcome lift to many of the airborne kites, but wreaking havoc with the gigantic kites. A collective sigh could be heard as the tall fragile structures sagged and left only the boney skeletons standing. This fleeting art form, as elaborate and labor intensive as the carpets of Semana Santa in Antigua that are crushed underfoot each day, was ripped and blown so soon after its creation. Soon after their demise, we headed out, caught in a slow-moving claustrophobic crush of people in the streets.
Please do not download or reproduce images from this site. ©
Your comments are welcome!
Popular posts/stats/categories
Email me at: Ruth@RuthRosenfeld.com
Follow me on: Facebook Instagram BlueSky Blog
Ruth Rosenfeld 
Wow, what a beautiful and lively way to honour the departed, Ruth! I love how All Saints Day features colourful, hand-made kites that flutter over open fields and cemeteries in a spectacular mashup of pre- and post-Hispanic beliefs. Seeing those colourful kites of every size soaring above local cemeteries must be a sight to behold. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is indeed a sight to behold. Thanks as always for adding your descriptive comments, Aiva!
LikeLiked by 1 person
🥰🥰🥰
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much for this article, which as always is interesting and full of wonderful photos!
I liked it a lot
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed this post. I appreciate your visits, Luisa!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are welcome. dear Ruth🙏🙏🙏
It is my pleasure, as always!
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a great local cultural even you were able to attend. It must have been so much fun to see all the kits and commotion in person. 😊 Maggie
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s an exciting day, and so much energy going on! The kites are so beautiful and meaningful to those participants.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, what an incredible tradition. When you said kites, I wasn’t expecting them to be so large. Thank you for sharing this!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure, Diana! I was so surprised when I first went, thinking, as you did, of much smaller kites.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A fascinating window into Guatemalan culture! The kites themselves are fabulous pieces of art, much like the clothing of many locals you pictured. There is so much positivity here and smiling faces abound. I particularly like the shot of kids’ legs and feet hanging from the cemetery walls.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Leighton! There are so many artistic, yet traditional, aspects to Guatemala culture and customs. It was always a learning experience living there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fabulous!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, how very special. Those kites are labours of love being so big and handmade and full of colour. I would love to be able to visit and see 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s quite an amazing tradition and beautiful to see the (smaller) flights in the air. The big ones must take a lot of planning, design, and craftsmanship.
LikeLike
Gorgeous and very colorful! While Dia de los Muertos is very well-known (especially here in LA with its notable Mexican-American community), All Saints Day in Guatemala is also a wonderfully vibrant festival. It’s unique the country celebrates with kites, and it looks like you saw plenty of beautifully-decorated ones. Thanks for sharing, Ruth!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do believe it is unique; I haven’t heard about it anywhere else. I’ve been a couple of times and it takes your breath away to see them in flight (the smaller ones). My pleasure, Rebecca!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve never seen such large kites. I’m guessing the spectators must be wary of kites that dip down or fall from the sky. They are quite magnificent.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The big ones don’t fly and they ones that do are so light, they don’t pose any danger. Visitors must be wary of the kite flyers who run everywhere and watch out for their strings!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think I remember your original post from two years ago, but these kites are so colourful and the festival so lively that it is well worth seeing agaon!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much, Sarah, for following me for these years!! I so appreciate it. Hard to resist reprising a few festival posts that newer readers haven’t seen.
LikeLiked by 1 person
No need to thank me, it’s always a pleasure 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fabulous captures. These kites are impressive and I love how each one is so colourful and unique.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! So much creativity and work goes into something that only lasts for a day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a festive cultural tradition, and so colorful. In a way, it makes me think of the Albuquerque hot air balloon festival (which I hope one day to see).
LikeLiked by 1 person
The kites are colorful and up in the air! But they are also all handmade, many that same day. The balloon festival is on my list too… maybe next year.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amazing tradition. I imagine the level of care and effort put through as they created the kites to honor the dearly departed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is truly a labor of love. Although they are visiting a cemetery, there is a joy to the day.
LikeLiked by 1 person