I have so many memories. So many stories. So many captivating things cluttered on my computer desktop and hidden in digital folders and files. So many ‘visual pinches’ that take me to another place altogether. My first trip to Guatemala was in 2013. Over the past 8 years, I have yet to shake the power of those trips. And I have yet to truly uncover something that represents the beauty and complexities of what was experienced over the course of my interaction with this country. So I keep searching. Keep excavating and uncovering. March always pulls at me for this reason.
So, here is, yet again, a tiny glimpse into what Antigua Guatemala in March looks like. The following blog is a repost from May 2015. It was from a blog series I started (and stopped repeatedly) called ‘Exposure Outtakes’ or ‘Photocrush Fridays’.
Gear: Nikon D600; Nikor 35mm f/1.4
Settings: ISO 200, 1/3200, f/2.2
Year: 2015
What we experienced in the procession is something deeply traditional and hits at the heart of the cultural ritual and religion in Guatemala. Every Sunday of lent the people in Antigua and surrounding areas of Guatemala participate in what we call The Procesion. It’s similar to a giant parade, only the ‘floats’ are carried by people, not cars and they are made of solid wood with ornate statues on top. These statues depict the scenes and circumstances surrounding the death of Jesus Christ and his journey on the road to where he was crucified. It is a very deep and somber experience for many. They sweat under the weight of the wood floats, symbolically experiencing the weight of the cross and the pain in which Jesus walked the road to his death. Ironically, it is also a huge celebration day. Vendors walk around with colorful clusters of balloons and food and drinks of all sorts are sold on every corner. Colorful ‘carpets‘ made of sawdust decorate the cobblestone as a symbol of the thankfulness for the abundant provisions of God in people’s lives. These ‘carpets‘ are incredibly ornate and are often decorated with gorgeous displays of fruit and flowers. They pave the way for the procession of floats. It is a cultural experience not to be missed.
Getting There: A guatemalan friend met us early in the morning at one of the old cathedrals. He is (what we jokingly call) ‘famous’ in Antigua and surrounding areas for photographing The Procession. He took some time to show us his work being displayed in the cathedral and give us a few pointers about shooting The Procession. “Why the harness?” we all asked. Because Nelo is awesome. Because Nelo knows the most dynamic shots of the entire event are from above. Because a good photographer (insert the name Nelo) figures out how to get where they need to be to make the picture. Nelo uses that harness to hang from light poles, wrought iron window bars and anything else he needs to scale so that he can get out of the crowds of the grounded amateur photographers and make the shots that earn him his ‘famous’ moniker. Check out his work here: www.nelomh.com. We traipsed around in his footsteps for a little while walking up to the very beginning of The Procession and ended up completely separated from him for the rest of the day. I kept looking up to see if I might actually see him flying from rooftop to rooftop on somebody’s clothes line. We shot all morning until we were, as one participant put it, ‘hot and bothered’, took a break for theafternoon sun to pass by, and shot into the evening. We were a little too early in the lenten season for the most dynamic of the processions, but it is always well worth it to be there at any point.
What this says: This says I have a massive fetish in shooting innocent young girls glowing in white (I have a similar shot from the 2013 Procession you can see on my Instagram feed). Color contrast is a great visual element and I am constantly drawn to it. Although I have a few shots of this young girl with all different expressions, this one did the trick. She is sweet and saintly and caught in some sort of private thought that gives the composition an air of contemplative passion. The boy in the background is the exact opposite of the girl in the foreground. Exactly what we needed. This boy makes the shot, giving you a better understanding of what it might really be like to tag along with your dad for a few hours while he grunts under the weight of a 30ft solid wooden float in the midday heat on uneven cobblestone streets. Without this kid, this shot would be utterly useless.
What this doesn’t say: The Procession is crowded. The type of crowded where you are rarely, in a 5 hour shooting session, not touching somebody else. The type of crowded where you are in constant search of an escape route in case the hoards of people slinking up and down the maze of narrow, alley-like streets, decide to misbehave. The type of crowded where there is no ‘going against the walking flow’ because there is literally no space for people to scoot over so you can squeeze by.
The type of crowded where you get your bag slashed open without even knowing it. Yes. That crowded. And that bummed that the bag I’ve been toting daily for the past 4 years is no longer good for anything but taking up space in my coat closet.
[The following images are a selection from Visual Reportage Guatemala Workshop 2015]
