Kites and Day of the Dead in Guatemala
Last week the kids at Santa Maria got to make their very own barriletes (traditional hand-made kites), in preparation for the Day of the Dead celebrations on 1st November. For them, this was a BIG DEAL. For weeks before, kites had been appearing in the sky above the town and the kids have an eagle eye for spotting them, so whenever they did they would ask their teachers when they were making theirs.
The kid's kites, made from a stick frame and coloured tissue paper, were great fun to make and the kids did some beautiful designs – it was great to see the ones who knew what they were doing giving a helping hand to those who were a little less certain, and everyone left happy and excited to be going home to fly them.
The tradition is to fly the kites as high as possible in the local cemetery on the Day of the Dead, to guide the spirits of deceased ancestors down to visit the world of the living. A group of GVI volunteers and staff went to see how it was done, at the Santiago Sacatepequez kite festival, where they display spectacular giant kites and fly all sizes of beautifully decorated ones from the cemetery there. It was an amazing day out
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