Maximon Parade at Santiago Atitlan

Guatemala is well known for its colorful processions during Cuaresma, or the season of Lent, which leads up to Easter Sunday. People from near and far journey to Antigua and Guatemala City to witness the special processions and events on holy days and the famed brightly colored street carpet designs, as well as the extraordinary demonstrations of piety on Good Friday.

But the most extraordinary of these Guatemalan religious celebrations is discovered in Santiago Atitlán, an indigenous town on the shoreline of the crater-lake, Lago de Atitlán. Cradled between three looming volcanoes, sits a Catholic Church, which dates back to the 1500’s. Here, Holy Week celebrates a remarkable demonstration of the distinctive balance of Mayan and Catholic religious traditions recognized as syncretism, a blend of differing religions, cultures, and traditions.

The Cofrades , or brotherhood, of Santiago Atitlan take Maximon in a parade of “Santo Entierro” (Holy Burial) on Good…