Festivals and Celebrations: Carnival in Mazatenango

Without question, throughout Guatemala the biggest celebration of the year occurs during Holy Week when every town and village hosts elaborate processions where images of the saints are paraded through the streets and accompanied by musicians playing traditional songs of both Maya and European origin.

In many places, elaborate carpets, painstakingly constructed of colored sawdust and fragrant flowers, cover the major avenues only to be destroyed by the passing parade.

Carnival is also among the important celebrations and becomes a massive party in places like Mazatenango, where it is really a big deal!

Each municipality and village also has their own yearly festival, usually held on the day of their patron saint, when all the residents, dressed up in their finest clothing, converge upon the plaza where games, exotic foods, music and the crowning of the new queen all contribute to making the ocassion special.