Today is Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Throughout Latin America families and friends gather to pray for and remember friends and relatives who’ve gone before them. Folks construct private alters, confect sugar skulls, quaff drink and eat festive foods.
They visit the graves of their loved ones and leave behind things that once belonged to them in life. The leave other things too: toys for the children, bottles of tequila or pulque for the adults. That’s the way they observe this festively solemn time in Mexico.
But it is in the city of Sacatepéquez, Guatemala that Dia de los Muertos soars – quite literally. Locals construct what have to be some of the finest kites anywhere, fashioning them of wood and cloth, adoring them with ornate symbols and then sending them aloft over the graveyard.
The tradition is age-old, and it’s beautiful. While it’s gained the reputation as a bit of a tourist draw, there’s far more to it that that. Relatives and friends spend the day at the cemetery, meticulously pruning, cleaning and pampering the area to honor the dead.
Sadly, you can’t fly a kite to Sacatepéquez, but you can book a flight to Guatemala City and go from there. OAG says Delta offers nonstop service from Atlanta, American from Dallas/Fort Worth, Spirit from Fort Lauderdale, United from Houston, Delta and LACSA from Los Angeles, and American and Taca from Miami.
(Image: Nimrod Zaphnath)
