Days of Holy Week - Sabado de Gloria

Holy Week in Guatemala

Sabado de Gloria, along with other days of Holy Week, Viernes Santo (Good Friday) and Easter Sunday, form the most important parts of Semana Santa Guatemala.

Sabado de Gloria is the Saturday between Good Friday (Viernes Santo) and Easter Sunday (Domingo de Resurreccion or Pascua). There are two main processions that take place on this day.

La Virgen de Soledad

The Virgin Mary is dressed in new clothes, often black and goes out without Jesus on Holy Saturday, as he has been buried in this procession. A knife through her heart shows her pain at losing her son. This day, only women (called las dolorosas) are available as carriers, dressed all in black. Men are not a part of the procession except for crowd control, while on other days they act as cucuruchos, or float carriers.

De Niños (Children's Procession)

Each Semana Santa, there is a children's procession. The exact date of this procession depends on the town. In Antigua, the children's procession is on the Wednesday in the middle of Holy Week, but in other towns it may be on a completely different day.

Of course, the floats are much smaller for children, but they are still considerably heavy. Children take the roles played by adults in all the other processions, including dressing as Romans. The figures are much smaller, and in the capital city, the children carry Baby Jesus.

Adults do take part in the procession, making certain that the children can manage the heavy float and occasionally lending a helping hand if someone stumbles and the float is in danger. They also guide the float from the front and help with crowd control. These processions are accompanied by the usual band.

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