Hermandades (Brotherhoods)

Semana Santa en Guatemala

Hermandades, or brotherhoods, are separate from the church. There are male and female hermandades and these operate independently. These groups are formed to create elaborate floats and processions. They are the people responsible for just about everything you see in a procession. Each hermandad is named after the figure that the group works with. For example, La Hermandad de Jesús de la Caída de San Bartolomé Becerra is responsible for the procession which features Jesús de la Caída.

These elders work year round in preparation for the elaborate celebrations. Their efforts include the following:

Fundraising

It takes a lot of money to elaborate the floats for the procession and arrange everything. All the statues taken from the church are fitted with new robes, fresh flowers are used to adorn the church and floats and alfombras are created in front of the church and altar. Fundraising is done through various drives, as well as charging people to carry the floats. They measure people's shoulder heights and organize them by shifts to ensure that everyone on a particular shift will be the same height for carrying the float. Other methods of fundraising include holding a kermesse, or a food fair, and sales of photos and soundtracks from previous Semana Santas.

The members of the hermandad often go door to door, as well, if they are in need of more funds for the santa semana. The floats are very expensive to decorate and costs can go as high as Q200,000. They also have to pay the bands that accompany the float and Good Friday is particularly costly, with higher payments for bands and much more elaborate décor.

Float Preparation

Designing the floats is a long and complicated process. Each church has its own procession, with a specific theme, so the elders have to come up with a new adaptation of this theme each year. The actual floats take nearly 12 months to complete in most cases. When the processions are in progress, the members of the hermandades are the ones who make sure everything runs smoothly.

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