Cultural JOurnal Report
TITLE OF ARTICLE: Flights of Fancy: The giant Mayan kites of Guatemala
AUTHOR: Cheri Kramer
DATE ACCESSED: December 4, 2013
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ANALYSIS:
November 1st is All Saints Day when people in Santiago Sacatepequez and Sumpango, Guatemala celebrate through the Barrilete Festival. In this Guatemalan culture, they create huge Mayan kites with a diameter of about 57 feet across to demonstrate the skill of their creators and to celebrate the Day of the Dead. Many people from all around come to witness this event. This festival has been going on for 80 years incorporating the past into the present. They say the Mayas used to make the kites to ward off the evil spirits during this holiday. There is also lots of music, dance, food and other activities during this festival.
This article was very interesting and made me want to go visit Guatemala during this time. Through the descriptions in the article, I could picture vibrant colored kites in the sky and a huge crowd of people. I could observe how many different people from all around the world would come to see the kites and how they were made. It was also very interesting to find out that most of the materials they used were all homemade, including the glue. It reminded me a bit of the Kite Runner with the part when they are flying their kites and the union throughout the people in the area.
This event is very important to the culture of Guatemala because it is a time in history that everyone in the country shares and its all about enjoyment and celebrating. This holiday is a centripetal force bringing the country together by making and flying kites. It must be very important to them because many people around the country spend months working on their kites and are very devoted to this festival. It plays a big role in the culture of Guatemala.
AUTHOR: Cheri Kramer
DATE ACCESSED: December 4, 2013
CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE
ANALYSIS:
November 1st is All Saints Day when people in Santiago Sacatepequez and Sumpango, Guatemala celebrate through the Barrilete Festival. In this Guatemalan culture, they create huge Mayan kites with a diameter of about 57 feet across to demonstrate the skill of their creators and to celebrate the Day of the Dead. Many people from all around come to witness this event. This festival has been going on for 80 years incorporating the past into the present. They say the Mayas used to make the kites to ward off the evil spirits during this holiday. There is also lots of music, dance, food and other activities during this festival.
This article was very interesting and made me want to go visit Guatemala during this time. Through the descriptions in the article, I could picture vibrant colored kites in the sky and a huge crowd of people. I could observe how many different people from all around the world would come to see the kites and how they were made. It was also very interesting to find out that most of the materials they used were all homemade, including the glue. It reminded me a bit of the Kite Runner with the part when they are flying their kites and the union throughout the people in the area.
This event is very important to the culture of Guatemala because it is a time in history that everyone in the country shares and its all about enjoyment and celebrating. This holiday is a centripetal force bringing the country together by making and flying kites. It must be very important to them because many people around the country spend months working on their kites and are very devoted to this festival. It plays a big role in the culture of Guatemala.