Kite watching - Barrieletes gigantes

In parts of Guatemala Dia de los muertos (day of the dead) is celebrated in the cemetery as is other Latin American countries, but they also have a kite festival there. The whole village participates, the young men, about 40 days before go to the coast to collect bamboo to make the kites, it is a rite of passage. Then in groups they construct the kites and work as a team to get them in the air and keep them there. There are kites of all sizes: small dinner plate sized, kites about 10-15 ft tall that are flown, and then the giant kites that are about 1.5-2 stories tall. They are for display and there is a competition and prizes for the best one.

The kites are a way to bring the spirits back to earth for their one day a year they come back to visit. Families gather in the cemetery, cleaning and decorating the graves of their loved ones. They bring food and drink and make a day of it, it is a celebration. On Nov 2nd, the kites are taken back to the cemetery early in the AM and launched one more time to send the spirits back on their way. The kites that are torn in the winds the day before are burned and the smoke from them sends the vagabond spirits on their way.

This tradition in best know in Sumpango, and Santiago Sacatépquez outside of Antigua