Dalama Adventures Tale of two corporate types ditching their jobs and traveling the world for 14 months... check out all photos, blogs & interesting tid bits at http://www.dalama.net

La Virgen stands tall, above the crowds, and she sways as she rounds the corner.  Darrin and I wonder if she'll make it the entire way around Parque Central, without being pitched from her wooden platform.   Rest assured, she's in the good hands of about 20 young teenage boys, as they struggle beneath the weight of the huge wooden float to hold her steady and upright.  

Latin America has a ton of festivals surrounding religion and the passion that locals have for religion really shows through.  Today was a big Catholic festival for La Virgen in Xela.  We tend to see the Virgen revered here more than Jesus.  Why is this?  Is it because Latin America is such a male dominated society and they revere the woman that gave birth to all influential males?  In Catholic churches where I grew up, it was always a big Jesus on display, and the Virgin Mary was always second class citizen compared to the gigantic Jesus statues. Here, it's all about La Mujer, La virgen... she rises above alters in gigantic form, often with gold adornments surrounding her in many churches.  She's the focus in the plexi-glass displays around the perimeter walls of the church... as opposed to other churches I've seen in the States where the 12 Apostles take up prime wall space.  Parque central is mobbed with devout Catholics, along with a few of us gringos vying for a front row spot to see the procession of La Virgen.  As she makes her way around the square, even I can see over everyone here, one of the things I love about Guatemala!  The heavy wooden platform float rounds the corner and the Virgen is elevated through the streets.  Women and men dressed in colorful traditional clothing surround the float with flaming pots of wood and coals.  They wave tin cans of smoldering incense.  Marching bands form the bulk of the procession, along with rows of holy men carrying tall crosses.  Old men on the building roof tops throw confetti into the streets and fireworks (bomberos) blast from cars, rooftops, and from strange explosive contraptions some crazy men are wearing over their upper bodies.  Music and the beating of drums fill the air, and I jump every time fireworks explode on the ground behind us, expecting to find my hair on fire.  Celebrations like this happen all the time here.  One thing we've learned is that in Central America, people take the time to celebrate... they have a big fiesta for every religious event, religious milestones for family, government holidays, which spill over for days of communities of families getting together for food, drink and fun.  They certainly know how to slow down, appreciate and enjoy life here.