Even after living here in Guatemala for many years, I still get opportunities once and a while to experience something new and wonderful to me. Something that is part of the rich heritage here that initially drew me to stay when I first set foot here. On November first, I got to live another wonder of Guatamala, The Dia de los Santos or "Day of the Dead". Unfortunately history seems to repeat itself here in many ways, but these are people that adapt with the time and their heritage gives them those tools to adapt and add ways that don't interfere with their ancestory.

Dia de los Santos is celebrated differently all over Guatemala, but the common thread is that families flock to cemeteries to spend quality time in the final resting grounds of their passed loved ones and ancestors. Amidst colorful celebrations, families paint above-ground tombs colors that will mark the shared graves of relatives and even resculpt dirt graves and paint them with Kahl and decorate them with flowers to show their respect and love for another year. Pine needles are scattered around the graves and down the paths to them as a symbol for welcoming everyone, and decorate the tombs with flowers and small alters with the Catholic influence of insense that sends the aroma and smoke throughout the cemetaries. It is also common to take the deceased persons favorite meal to them or a plate called "Fiambre".

Though Dia de los Santos dates back centuries, only in Sampango and Santiago Sacatepequez just north of Antigua has this ancient ritual been updated to be observed with the addition of flying the giant kites only for the last for 109 years. The Feria de Barrilete Gigante (Festival of Giant Kites) is celebrated in different ways throughout the country, but Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepequez are the two towns that have mega festivals to honor both new and old tradition and has similarly been adopted in a handful of other towns like Santa Maria Sacatepequez, Tecpan Guatemala, Ciudad Vieja, and part of San Marcos have all assumed similar traditions.

Starting with minature kites and graduating to those that are the size of a six-story building, the kites are decorated with figures, landscapes and messages, resembling enormous murals or mandalas. From a distance it is easy to think that the kites are giant paintings or made of plastic or nylon. In fact, they are collages on a fantastic scale, every image, indeed every part of the kite is made from layers of hand-cut tissue paper called "papel de china", the semi-transparent, colored tissue paper often used to line gift boxes or as wrapping paper.

The kite construction is framed with bamboo, held together tape, glue, bailing wire and a little bit of plastic twine. Generally, they are made by teams of between four and thirty people, mostly young men, although groups of young women, and children also produce barriletes. Names for the teams are as eclectic as the topics they convey in their messages. Each group decides for itself the size of its kite, the kite�s message, and the kite�s design, all of which are kept secret until the festival. Then, the work begins: meters of tissue paper purchased, bamboo stalks cut in the coastlands about three hours away, the design traced and cut and glued together.

Made only of tissue paper, the kite is fragile; more layers of tissue paper are added to the back of the kite to give it strength. Piece by piece the kite comes together, until a ring of plastic string is added to its outside edges in order to attach the kite to the bamboo frame (called an armazon). Depending on the size, kites take up to five months to create, and are either burned or stored after use. The theme of the kite is critical, and many groups choose messages with social implications: human rights, there were a couple reflecting a recent demonstration where 8 people were killed and 13 injured, and many reflecting the destruction of protected lands for oil and gold exploitation. On the big day, each kite is judged according to design, theme, and color scheme, and monetary prizes are given to the winners.

The actual origin of the barriletes is debated as many times things just happen and take off (forgive the pun). The Maya also have a tradition of "worry dolls" where when a child has a worry, little dolls are told the problem and placed under their pillow at night, when they wake up in the morning, the dolls are gone. This may be the same origins and attributing the roots to children. Often uninterested in the traditional All Saints Day task of decorating a deceased ancestor�s grave, children were given kites to entertain themselves. From that custom developed the complex barriletes of today. In Santiago Sacatepequez, the Santiago Association for Cultural Development attributes the barrilete�s existence to a more syncretic religious origin. These kites were created by Mayas to ward off bad spirits on All Saints Day, the day in which the deceased were allowed to visit the human world. Not wanting the bad spirits to return to the earth, the kites were created to make noise to scare them off, and also to carry messages to heaven on behalf of those in purgatory. (This last custom reflects the syncretism that is still strong in the area between Maya religious beliefs and Catholic customs.)

With the current encroachment of foreign oil and mineral companies to sacred lands for commercial gain, many political statements are the focus of some of the kites. As part of the Santiago Association for Cultural Development, link the barriletes to the Maya worldview. The human link with Mother Earth is essential to the Maya worldview, and maintaining balance with the earth is the great art and science of life. "To lose this balance brings what we see now on earth, namely, violence". The barriletes are used symbolically to communicate with the dead through messages hidden in the layers of the kite, and also are used to promote the Kak�chiquel Maya culture that still seeks this balance with nature.

All Saints Day in Santiago Sacatepequez is organized by the association and includes more than just kites. There is marimba music, native to the Maya of Guatemala, indigenous foods, and flores del muerto (marigolds), the traditional All Saints Day flower associated with the holiday because of its strong smell. A week before the day, a contest is held to choose a queen for the event. Three candidates compete for the title, which is held for a year and comes with the responsibility to represent Maya culture and values. The winner must speak Kak�chiquel and hold a respected title in the community, like teacher or nurse. By seeking out Maya music, food, traditions, and representatives, the association aims to infuse the region with an appreciation for the value of Maya culture, particularly the use of Kak�chiquel language.

Barriletes serve as more than identity markers or enforcers; they are also used as metaphors for life. Victor compares adolescents to barriletes. Sometimes, the kite will begin to spin wildly against the kite flyer�s string. Pulling it in will cause it to tumble to the ground; it�s best to give the kite more slack, allow it to find better wind, then pull it back in when it has calmed down. "It�s the same with some adolescents," he says. "Sometimes you just have to give them a bit more freedom, bide your time, and wait for the opportunity to pull them back into your loving care." Julio views barriletes as a metaphor for the brevity of life. These masterpieces of art take hours of labor to construct, yet their intricate detail is quickly forgotten once the event passes. So it is with human life, Julio notes. Very quickly we come and go; we do not stay forever.

These two towns, within an hour of each other, have carried on the traditional festival for well over 80 years, and both places include similar elements: huge kites, huge crowds, and a mix of Catholic and Mayan religious traditions. People in both towns speak Kak�chiquel Mayan. However, each town attaches a unique cultural meaning to the barriletes, or kites. Santiago Sacatepequez and Sumpango clearly demonstrate how the same people can employ the same custom for two distinct cultural ends: one, to integrate the past into the present; the other, to give regional identity and foster cross-cultural diplomacy.

According to the Maya tradition of Sumpango, the sound made by the wind rustling the fleches, the cut paper on the sides of the kites, keeps away evil spirits on the Day of the Dead. Each year the kites are created with new designs, making them not only a living cultural tradition but also Guatemala's most innovative and striking art form. Each stage of creating these kites takes years of learning and practice.

While smaller kites dot the blue sky in every direction, so far none of the giant, festival kites have reached it. One after another they have fallen into the crowd after promising starts. Most falling kites are destroyed upon impact, reducing months of work and thousands of dollars to a single moment of disappointed destruction.

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