semana santa
Central America, Photography

Photo Essay: A Semana Santa Carnival on the Rio Dulce, Guatemala

Rio Dulce Carnival Semana Santa

They came by the busloads- patrons, shop owners, revelers and travelers alike. During Semana Santa (Holy Week), if you’re near the water, expect it to get a bit more crowded and fast. Gambling games (where they slyly rob you blind), B.B. gun shooting games, merry-go-rounds, bumper cars, and vendors crowd the streets to claim their space for the yearly carnival that everyone looked forward to.

These people know how to party, my friends. This is the business of amusement.

So for three straight weeks, reggaeton was pumping at all hours, the ferris wheel spun at lightning fast (and very unsafe) speeds, and beer was found on every corner. It got crazier and crazier during nightly fireworks displays, all night dancing, and bands filling the air with their music.

Walking down the crowded streets you could smell french fries, churros, roasted corn, fresh fruit, tacos and pizza. It was a bit much for the senses but worth every moment.

We got to see a slice of life in Rio Dulce, Guatemala.

It was fantastic.

Rio Dulce Carnival-20 Semana Santa

Rio Dulce Carnival-6 Semana Santa

Rio Dulce Carnival-7 Semana Santa

Rio Dulce Carnival-28

Rio Dulce Carnival-9

Rio Dulce Carnival-12

Rio Dulce Carnival-4

Rio Dulce Carnival-10

Rio Dulce Carnival-11

Rio Dulce Carnival-17

Rio Dulce Carnival-19

Rio Dulce Carnival-18

Rio Dulce Carnival-23

Rio Dulce Carnival-24

Rio Dulce Carnival-29

Rio Dulce Carnival-31

Rio Dulce Carnival-26

Rio Dulce Carnival-25

15 thoughts on “Photo Essay: A Semana Santa Carnival on the Rio Dulce, Guatemala”

  1. Fantastic shots! I always have problems with lighting in night shots but these are great!

    The one of the guy carrying two plastic cows(?) is brilliant =)

  2. Love these, especially the woman casually pointing her water gun at a an empty Ferris wheel seat. This just actually made me really excited for summer carnivals in the US — the weirder and more rundown, the better 🙂

  3. Great essay! Guatemala is high on our list and while we are currently in Central America we wont make it there this time round but we have plans to come back to CA next year so we will definitely visit then!

  4. That’s a veritable carnival of photos guys!

    Dig the man carrying the horses – Got me doing a double take.

  5. After watching these all photos, the first thing come in my mind is about my own experience of such carnivals in my childhood and that time I afraid from crowd and some other things. Now from so many years I haven’t seen this in my city, but its purely enjoying.

Leave a Reply