Easter Week in Guatemala---    in particular in the city of Antigua---   is an elaborate, multi-layered celebration that begins on Ash Wednesday and culminates during Holy Week (Semana Santa) when parade-like processions wind through the streets. 

Unlike in the United States, where the Easter Bunny tends to take center stage with the hiding of candy-filled plastic eggs, Jesus is at the heart of Guatemalan Easter festivities.

To honor the significance of one of the Catholic religion's most meaningful holidays, Easter in Guatemala is a sight to be seen and an experience to behold. Processions of purple-, black-, and white-robed men and women physically carrying huge, religious-themed floats, called andas, traverse the city streets for up to eight hours on Good Friday. 

The massive, movable dioramas highlighted in the processions can weigh thousands of pounds, and require as many as 60 to 80 people to carry them---    so shift work is the norm. After a block or two, a new set of ushers takes a turn carrying the andas.