Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Nicaragua

Good Friday Procession, Sutiaba, Leon Nicaragua

Nicaragua is typically not on the top of most peoples' lists to visit during Holy Week. That is a mistake because it has some of to have some of the most beautiful and dramatic observances in all of Latin America.  Here are just a few photos:

Holy Figures on Display, Granada Nicaragua

Procession of Carretas, Massaya, Nicaragua 

Procession, Granada Nicaragua

I invite you to experience the Nicaragua's unique Semana Santa in a series of posts that I have written.  Please click on each link to see the post.

Holy Wednesday, Nandaime Nicaragua:

Participant in Holy Wednesday event, Nandaime, Nicaragua

In Nandaime a small town, each week on Holy Wednesday the ancient ritual of Holy Week Flagellants is re-enacted with an interesting twist.  You can see this at:

https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2016/04/taking-hit-holy-wednesday-in-nandaime.html


Along the Road in Massaya, Nicaragua:

Transporting Processional Figure, Masaya, Nicaragua

Holy Week is a time when the sacred dimension more closely intermingles with that of everyday life in fascinating ways:

https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2016/06/sacred-meets-profane-holy-wednesday-in.html


The Huertos of Nicaragua:

Huerto, Diria Massaya, Nicaragua

Constructing a Huerto, Diria Massaya, Nicaragua

The huertas (translation- orchards), constructed during Holy Week in both Nicaragua and Guatemala are gorgeous creations using the fruits of the earth.
https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-huertos-of-guatemala-and-nicaragua.html

Sutiaba's Sawdust Carpets:

Sawdust Carpet under Construction, Sutiaba barrio, Leon Nicaragua

Like their cousins, the famed sawdust carpets of Antigua Guatemala, those of the Sutiaba barrio in Leon, Nicaragua are magnificent, filled with religious passion, but constructed in a very different way.
https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2017/05/art-as-sacrifice-sawdust-carpets-of.html

Via Crucis Aquatic:

Via Crucis Aquatic, Lake Nicaragua, Granada, Nicaragua

The absolutely most unique Holy Week event in all of Latin America is Granada's Via Crucis Aquatic, a stations of the cross done on boats.
https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2018/04/via-crucis-aquatic-granada-nicaragua.html


The Music of Holy Week:

Holy Week Procession, Granada, Nicaragua

Sound is a part of Holy Week processions, in particular, the music which is especially composed for these events.
https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-music-of-holy-week-processions.html

Creating an Earthly Paradise: The Huertos of Guatemala and Nicaragua

Huerto, La Merced Church, Antigua, Guatemala

The Holy Week huertos of Antigua, Guatemala are true spectacles with a deep religious and communal significance.   They are created in churches in conjunction with velaciones, portrayals of scenes of Christ's passion and the beautiful sawdust carpets for which Antigua is famous.  (Please remember that all photos enlarge when clicked for better viewing details).

                                                   

Huerto, La Merced Church, Antigua, Guatemala

                                                                                                     

The fruits and vegetables that go into creating the huerto, in English orchard or garden, are donated by church members and neighbors and often are later sold at a reduced price or given away to people who need them.

Huertos symbolize the abundance and redemption that come with the resurrection of Christ on Easter.  There is also some association with the idea of garden, since it was in the Garden of Gethsemane that Jesus prayed during the unfolding of the events leading up to the crucifixion.

The huertos  of Nicaragua are quite different from the geometrical, elaborate ones seen in Guatemala, although the idea of plenty is present in the copious fruit and foodstuffs used to decorate them.   They are open-sided  enclosures constructed out of sticks and covered with palm fronds.  In some places they are filled with fruits and other types of food. The five photos below were taken in Diria and Diriomo, pueblos in the Masaya region outside of Granada.

Building a Huerto, Holy Wednesday,  Dioriomo, Nicaragua

Building a Huerto, Holy Wednesday, Diria Nicaragua

Building a huerto, Diria, Nicaragua

Huerto,  Holy Wednesday, Diria Nicaragua

Huerto, Holy Wednesday, Diria, Nicaragua

In Granada Nicaragua, the huertos were  somewhat different.  They, too, had stick frames covered with palm fronds, but their interiors were less elaborately decorated with foodstuffs. Instead, each was used as a shelter for a holy figure from the church. In some of the booths religious items were being sold- rosaries and small pieces of cloth that were rubbed on the figures and then were worn or carried by people to confer protection on them.

             
                                         

Huerto, Holy Wednesday night, Granada, Nicaragua

Huerto,  Holy Wednesday night, Granada, Nicaragua

                                    

Huerto, Holy Wednesday night, Granada Nicaragua

Huerto, Holy Wednesday night, Granada, Nicaragua

These huertos are built on Holy Wednesday and remain up the following day.  They  provide worshippers an opportunity to be close to the images, these figures of Jesus, Mary and others that are normally on display in a church or carried in procession.  The huertos  provide an environment of intimacy in which people can interact with these figures and receive the spiritual benefits of this.