Boxing for Jesus

Me on Tajamulco, with Guatemala´s volcanic range behind me.

Many of my Peace Corps friends decided to”aprovechar” (take advantage of) Holy Week, or Semana Santa, in Guatemala to get out and see more of the country. But I´d heard the crowds were crazy and was also a bit low on funds (and vacation days), so I decided to spend most of the week in my town.

For the first weekend of the vacation, a group of us made it up to San Marcos to hike Central America´s largest volcano, Tajamulco, and camp there for the night. I was very excited since I hadn´t been backpacking or camping since moving to Guatemala (and it´s something I do a lot of in the summers in Montana), but also a bit nervous since I had done little very exercise since being diagnosed with asthma.

The hike was definitely challenging, but everyone went at their own pace, and we all made it up well before dark to set up camp. (We didn´t go all the way up to the summit that day; we had decided to get up at 4 a..m. and hike to the summit for the sunrise.) We had a fun night, sitting around our large campfire and roasting marshmallows. And somehow at 4 a.m. we all managed to wake up and get out of our warm sleeping bags into the bitter cold and windy dark morning. We all got there before the sun was up, though by the time we were on top the sky was turning a dusky rose and there was an orange line on the horizon. The view was spectacular. We could see almost the entire volcanic chain to the southeast (the volcano above Xela that I can see from my town and the three that ring the lake, among others). To the southwest, we could see where the mountains sharply drop off into the flat plains that stretch to the sea (upon which the mammoth shadow of the volcano was cast). To the north we could see the endless chain of mountains below us to Mexico. Directly east, I thought I could pick out the mountain ridge that shoulders my town. And slowly the sun rose and filled all of Guatemala below us with its light.

Once we got back, I spent a relaxing day and night with a couple friends that live in San Marcos and we got in some “paca” shopping (the second-hand clothes stores, which are phenomenal in San Pedro) where I spent way too much money. Then I made it back to my town.

I spent a few days in the house, cleaning and working on lessons. The Semana Santa activities didn´t start until Friday, which is actually the most important day of the week in Guatemala (not Easter Sunday). That morning I went for a jog and noticed little tables set up in the street with framed pictures marking the stations of the cross. Later, I was getting ready when I looked down the street and saw the procession coming. I hurried out to join it (though I missed the first few stations). At the end there was a small reenactment of the crucification of Jesus, but the young man that they tied up on a cross did start to self-consciously laugh a little, as well as some of the girls in the crowd that probably knew him, which kinda ruined the effect. In other towns in Guatemala, people work all night covering the streets with “rugs” of dyed sawdust in elaborate designs, but my town is mostly Evangelical and the procession was small, with no rugs.

Later in the day, I went with my host family to see the “boxing” in the soccer field. People had kept mentioning the “boxing” to me when they were telling me about Semana Santa, and it´s pretty much what is sounds like, though very informal boxing. Two young men are allowed into the field at a time and punch at each other until one of them falls down and then the next couple of men enter. I didn´t recognize any of the men that were fighting and lost interest rather quickly (although I was pretty entertained that this was how my town marked one of the most important religious holidays of the year.) Fortunately my host sister also lost interest quickly, so we left early. The activity of the evening had a more obviously religious theme: they showed the movie Passion of Christ with a large projector in the town square (but I stayed in).


The little girl and baby boy of my host family at the zoo.


Bumper cars with the 12-year-old nephew.


With the host family at the zoo.

My host family invited me to go with them to Xela to the zoo the next day. I rode in the back of the pickup with the little girl. The zoo was rather sad, as to be expected, with listless animals in very teeny cages. But I enjoyed spending the time with the family. We visited the carnival area as well, where I played a couple rounds of bumper cars with the 12 year old nephew. Then we had a picnic together in the open park area, where we ate fried chicken and fries and rolls. I bought everyone ice cream. I played with the baby and the two kids. It was a pretty sunny day, and it felt surprisingly nice to be with a family, doing normal family things. Then we parted ways. The family continued on to visit some hot springs, and I went to run some errands and meet up with friends. We stayed the night in Xela and went out to dinner and out dancing. And it was good to be with Americans on Easter morning, even if it was just breakfast at a hostel.

Overall, it was a nice Semana Santa. I got to stand on top of the highest point in Central America, relax at home, see the unique town activities, spend time with the family and get my groove on in Xela. Pretty good for just “laying low”.