Dia de los Muertos tradition
By DEBORAH MARTINEZ MARTINEZ
Giant kites of the Maya, some 50 feet across, celebrate Dia de los Muertos in Guatemala. In a country that has suffered 100,000 deaths at the hand of the government, and 50,000 disappeared, the kites carry social and political messages.
The preparations begin months ahead of Nov. 1 and 2 with kite teams harvesting the bamboo for the supports of these huge undertakings. The kites or barriletes, called papalotes in Mexico, and cometas in other South American countries, are constructed of tissue paper and glue backed with clear packing tape. The string of the kite historically connects the souls of heaven with their people on earth, not a unique interpretation.
In the book The Giant Kites of Guatemala: Wings of Resistance, the authors Chris Ornelas, Scott Skinner and Victorino Tejaxún Alquijay, supported by the Drachen Foundation, traveled to the Guatemalan town of Sumpango to document the amazing kite ceremonies. Although the bigger kites are no longer flown due to safety issues, the messages read loud and clear.
Some kites depict horrific scenes of children drowning in blood or a child ripped from its mother’s arms with lettering, “Desolación, Tristeza o Dolor Izquierda o Derecha” (roughly translated to ‘Desolation, sadness and pain left or right’) on a kites made by Internacionales Audaces (2006).
In terms of a social justice outcry, the kite makers of Sumpango are not subtle. Another kite proclaimed “Guatemala is Dying: No More Murders (Los Happy Boy’s [sic], 2004).” Author Christopher Ornelas says, “The messages of social justice were intended to push limits.”