(More photos). ¡Feliz Navidad, yo! I woke up at noon here in la Antigua, Guatemala, bleary-eyed from tamale and ponche-fueled Christmas Eve celebrations that lasted 'til 3am, and all of a sudden? This. One of many random Christmas Day parades along the cobblestone streets here. Children dancing behind a truck blasting merengue dance tunes. Homemade cartoon costumes I spotted included Marvin the Martian, Shrek, assorted zombies and Satans, and every Looney Tunes or Disney persona imaginable. Both kids and bystanders had a blast, and they paraded around all day long. My favorite is the Bart Simpson whose head keeps tipping over because it's too heavy. Video quality isn't super high def, shot it on my iPhone, but was happy to have had something in my pocket to record it with. YouTube video link.
Below, three ambient audio snippets (also recorded on iPhone, using the voice memo app… I mention because I'm always surprised at how good the audio quality is). Click the linked descriptions if you prefer to download the MP3s or other file formats. Enjoy, and happy holidays!
1) Christmas Day fireworks at noon. So many going off, sounds like weaponized rain.
2) Choir singing "Ave Maria" inside a church built in 1583.
3) Kakchikel Maya father and son street musicians, performing marimba.
