The Giant Kites Festival (in Spanish: Festival de Barriletes Gigantes) is an annual celebration in November with a long tradition. It is held in the two neighboring towns Sumpango and Santiago in the Guatemalan province of Sacatepéquez. (Sumpango being the most popular and bigger one).
What is celebrated at the Giant Kites Festival?
The Giant Kites Festival is celebrated on 1st of November. All Saint’s Day, which is a public holiday in Guatemala. On that day families are honoring their deceased loved ones whose souls. According to tradition, are able to visit the living ones once a year on this special day. In the whole country you will be seeing people visiting cemeteries, cleaning the graves and decorating them with huge colorful floral arrangements.
But in Sumpango and Santiago they have the special right to use giant colorful handmade kites to honor their loved ones. Also using them as a messenger between the living and the dead. Often messages are attached to the tail of the smaller kites that are able to fly.
What is happening at the festival?
The main attraction of the festival of course are the giant kites. Which are up to 20 m in diameter and handmade with only natural materials. The framework is made of huge bamboo sticks. The kites are made by different kite maker groups and all have an individual theme or message to express. For example the People of Sumpango, the Mayan signs or social issues like women’s justice.
On the sports field next to the cemetery of Sumpango you can admire the beautiful artwork of the kite makers. You will be walking in between the rows of giant kites. Maybe you can also spot the jury, which is rating the kites. On the other half of the field many people will fly their kites in the crowd (so definitely be careful to not stumble over a kite string!). Moreover there are traditional Marimba players and lots of local food, drinks and stands selling Guatemalan artwork, clothes and souvenirs. It’s also easy to get in contact with locals, who are selling food in front of their houses and lending their toilets to the guests for a few Quetzales. (The currency from Guatemala)
Also the colorful cemetery is not to be missed. People are bringing flowers, playing music, having a picnic. Kids are flying their kites standing on top of the tombs.
How to get there?
Sumpango is only around 40 minutes drive from Antigua. You can go there with a rental car if you have one or use an Uber. The Uber will save you the search for a parking lot.
From Guatemala City and mainly Antigua there are also many tour operators offering guided tours to the festival and back to your hotel. Ssome even with a sleepover in tents the night before the 1st of November. They are quite expensive though and since Sumpango is not that far away when you are staying in Antigua. I would recommend going by yourself.
Driving to Sumpango with your own car on the 1st of November you should arrive before 9:30 in the morning. After that it gets very crowded in the parking lots.
My experience
We arrived by car around 9:40. The traffic started first when entering the town.
Many parking lots were already fully occupied (although people really used every inch of space they had on their property). After 30 minutes driving around the nice town and waiting a bit, we got our space to park. Already the foot walk to the festival ground was a beautiful experience. Sumpango is a nice colorful town and getting closer to the festival ground and cemetery. Locals have built stands in front of their houses to sell food and other things. Buying some lunch at one of the local stands, we even got offered a seat and table in their patio. The giant kites totally amazed me with their richness in colors and details.
And also the atmosphere in the cemetery was very impressive and really exceptional for me. I never experienced such a lively cemetery and I think it is a great tradition to honor and remember the deceased in that way.
Summary
If you happen to be in Guatemala on the first of November, I would highly recommend using the chance to experience the giant kites in Sumpango.
It is a nice town with nice people and the view of the kites will definitely always stay in
your memory. You can even buy your own kite there and let it fly if you want. From mid October kites are also sold almost everywhere on the sides of the roads.
You can get delicious local food, which won’t cost you much. The money you spent there will also fully benefit the locals, which I really liked to see. I was really looking forward to the festival and I definitely didn’t get disappointed. We spent around 2 hours on the festival grounds, so when coming from Antigua. The visit of the Giant Kites Festival will take you not more than half a day.
This was a guest article written from Jule Dalko, you can find her at these social media profiles go check her out! Click at the social media icons underneath.
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Click on the text for more Central and North America stories.: Giant Kites Festival in Sumpango Guatemala Stories: Giant Kites Festival in SumpangoI would love to hear your experiences about this place, or questions. Share it with me in the comments.
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