RIDING THE WIND in SAN PEDRO LA LAGUNA
We are just winding down from the four month rainy season. The rain no longer sends daily rivers rushing down the steep hills, straight through town and into the lake. The sunny mornings last later into the afternoon before gentler rains wash over us. The densely carpeted ancient volcanoes are a well watered green, their slopes fertile arms which hold the Tzu’tujil Maya pueblo of San Pedro La Laguna cradled against towering Volcan San Pedro.
In the afternoon, since about the middle of September, the winds rise. The cloud gathering sky becomes a backdrop for streaming colors which swoop and dash and sometimes fly higher than the tops of the volcanos, the kites like brilliantly colored dragons in their length and sinuous movements.
In the afternoon, since about the middle of September, the winds rise. The cloud gathering sky becomes a backdrop for streaming colors which swoop and dash and sometimes fly higher than the tops of the volcanos, the kites like brilliantly colored dragons in their length and sinuous movements.
There is usually a child on the other end of this kite, with the string wound around his or her hand, while the opposite arm jerks the kite upwards, searching for the invisible current which will take the kite on its magical and unpredictable journey into the sky.
Like the Giant Kites of which I have written much about before, these smaller, 8 sided kites are entirely made of tissue paper and glue, but with simpler designs. They are still edged with fringe and topped with long streaming tails of colored tissue paper. Besides having a sufficient cuelo, tail, and the cooperation of the wind, the most important part for successfully flying the kite is to place the string in the correct place in the octagon, which is the body of the kite. These distinctive kites are found throughout Guatemala between mid-September – early November.
There is disagreement about the origins of kiting in Guatemala – some think it was introduced to the Maya thousands of years ago by Chinese traders. Others maintain that like the rubber ball and the sacred ball game, the Guatemalan kite was a Mayan invention. Certainly the octagonal shape of their kites is unique. The obvious skill with design and the ability to harmoniously combine a wide array of colors evidenced in the larger kites – again all from colored tissue paper and glue -- is reminiscent of the complexity of the woven huipiles of the Maya women. Indeed, one of my Maya friends called it, “weaving for men.”
I have written before of the lack of consumerism among the Maya. Partly of course, this is due to poverty. When eating takes most of your money there is not money for toys. Yet even when an indulgence with toys is possible, the children play primarily with the bottle caps in the road, soccer with their beloved plastic balls and kid games which don’t require props but simply other kids. And so kites in Guatemala number among the few toys that a child will experience.
One recent afternoon several of Chema’s grandsons came up to the terrace below my window with their kites and I was able to catch some photos of the kites and their flyers. And as Chema and Julio both demonstrate, we’re never too old for kites.
There is disagreement about the origins of kiting in Guatemala – some think it was introduced to the Maya thousands of years ago by Chinese traders. Others maintain that like the rubber ball and the sacred ball game, the Guatemalan kite was a Mayan invention. Certainly the octagonal shape of their kites is unique. The obvious skill with design and the ability to harmoniously combine a wide array of colors evidenced in the larger kites – again all from colored tissue paper and glue -- is reminiscent of the complexity of the woven huipiles of the Maya women. Indeed, one of my Maya friends called it, “weaving for men.”
I have written before of the lack of consumerism among the Maya. Partly of course, this is due to poverty. When eating takes most of your money there is not money for toys. Yet even when an indulgence with toys is possible, the children play primarily with the bottle caps in the road, soccer with their beloved plastic balls and kid games which don’t require props but simply other kids. And so kites in Guatemala number among the few toys that a child will experience.
One recent afternoon several of Chema’s grandsons came up to the terrace below my window with their kites and I was able to catch some photos of the kites and their flyers. And as Chema and Julio both demonstrate, we’re never too old for kites.
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