Guatemala’s Barriletes Gigantes festival

Honoring the dead in a big way

Guatemala’s  Barriletes Gigantes festival is celebrated at the first of November to honor their family dead with huge kits! The giant kites are painted by hand and flown over the graves of their family members.

It’s a big challenge to keep the kites in the air, due to their weight and size. Folks join together in teams to launch the kites. There’s a competition to keep kits flying as long as possible.

The tradition goes back to the pre-Colombian era, before the appearance of Europeans

The kites’ messages try to inspire the living to be friendly and work towards peace.