Guatemala Alfombra Maker
Ubaldo Sanchez
Arlington, VA

Fabricated from Hand-dyed sawdust, rice, dried beans, flowers and other vegetable material, Guatemalan Alfombra (flower carpet) is a spectacular, trough ephemeral, art form. During the National Folk Festival, audiences will have the rare opportunity to watch Ubaldo Sanchez make the intricate street flower carpets traditionally create for Semana Santa (Holly Week).

Semana Santa in Guatemala may be the most beautiful religious celebration in Americas, and is the largest Holy Week observance in the western Hemisphere. Beginning on plan Sunday and continuing though Easter Sunday, it is best known for its colorful religious procession. Although Semana Santa is celebrate in even the smallest towns an villages, the biggest festivities take place in the old capital city of Anigua where processionwere held as early as the 150s. Scholars debate the origins of the Alfombra tradition-whether it was brought of the new world by Spanish, or derived from indigenous practices. Whatever its source, alfombra is a living tradition that has been practice in Guatemala for fife centuries.

Antigua’s Semana Santa processions employ huge platforms that can weigh three tons, on which religious statues are mounted. The leading platform, upon which is figure of Christ with a cross, is carried by 60 to 10 men dressed in purple robes. It is followed by a platform with a statue of Virgin Mary, borne by women Dressed in morning black.

Bearers generally take turns because a procession takes many hours to complete.

Purple bows tied onto window ironwork make parade route, with magnificent temporary flower carpets covering the cobblestone street below. The handmade alfombras display detailed pictorial and geometric designs. Parishioners will invested many days in constructing an elaborate alfombra, often several blocks long, in front of the church or along the procession rout. In addition, peoples who live along a route create their own alfombra on the street in front of their homes. As the procession passes, the feet of the bearers destroy these elaborate, fragile works of art.

Trough still in 20,s Ubaldo Sanchez is a master Artist who is maintaining this lovely, venerable tradition in Virginia. Most recently, he worked with a number of Guatemalan immigrants to create an Easter alfombra at ST. Anthony Padua Catholic Church in Falls Church Virginia. At this year’s National Folk Festival, Sanchez leads small team of artist in creation of one-of-a kind alfombra that incorporates many traditional religious images as well as some new designs created specially for the festival. Friday and Saturday, Tredegar Ironworks Plaza.