The lovely costumes that you may think resemble the KKK outfits, ironically the KKK got the costume ideas from Semana Santa costumes.
A father holds a juice box for his daughter to drink while the parade is at a pause. The parades take many hours depending on the route and went through the heat of the day into the night.
Friends help a woman rearrange her headdress because her hans are full.
Children watching the festivities.
All I could think about was how hot these heavy outfits must have been, not to mention the fact that their head "things" (lacking a better word) don't stay on top of their heads so they held it down at their necks, trapping heat, ugg. I was in a skirt and tshirt that day.
Absolutely breathtaking.
Candles, flowers, lace, silver, fruits. Everything in perfect position.
The float edges and base are all silver and extremely heavy. About 30 men of the same height carry the float, every so often a new team of men come to switch out and take their turn carrying the float.
The two men in the front are guides so the float does not walk into something and can fit through the narrow streets. There are also two guides in back. The men who carry and direct practice for weeks in advance. They are all volunteers and usually continue to carry the floats for years.
The men in the picture above are the carriers about to replace the current ones. The funny hats are their cushion for their heads and necks. They also all have weight waste bands on for support.
It is hard to see, but in the picture above the little boy is making a wax ball from the drippings of candles that walk past him. There were children everywhere doing this. Running between people trying to get to the next candle.
Silver work on a float
Flowers and Candles
