In Guatemala, as throughout Latin America, people love to celebrate in the streets:

Public holidays, national celebrations, religious festivals, Labor Day, the corn festival—the Guatemalan people find every reason to celebrate with family and friends.

These celebrations feature brass band parades, concerts, performances, street food stalls overflowing with traditional dishes, crafts, decorations of all kinds, fireworks and firecrackers, school performances, and much more.

Here are the most popular festivals:

Holy Week

During Holy Week, the Passion, death, and resurrection of Christ are celebrated throughout the country, but celebrations are particularly spectacular in the colonial city of Antigua.

Numerous processions feature ornately decorated floats illustrating the different stages of the Passion and Catholic religious figures, carried on the shoulders of men, women, and children through Antigua's streets.

Organized by local confraternities, the processions traverse magnificent ephemeral carpets created by residents from colored sawdust or sand. These carpets often depict Catholic figures and symbols.

Visiting Antigua during Holy Week is a deeply moving experience! Best avoided, however, if you dislike crowds.

Also worth noting: in certain villages, pagan beliefs blend with Christian tradition—a phenomenon known as religious syncretism. Highly prevalent in Guatemala, it creates curious cultural fusions to discover in villages like Chichicastenango and San Andres Xecul.

Day of the Dead: November 1st

November 1st is a joyful celebration for Guatemalans, who gather in colorful, flower-adorned cemeteries for family picnics. The traditional dish prepared for the occasion is Fiambre, a cold salad featuring vegetables, cold cuts, and various meats.

Food offerings are made on tombs for the deceased. Families hire Marimba players (traditional percussion musicians) for the occasion.

In Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepequez, the dead are honored with giant kites—an unusual event resembling an exhibition of massive kites (some exceeding 65 feet). Children enthusiastically compete to keep their kites aloft the longest.

A spectacular display of color, as the kites feature varied, vibrant, and symbolic illustrations meant to convey messages to deceased loved ones. A genuine celebration that actually lasts three days. If you're in Guatemala on November 1st, don't miss this impressive spectacle!

In Todos Santos, a completely different tradition unfolds on November 1st. This isolated village in the mountainous Cuchumatanes region stages a horse race where riders and their mounts gallop at full speed down a road closed for the occasion. It's an impressive—and sometimes rather hazardous—race, as this is the only day alcohol is permitted in the village. Men and women seize this rare freedom, often without restraint. Riders lose awareness of danger and race at breakneck speeds, occasionally endangering themselves or their horses. Beyond the race, the village streets come alive with folk dances to Marimba music, markets, food stalls, and celebrations. Visiting Todos Santos on November 1st is an experience that calls for a certain indulgence regarding alcohol.

Independence Day: September 15th

Guatemala has been independent since September 15th, 1821.

This celebration is particularly vibrant in Quetzaltenango, where numerous concerts spanning all music genres—from marimba to rock—are held outdoors and in the city's bars over several days. An event attracting Guatemalans from surrounding regions and the capital.