Clock Tower of Comayagua

The clock tower of Comayagua is one of the oldest working clocks in the world. It is called Reloj Arabe or Arab Clock, it was made around 1100 in Spain and was donated to Comayagua (which was the capital at the time) in the 17^th century by the Spanish King.

The clock face did not come from the king however the clockwork did and is still working today! When we got to the top of the tower it was extremely neat to see how all the parts worked together {wheelwork, ropes, weights, pendulums). We got to see the clock strike 2pm and at the 15 minute mark.

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There were several bells that ring some on the hour and others on the quarter hours. The views were amazing from the top of the tower and as you can see we were able to get some pretty good shots.

Brett got a good look at the construction of the door to the clock tower which is said to be about 400 years old. We even got some pics of the bats that dwell in the tower. Luckily the flash didn’t disturb their slumber.

Semana Santa (Easter Holy week)

During the whole week of Easter there are multiple processionals that go through the streets of Comayagua.

The first procession was a representation of Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. The procession was held on Palm Sunday so everyone carried palms with red flowers in them. Before Jesus began his journey the cathedral a priest blessed everyones palms with holy water. As you can see in the photos Jesus rode a donkey through town and everyone followed, the local band marched and played music, it was a very upbeat happy procession.

The Last Supper

On April 1st each church had a nativity arranged to represent Jesus’ glory. We went around to each church to view them. Later that evening everyone gathered around the main cathedral to watch a reenactment of the last supper.

The Arrest of Christ

The next procession took place the same night we made the carpets. We waited until about 11pm for this procession to pass because it passed along the same street we were laying our carpets. This procession was very somber and sad because Jesus was tied up and being led through the city. The band played sad music and there were men dragging and dropping chains on the pavement, it was very chilling. We were told that many of the people who help with carrying the heavy chains and floats volunteer to remind them of their own sins and sometimes for the purpose of self punishment.

The Crucification of Jesus

This procession was of the crucifixion of Jesus and was also the one that would destroy all the carpets that were created the night before. This procession took about four hours to pass through the streets. This procession took so long because there were stations set up (mini reenactments of the crucifixion) where blessings were given and sections of the Bible were read. After the readings and blessings the procession would pass over the carpets.

The Burial of Christ

The next procession was the burial of Christ. We showed up on time in hopes of a quick procession but decided to call it an early night because it began to rain, the procession was delayed and we were so exhausted and sunburned from waiting for the last procession. We dont have proof that Jesus was put in his tomb safely, but rest assured, he was resurrected in the next procession!

The Resurrection of Christ

The resurrection was a very lively upbeat performance, the Angels and Saints ran back and forth letting Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene know that Jesus lives. Eventually, each of them arrived at the main cathedral where they were reunited with Jesus.

The entire week was an amazing experience and if you plan on visiting Honduras, do it during Easter week!

Alfombra (Carpets)

Over Easter week the city of Comayagua puts on beautiful processions that represent each of the Stations of Christ. For the station of Christ's crucifixion many families participate in making alfombra's (carpets made out of colored sawdust) for Christ's tour throughout the city. It was a very great honor for us to be able to participate in the preparation and laying of the carpet since many locals haven't even done so themselves.

The first step in the process is preparing the sawdust for color. We spent several nights simply sifting a huge pile of wood chips/sawdust so that only the fine particles remained.

The second step was to color the sawdust. Over a bonfire water is heated, pigment is added and then the scalding hot liquid is poured over the top of a mound of sawdust. From there everyone digs in to mix it with their hands. It was pretty fun to look like Oompa Loompa's after several of the orange colored dies. Brett and Tina really enjoyed mixing the brown colors because it was the closest thing they had to a tan thus far. When we got to the black we were surprised that motor oil is used to add color. We did end up using gloves for this part, which I was happy of.

To make the color blue we had to clean out hundreds of eggshells, add blue die and vinegar, strain them and then let them dry in the hot sun for the next couple days.

After all the colors were mixed we all began working on the stencils for the borders of the carpet. The Quan Family was nice enough to incorporate some of Nikki's ideas.

The way the main pictures are chosen each year for the Quan Family carpet is through family members submitting images they find in the newspaper or online throughout the year to the head of the household and then he makes the final decision on which images will be used. Pictures are chosen based on the strength of their message.

After a week and a half of sifting and dying sawdust it was finally time to lay down the carpet. We had to start at 11PM after the night's procession had passed. We began by sweeping the streets to clear it of the garbage that accumulated throughout that day, chalked in the lines that gave us our boundaries for each carpet and then began the process of laying the base layer of sawdust.

After the base layer was prepared the artist drew each picture free hand with a stick.

From there we were able to fill in the shapes with their designated colors.

Once the pictures were completely filled in and final touches made, the boarders were placed around the two smaller carpets to meet the size of the two main, larger images.

Finally, after 10 to 11 hours of work we completed the carpet. The results were well worth all the hard work we put in that night and the week and a half prior.

While we waited for the procession that would bring Jesus bearing the cross, we went around to see all the other carpets that were made that night.The longest carpet was located by the cathedral.

The image of Mother Mary was chosen for this specific carpet in remembrance of the statue that once resided in the monastery across from the cathedral that unfortunately burned to the ground in late 2009.

After all the carpets were completed we waited around from the roof top of a building above our carpet so that we could see the procession and the destruction of our beautiful carpet when it arrived. That moment would be a bitter sweet for us. Bitter because all the hard work we had just done would be undone and sweet because we really needed to get out of the sun. The procession was late coming through and we were told "it will be here in one hour" then an hour would pass and they would tell us "it will be here in one hour". Needless to say we were burnt to a crisp by the time it came through.

We really enjoyed the opportunity to work with the Quan Family to make the second largest and the most traditionally constructed carpet in Comayagua. Many families/associations incorporate grain, seeds, glitter or used stencils to make their carpets but the Quan Family has always held to tradition and feel that the pictures in basic form convey the meaning of their images without all the extras. We had a wonderful time working together and were invited to come back next year to assist with another masterpiece.