Kites of Gautemala

In the towns of Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepequez, locals spend all year constructing huge brightly-coloured kites that are then raised on November 1 in honour of All Saints Day. Made from thick paper stretched over a bamboo frame, they can be as much as nine meters wide. Guatemalans come from all over the country to see the kites, which were traditionally made to honour dead ancestors. The custom dates back to pre-Columbian times, when the pieces of artwork represented a joining of the underworld and the living world, but have now become part of the All Saints Day celebrations.