Sumpango: Flying the Kites

The raising of the kites was amazing.  I've never seen anything like it, and am so thankful we went.  But, it didn't end there.  The giant kite in the last post wasn't flown, nor were 13 other giant kites, ranging from 8-20 meters.  It just isn't possible, which I knew logically, but was still disappointed.  However, they do fly kites that have up to a 7 meter diameter, and they fly them in the middle of a crowd of people, which seems a little unsafe until you see it, and realize its the Guatemalan version of Russian Roulette.  These kites generally don't stay up long before violently plummeting back into the crowd, causing people to scatter.  Casualties are not unheard of.  We were actually pretty close to a crash- Steve says in harms way, I say we were fine, though my camera aimed upward, so who's to say.  I'm also not sure, that had I spent a year painstakingly placing tissue paper to create a masterpiece, would I be willing to fly it when its likely to be destroyed in the process.  I like the idea of the ritual that is creating a new kite each year.  The variety in themes was amazing- some were representing cities, and traditions, while other spoke of the war and justice.  It was absolutely beautiful.