El Diablo being whisked away to the “burn site”
December 7th in Guatemala is “La Quema del Diablo” or “The burning of the devil”. When my teacher told me about this holiday I was excited to participate. Guatemalans believe that the devil lives in the junk that we leave stored in our homes and in our person. The actual burning of a statue of the devil symbolizes a cleansing of evil and misfortune. Some people “spring clean” their homes and burn the “junk” in the middle of the street. Others write down all of the people, places, and things that have been clouding their mental space and toss the paper in to a bonfire. A classmate and I went to the annual event held in El Barrio de la Concepcion here in Antigua. Except for the American pervert that kept taking pictures of local children when they were clearly uncomfortable, I had a great time. For me attending this event was a head nod to how I live my life. I’m burning the devil each day I wake up with a positive attitude and the will to do what I was placed on this earth to do. I know that sounds a little cliche’ but don’t you think you piss the devil off when you have held your peace instead of telling off that brawd in traffic? Or when you’ve helped your fellow man instead of watching them fail and hoping they “get what they deserve”? While ducking and dodging firecrackers and flames I was able to get some footage of the burning. Please don’t take this post out of context and use it as an invitation for you start burning things on your sidewalks, backyards, or patios. I will not be responsible for weave hair, limbs, or clothes catching on fire. 
La Quema Del Diablo from Defining Happy on Vimeo.
Oh my! Yes what a great idea to burn the “debil!” : ) I’m glad you didn’t loose any limbs or eyesite, because the event seemed violent and dangerous. Almost like you were caught between gun fire in a desert war! : )
LOL. After the firecrackers went off and started popping me in the legs I said to myself “This has got to be the most unintelligent thing I’ve ever done”. I was just waiting for my hair to catch on fire.
Hey, Venus. Meeting you in Antigua was one of the highlights of my visit there. Running neck and neck with La Quema del Diablo. Of coarse it was an unintelligent thing to do –but wasn’t it fun?! Like I said, if people did intelligent things, there would be no YouTube. Looking forward to you visiting me in Albuquerque, and seeing you again in La Antigua when we’re both there. Hope things are getting better in CR. Peace and Blessings, Kee
So ridiculously unintelligent but so darn fun!! It was great meeting you also my sister. It’s so amazing how God aligns you with the right people at the right time.