Day of the Dead, Giant Kite Festival | Sumpango, Guatemala 

[ Video shot and edited by Dan Perez Films southfloridafilmmaker.com ]
The magnificent Giant Kite Festival takes place every year on Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Sumpango, Guatemala. The practice of flying kites during the Day of the Dead goes back several thousand years. It is believed that the kite (or "barrilete") creates a connection of communication between the spirits of the dead and their families here on Earth.
In Sumpango, kite makers ("barrileteros") work for months from after work to late in the evening to prepare the kites (some as large as 20 meters) for the festival, which takes place on November 1.
The kites resemble giant paintings, similar to a giant mural you would see in Miami's Wynwood Art District or the Bushwick Collective in New York. They are made, however, using layers of hand-cut, colored paper, the same type of thin paper used to line gift boxes(!). The kites are then folded up and taken to the festival where they are fastened to large bamboo poles for display or for flying. I traveled to Sumpango this year with my teenage daughter to capture a few images from this remarkable festival with my Lumix GH4.
Enjoy.
Music: "Floating in the Sun" by Azoora www.jamendo.com/artist/338968...
Learn more about the kites and the kite-making process here: / hijosdelvientobarrilet...
Visit Guatemala: visitguatemala.com