Continuing on with my specialist subject, religion, last week I witnessed my first Latin American Semana Santa (
Holy Week). Similar to in the UK where we stuff our faces with chocolate eggs for a reason only few understand, over here they have a week long of extravagant religious processions and events of which the entire community are a part of. Further to this, where I am in particular (Antigua Guatemala) gets flooded with tens of thousands of tourists, making the town a bit like a week long religious version Notting Hill Carnival, minus the Red Stripe, Jerk Chicken & Reggae Music.
The main features are processions where effigies of some dude called Jesus along with his wife and mates are carried around the streets day and night on giant wooden 'carnival float' type things. These are carried by local men (usually between 50-100 people per float) from Church to Church and sometimes from surrounding villages into town. The processions can last for hours and at times throughout the night and it's a great honour to be a part of one. Another tradition during this period is the Alfombras (Carpets), which are created on the cobbled streets and signify a variety of different meanings. They're beautiful, colourful pieces created using coloured sawdust (I think) and often also vegetables. They're also often shielded by barriers to protect them from drunken tourists walking across them.
All in all it's a really amazing sight and experience. To see such passion for a religion and to see the entire community functioning together to create what to me was a well planned, designed and executed integrated marketing campaign. A campaign that engaged the community for almost a year in advance, that had a beautiful identity and colorway that adorned the streets and houses, the TV Channels dedicated to pumping out processions from across the country, the magazines & newspapers dedicated to the cause and a series of events that drew hundreds of thousands of attendees. It achieved on a grand scale what is the 'Holy Grail' for brands today, community interaction and advocacy through to a series of engaging brand experiences across multiple touchpoints. I've never really experienced religion with such passion and being the non-believer that I am can't help but summarise the past week in such a way, so I apologise if this offends you in any way.
A few KM´s from the Colombia/Ecuador border lies the Santuario De Las Lajas. An outrageous construction wedged int a deep gorge a short distance outside the border town of Ipiales.
