An Observance in Ritual. Outstanding Images of Holy Week Processions in the Picfair Collection

For one week each year, the streets of Antigua, Guatemala, are filled with the smell of incense, the sound of drums, and hundreds-of-thousands of pilgrims that line the former colonial capital’s atmospheric cobbles.

This is Semana Santa, or Holy Week, which is a series of observances and parades in the run-up to Easter, celebrated not just in Guatemala, but across the entire Roman Catholic world. Holy Week festivities are famed for their elaborate, noisy, dramatic and drawn-out parades, and the capirotes (long hoods) worn by marching participants.  It is widely regarded that Antigua's procession leads the way in terms of lavishness, but in small and large pious communities across the world, and in almost every town in Spain, similar observances take place, each with their own unique distinctions.

As always at Picfair, we have our buyers in the forefront of our minds, and we like to keep ahead of the game when it comes to showcasing incredible content. Not only have our photographers provided us with stunning shots of the processions in Antigua, but we also have a wealth of exceptional imagery from a multitude of other Holy Week festivities across the world; ideal for Easter features and campaigns for the months ahead.  So why not take a look at our showcase of some of the best in the collection?

Further reading:

• Holy Week in Antigua
• Holy Week: An Overview