The Council of Nicaea (325 AD) established that Christian Easter would be celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon of spring. Spring begins between the 20th and the 21st of March, coinciding with the astronomical Equinox.

Thus, in Guatemala, two festivities from two different cultures and spiritualties are celebrated at the same time.

In the ritual centers of ancient Mayan cities, indigenous people annually celebrate the Equinox on the 21st of March to herald the rising of the sun and the beginning of a new period of fertility. A few days later, Christian Holy Week begins, primarily celebrated in urban centers and especially in the city of Antigua, the former colonial capital, where Christians commemorate the last days of Jesus.

In the film, IQ BALAM introduces us to the Maya ceremony and its spirituality, contrasting it with the colonial reinterpretation of Holy Week.

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The ideological foundation of the colonial empire is Christianity.

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COLLABORATOR BIO: Juan José Chiriz Chat, Maya name IQ BALAM, is a Maya priest, activist and musician from the Maya Kaqchikel community. He is a researcher in ancestral knowledge and natural medicine who has studied 'Rights of Indigenous Peoples'. He is actively involved in transmitting knowledge of Mayan spirituality and preserving indigenous culture through various NGOs and local art academies. He has lectured nationally and internationally on topics such as Mayan cosmovision, ancestral knowledge, good living, and indigenous peoples' rights. He is also a member of inter-institutional state roundtables on indigenous peoples and climate change.