Artisan to help with construction at library, then it’s on to Princeton Battlefield Park for the show
By: Hilary Parker
In Salcaja, Guatemala, the whole town turns out on All Saints’ Day to fly intricate and colorful barriletes, or kites. Competition is fierce among young and old alike, as their handmade creations take to the skies.
Some kites are equipped with sumbas small arches fashioned from pumpkin branches making them wail like fighting cats as they tumble through the air. Others, over 15 feet in diameter, need three grown men to help them catch the wind.
The tradition of sending the elaborate masterpieces into the sky, trailers streaming in the wind, goes beyond competition.
"There is a theory that there is a connection with people who have gone on to another life," explains Armando Sosa, a weaver and kite-maker from Salcaja now living in Ringoes.
Mr. Sosa, who moved to the Princeton area in 1993, will lead Kite Weekend in collaboration with the Princeton Public Library this weekend. At 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, he will offer two "Create a Kite" sessions at the library for children over age 8. Amateur and experienced kite-makers alike will have the chance to put their work to the test at 3 p.m. Sunday during a kite-flying celebration at Princeton Battlefield Park.
The son of a weaver, Mr. Sosa learned the arts of weaving and kite-making by watching his father and grandfather. "Memoranzas Festivas," one of his weavings on permanent view in the library, captures the joy he felt as a young boy and still feels to this day when he launches a kite into the wind. The joy starts long before the moment the kite leaves his hands, though.
"It’s the beginning of the joy that you feel when you’re flying it," he says of the pleasure to be found in making kites. He’ll share his enthusiasm, along with his technique, as he works with friends like Rolando Soto and Gustavo Deleon to help bring the tradition to Princeton this weekend.
Starting with lightweight wooden dowels, participants will have a chance to construct frames and cover them with bright patches of tissue paper.
The tradition won’t be new to the many Salcaja natives living in Princeton, and Mr. Sosa says he hopes they will turn out to join in the celebration. Heads tilted back and eyes focused on their handiwork, they may find themselves traveling on wind-carried memories back to their hometown on Sunday, when the skies above Battlefield Park hearken to those over Salcaja on Nov. 1.