MAPI presents the photography exhibition “Giant Kites of Guatemala,” by Australian photographer Alana Mc Connom, produced during her residency in that Central American country.

Through her lens, Mc Connom documents the striking tradition of the giant kites of the towns of Santiago and Sumpango, in the department of Sacatepéquez, where every November 1 these enormous structures made of paper and reeds rise into the sky in homage to the ancestors.

Originally tied to the spiritual and the ritual —placed on graves to send messages of love and protection—, the kites have become powerful artistic and social expressions. Their designs, deeply connected to traditional textiles, address themes such as the preservation of the environment, Guatemalan and Maya identity, emigration, and the continuity of traditions.

The exhibition offers a visual journey that connects popular art with collective memory, revealing how these creations, driven by the November wind, continue to convey ancestral and contemporary messages.

An exhibition that invites reflection on the symbolic force of living traditions and the power of art to tell stories that transcend borders.