Guatemalan Mayan descendants believe that the wind is the spirit of their Deceased loved ones in the sky, for this reason they use kites as the media to communicate with them. But not only the spirits of the dead are in the sky,

Because bullets come down with the same velocity, when a firearm is shot into the air, the life of our loved ones can be there too.

Aerial firing triplicates during the Christmas Holidays, on the 20th of December ERAS Foundation, a Guatemalan organization against Celebratory Gunfire, invited the press, Government Officials, celebrities, mothers, fathers and children that could be victims from a stray bullet, to fly more than 100 kites with their pictures.

After this activity, the same kites were used as posters in guns and ammunition stores.

With only a hundred kites the campaign reached more that 5 million Guatemalans and Central Americans, with a press coverage equivalent of $300,000 dollars, double the average budget of a commercial advertising campaign in Guatemala.

The press not only generated awareness, but also put pressure on the authorities to finally declare Celebratory Gunfire a crime.

On December 20th, ERAS Foundation, a Guatemalan organization against Celebratory Gunfire, made a live event rooted in Guatemalan traditions. They gathered the press, Government officials, celebrities and many other Guatemalans to fly kites with their pictures printed on them. The pictures emulated targets, conveying that they too could be victims of stray bullets. More than 100 personalized kites were created and flown. In order to spread the message even more, the kites where then exhibited as posters in gun and ammunition stores throughout the country featured a text that read: “anyone can be a target of celebratory gunfire”.

“Kites Against Bullets” was an impactful live event that celebrated life and created widespread awareness of the dangers of celebratory gunfire, by use of a progressive medium that rooted itself on Guatemalan´s Mayan heritage. With only 100 kites, the event generated Press coverage equivalence of over $300,000, which is more than double the average budget of a commercial advertising campaign in Guatemala, reaching more than 5 million Guatemalans and Central Americans. More importantly, it pressured and persuaded local authorities, including the Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina, to finally take action on this issue by declaring celebratory gunfire a crime.