Easter is not really ever about bunnies and chocolate eggs in Latin America.

In heavily Catholic countries like Bolivia and Brazil, the holy week leading up to the celebration of the resurrection is all about acting out the passion of Christ, and that entails a lot of drama, stamina and in some cases even fake blood.

According to The Associated Press, this year’s Latin American Easter rituals are being dutifully observed in some serious ways.

Guatemalan children don purple and white costumes to play out the the roles of penitents before getting to take it easy and eat some cotton candy on the sidewalk, while in Ecuador women stride the streets shrouded by dark purple lace veils as men carry a statue of Jesus through the thoroughfare.

In Peru trumpeters play while heavily incensed female penitents walk with their heads veiled in white lace through the crowds of onlookers.

In Haiti the faithful hike across the mountains, some even balancing stones on their heads as a form of penance, as they visit the Stations of the Cross.

And in Mexico, hooded penitents put on heavy chains while others are suspended by body harnesses in an effort to reenact the hanging of Judas, who in Nicaragua is sometimes portrayed as a guy wearing a pink mask with sunglasses.

But the guys really having all the fun are those who portray Jesus.

In Bolivia, a young man covered in fake blood was lifted up on a cross to bake under the sun.

In Paraguay, a man playing Jesus acted out the torture depicted in the Bible -- as he was carried along on a wooden cross while other participants, costumed as Roman soldiers, actually lashed and kicked him.

And on Good Friday, an inmate in Mexico City got a break from his incarceration and play the most famous prisoner ever, reenacting Jesus Christ in his final hours.