La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo

This is the follow-up photo as requested by Matt and MO. Don’t you ever say I don’t cater to your wishes and obsessions.

… And I said to myself, what a wonderful world…

Ayudante is title for the guy in the orange shirt. El ayudante, the helper or assistant has in reality many jobs and a meager salary. For starters he’s primary job is to help the chicken bus pilot; that’s where he takes his title. But he is also the fare collector, the usher, the carrier, the loudmouth yeller, the bus washer, the gofer and the list never ends…

The front cover of Prensa Libre this past Sunday had this title as the main header: Transporte Mortal (Mortal Public Transit) and them the following subtitle: Every 8 minutes a bus gets robbed, a crisis that has left 107 dead pilot just this year. Below the entire paragraph in Spanish for those who can read Spanish. Here’s the Google-translated article.

Cada ocho minutos un autobús es asaltado o sus pilotos son extorsionados en Guatemala, lo que hace un total de 200 al día, según los empresarios del transporte urbano. Pero esta práctica ha tenido consecuencias aún más nefastas para el país: 107 pilotos asesinados, casi medio centenar de familias enlutadas por extorsionistas —que muchas veces tienen cara de niño—, y más de millón y medio de usuarios afectados a punto de quedarse sin medios para trasladarse a sus lugares de trabajo. (continue reading…)

Sometimes things are so obvious that one doesn’t mull over them; that’s the way things are and you accept it.

While taking the shot of this basket with the day’s groceries bought at the market, a simple fact became crystal clear. I thought well this basket looks kind of heavy, I am glad to know that the owner only had to walk a few steps from the market to the chicken bus terminal. And just like that I came to realized why the chicken bus terminals are always located adjacent to the markets in Guatemala; La Antigua Guatemala being no exception.

That’s what I call a “Duh moment”. I am afraid to say I have many duh moments as I rediscover the culture of Guatemala through the lens of the camera.

Spanish word of the day: Canasta is the Spanish word for basket. I am glad to report that most canastas used for groceries or for carrying the heavy pots with atoles are still made from natural fibers.

The world infamous chicken bus reinvents itself again. The chicken bus that was born out of a retired school bus from our neighbors from up north; a second life or recycling ( whatever you want to call it); transformed itself into a mass public transit bus for the rural areas of Guatemala.

Well, the chicken bus now sports a brand new dvd player to entertain the passengers while they are squeezed into space originally designed for two children that now fits three large adults. At least, we can watch music videos between paradas (bus stops) as long as we are not riding parados (standing up).

This is what Guatemalans think of when you utter Tanques de gas (gas tanks); it doesn’t cross their mind the fuel tank (gas tank) in the car. These stove gas tanks are ugly too and dangerous, if you ask me, to have around the house or on the street like in Calle del Arco. But, believe it or not, Guatemala does not have underground gas pipes going into each house. So people have live with this horrendous and risky gas tanks at home, sometimes right next to the stove.

Aren’t you glad the taxes you pay keep you in a safe and nicer environment?

… are ugly for sure. I agree with everyone that commented that Guatemala would so much nicer and beautiful if all the wiring were kept underground. However, I am sure not to many alcaldes (town/city mayors) would want to go for it; to them the aesthetic is the least important item in their list of priorities. .-(

Here is the Spanish word of the day for you. Ornato is in Guatemalan Spanish the aesthetic or beauty of town or place. Boleto de ornato (decoration ticket) is a variable obligatory tax that Guatemalans must pay every year to their local municipality.

That’s right fellas, even though Guatemalans pay their yearly tax for decoration, beauty, and cleanliness to their local municipal government, their alcaldes would look the other way and think of their citizens as crazy if they actually went in their local municipalidad (town hall) to demand clean streets, beautiful parks and underground wiring.