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There are still some horse carriages in Antigua, mostly used by tourists and by couples who want to have a romantic ride. Some people disapprove of the animal labor and exploitation, but here in Guatemala that is far too low in the political agendas.

Football Game in Antigua, originally uploaded by rudygiron.

Yesterday while I was looking for a car-wash around Antigua, I found this soccer game in progress right behind the Antigua Market. I figured I take a couple shots for my photo records. I took three photos; the third one is this one: the only goal in the game. I was there a total of three or four minutes. Talk about luck!

Ceviche is very popular food in America. There are many ways to prepare it and there are many recipes per countries. The Guatemalan ceviche is based on roma/plum tomatoes, onions, garlic, mint, cilantro, soy sauce, English sauce, lemon juice, hot peppers (chiltepe), seafood (shrimp and Guatemalan clamshell especially) and is usually served with cold beer (Gallo Beer).

I leave you with a slideshow of the different kinds of ceviche found in Flickr.

I am posting this photo for a friend who is in Paris at the moment.

In Antigua and the surrounded communities there are still exist public laundry washbasins. The one pictured here is in Ciudad Vieja (aerial shots), about 1 mile from Antigua. Ciudad Vieja (history+map) was the Capital of Guatemala and Central America before it moved to Antigua in the 16th century.

Tags: AntiguaDailyPhoto / Antigua / Guatemala / Public laundry washbasins

Veggie stands, originally uploaded by rudygiron.

Although this is not a very good shot, it shows of one the areas of the Antigua’s Market where vegetables are sold. Most things in Guatemala are fresh and without preservatives. Vegetables and fruits, in general, are very inexpensive here. Antigua’s is only an hour travel-time from the coastal lands where most vegetables are grown. Chances are that the artichokes you buy today were picked the same day or yesterday.

On unrelated note, I want thank the people that have come 284 times to this site. I believe it is pretty good since the site was launched on May 1st. There were over 100 visits on the first week.

Also, please visit Long Beach Daily Photo. If you don’t see your DailyPhoto on my sidebar, please let know, and I will add it.

Antigua Guatemala is surrounded by large farms (fincas in Spanish) and coffee plantations. This photo was taken only two kilometers from Antigua. The Panchoy Valley where Antigua is settled has very fertile volcanic soil and lots of water collected by the long rainy season (May through October). This why flowers are always blooming, vegetables and coffee are grown. You can take coffee tours and see the process how coffee is taken from a bean to very aromatic coffee cup. You can see a satellite view of Antigua through Google Maps.

Updates:
I came across a photo gallery of Finca Filadelfia by Eve Andersson who says, “The Filadelfia Coffee Estate is a modern, charming coffee plantation just outside of Antigua. You can take a two-hour tour and learn about everything from growing the plants to producing the final, delicious end product.”

This photo was taken the same day as the previous entry on the Teachers demonstration. It is funny how there never seems to be enough police to combat organized crime and thieves, but they appear out of nowhere to keep teachers, students, workers, farmers, unions, etc. in order. People, in general, have little confidence in the National Civil Police. I wish they were as effective combating crime as they are in combating demonstrations, protests, and marches.

On this picture you can see the street’s name on the wall, right above the policemen heads.

This shot was taken in a Teachers’ demonstration and march a while back. Demonstration and marches are very welcome by ice cream, shaved-ice, snack ambulant vendors who take advantage of agglomeration of people and their need for something sweet and refreshing. By the way this is the entrance to Antigua Guatemala.

In my way to lunch I caught this metallic cat at the Macaco store. There is an artist in Guatemala City who makes this metallic cat decoration and other type accents and functional art; like clocks and fountains. I have bought a couple to give away. they are very original. Anyhow, Tucson DP posted a picture of Diamondback snake bridge that brought about the discussion of waste of money on art or art-looking items for a city. Also, Wellington DP posted a photo of recent art works. I have seen many photos of sculptures and art in the photos posted by Eric in his Paris DP, which, in my opinion, is what makes Paris such a fascinating city.

Should art be an integral part of the layout and infrastructure of cities?

Kids should be in school. In Guatemala there are laws for everything you can imagine, including laws against child labor. Yet there is no enforcement of most laws here; child labor is no exception. In my opinion, this is one of the main reason that makes the countries in the south fall behind. I wonder if these people would allow a kid to work shining their shoes on the streets of their own country?

What do you think?

This is the entrance to the building that once was occupied by the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC). It was one of the first universities in America; maybe the third university for the whole continent, after Mexico and Peru. It was officially declared a university on January 31st, 1676 by royal command of the King Charles II of Spain. It had previously been known as the School of Saint Thomas, founded in 1562 by the priest Francisco Marroquí­n. The University finally gained international acceptance by Official Decree from Pope Innocent XI, on June 18th, 1687. More history about the USAC in Wikipedia. I will post more photos of the interior of the building.

Once the Antigua became a popular tourist destination, many old houses were converted into hotels. Hotel Aurora is the opposite corner to yesterday’s photo. You can still see the same tree breaking the skyline.

La Antigua Guatemala has many window corners like this one, a window that opens to the view of both streets. Also, another architectonic element all over Antigua are the domes or cupolas; you can see two sticking out above the roof.

The Tuk Tuk mototaxis were introduced in Guatemala in 2001 and in less the five years there are 8,000 of them throughout the whole country (source: Prensa Libre in Spanish). In Antigua there are about 200 mototaxis and they are economical and unsafe for the locals and an attraction for the tourist. More photos of mototaxis in Flickr.

A fellow photographer who makes his living taking snapshots of tourists and visitors to Antigua Guatemala.