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Hurry home, run rapidly, the witches are watching. Lolo, you must put on your costume to go out for trick-n-treating. It is Halloween in La Antigua Guatemala.

Side note about the photo: the house that serves as backdrop for the running kid belonged to Santo Hermano Pedro de Betancourt (Saint Brother Peter of Betancourt), which is Central America’s only Saint. I have posted a couple of entries before about Hermano Pedro de Betancourt who was born in Tenerife, Canary Islands in 1626. I will post a close-up view of the sign on the wall later this week.

Update about the illegal billboard: Less than two weeks ago I told you about an illegal billboard just outside of Antigua and how it was not going to last. Well, I am happy to report the billboard is gone now.

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“Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain.” —Pradip

I found two great quotes about the rain at the Samudaya.org web site which go very well with this photo which is my good-bye to the rainy season 2007 in Guatemala.

The Parque Central is Antigua’s best place for gathering and meetings. It is always so full of life and boiling with stories. Many people from so different nationalities, ethnic background, languages, ages, religions meet or collide there. Sometimes, it might seem impossible to clear up the park, but there is nothing like a heavy down pour to do the job. Central Park is depicted here just a few minutes after lunch, which is a peak hour at the park.

“I love walking in the rain, ’cause then no-one knows I’m crying.” —Pradip

With the end of the rainy season, Guatemala begins preparations for Noche de Brujas (The Night of the Witches), Halloween (All Hallows’ Eve), Dí­a de Muertos (Day of the Dead), Dí­a de Todos los Santos (All Saints Day). How’s that for syncretism?

With these celebrations come new flavors and colors. Fiambre, a cold cuts and pickled vegetables salad that can include over 50 ingredients, is eaten only on November 1st. Giant Kites, over 15 meters wide, fill the sky over the cemeteries of Sacatepéquez to help guide the dead back to their love ones. The little known fact that pumpkins originated in Central America, Guatemala to be precise, escapes most of the people who cut them up for their Halloween celebrations and to make one of my favorites pies. So, there is a lot to show this week and I will do my utmost effort to show you everything.

Here is another example of metal sign for a business. Gran Muralla, great wall, is a Chinese restaurant in Antigua. I wish someone could tell me what do the Chinese characters say, anyone, Lisi?

We are on the last leg of the rainy season which goes from May until October. Like I said before, someone has to water all those plants.

Cultural side note: For some reason in Guatemala they use the words “car wash”, usually as one word, to point you to the places where you can have your vehicle washed and waxed. It makes sense until you realized that Guatemala is a Spanish-speaking country.

Yet I am not sad. How about you?

Juaréz Hnos Hierro Forjado shop in La Antigua Guatemala is the oldest forged metal shop in the American Continent according to the owner. He recounted the people who had visited his shop from all over the continent and Europe because of the quality and old-time processes they use in his shop. “This is the real and original thing,” said he as he pointed to the different articles in his shop.

To be honest, before moving to Antigua, I did not have an appreciation for this time-tested fine craftsmanship. How about you, do you like forged metal items?

Saint Hermano Pedro de San José de Betancurt is Guatemala’s and Central America’s first saint. He was born in Tenerife, but soon enough he realized a sweeter and greater life awaiting for him in La Antigua Guatemala, then La Muy Noble y Muy Leal Ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala. His remains are in the San Francisco el Grande Church in Antigua, two blocks from my office.

So there is no surprise to see many things made with his image. Here you see a forged metal lantern with his image cast on metal made by the Juaréz Hnos. forged metal shop. If you flip this switch, you can see a close-up view of the image on the lantern.

Here is the other leaf of the door I posted yesterday. The owner of Juaréz Hnos. is framed by the arched metal door… he is there in the shadows. For those who did not bring their horse along or for those pesky trick-a-treaters that Pamela talked about, there are two different door knockers at different heights. If you zoom in the detail of the higher up knocker will knock you off!

For those interested in seeing the arched doorway from the inside, knock here. There is more to come tomorrow from the Juaréz Hermanos forged metal shop.

According to the owner of Juárez Hermanos forged metal shop, this big door (portón in Spanish) is probably the only metal door in Antigua (outside door that is). This is so because only wooden doors are allowed.

Another interesting fact is that the door knocker is very high; you can see it on the upper side of the door painted gold. He said, in colonial times, these door knocker were set high on the doors so you can knock them without getting off your horse. Come back in the next following days to see more things from this forged metal shop.

You can see a previous door knocker posted on this blog by knocking here.

Coffee trees do not grow very tall and that is why they are easy to harvest. Here you see coffee trees which are the short plants and the shadow trees which are the tall trees. Coffee trees need shadow trees and that is why is easy to confuse them, especially if you never have seen a coffee tree. La Antigua Guatemala produces one of the best coffees in the world and because it is grown a mid-level altitude (1500 meters) on volcanic soil and with lots of water and humidity in the environment, the resulting coffee is not as bitter as Huehuetenango coffee, yet it is more aromatic; truly as delicious coffee cup (follow the link to see the whole process from the trees to the cup at Finca Filadelfia, photos courtesy of Eve Andersson). On my post on Live green fences you can see a panoramic shot of two coffee plantations divided by a road.