Malo Mori Quam Foedari
No, they are not Ku Klux Klan as you might be inclined to believe at first glance. They are cucuruchos which is the name given to the brotherhood who use the cone head-dress; in this case is the brotherhood of the nazarenos (from Jesus of Nazareth). Each brotherhood from each church wear a different color and style of cucurucho.
Malo Mori Quam Fiedari (ed. Foedari)
Secret hand-shake or password
used by the nazarenos and
described by Pepe Milla.
The Latin words translate to I prefer to die than to be dishonored or disgraced. Pepe Milla was one of the most outstanding Guatemalan writers in the 19th century. His real name was José Milla y Vidaurre, since Pepe is the nickname for José, although he nom de plume was Salomé Jil. His writing can be categorized under several literary genres, but his main focus was life in colonial Guatemala. In his works, he shows an ability for story-telling and imagination. For him, one of the main functions of literature was to entertain and his books are examples of such function. Jose Milla was well-educated, an expert of Guatemalan idiosyncrasies, its history and its customs. (source: Wikipedia)
For those familiar with La Antigua Guatemala, could you tell me where was this picture taken?
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March 16th, 2007
What an interesting and excellent photo!
March 16th, 2007
7a. Calle Poniente, close to the El Bucaro shopping center (centro comercial). I read Jose Milla’s novel La Hija del Adelantado, very good.
March 16th, 2007
no idea, but I love the commentary. Learned quite a bit.
March 16th, 2007
Piika, thanks for the visit and comment.
Herbasio, you’re too cold.
Lessie, I just try to give a little something in captions whenever times allow. I am glad you actually read the captions.
April 8th, 2007
[...] which processions depart or arrive. Churches also serve as home-base for all the brotherhoods of cucuruchos and sisterhoods. Churches also put their best face for the Holy Week and many get a paint job [...]
August 28th, 2007
Pues la verdad veo que las dos fotos son del mismo lugar verdad (en la entrada de antigua, en la pared de un costado de la casita que hay alli.
En cuanto al pie de foto no fue muy difícil: las primeras dos lineas dicen exactamente lo que dice el libro que sostienen los cucuruchos, con la corrección encontrada
en Google cuando ingresa la contraseña y luego a este link: cyberpsych.org/cgi-bin/bbs51/motto2.pl/noframes/read/967 donde encontre la traducción.
En cuanto a las siguientes dos lineas hay conocimientos populares que como guatemalteco que le encanta su pais se obtienen por medio de la lectura, tradición oral y un poco de investigación. Veo que su link tiene más información por lo que lo incluire en el pie de la foto con el fin de informar a cualquier persona interesada en Guatemala, lo cual es mi fin. Gracias.
August 29th, 2007
DrLópezFranco, gracias por la visita y la explicación.
September 18th, 2007
[...] of them in this site like Luis Cardoza y Aragón, Miguel Ángel Asturias, Enrique Gómez Carrillo, Pepe Milla, Ronald Flores. But, I have not done enough to talk about the great Guatemalan Literature written [...]
October 4th, 2007
I went out and photographed this myself today and found my way back to your site looking for a confirmatory translation of the inscription (I had translated it correctly).
Nobody said where it is? That’s easy - it’s out on the road past Dominos Pizza and the gasolineros and is at the busy turn into Antigua. Thousands of people drive past it each week and I wonder how many even notice it. Difficult to photograph without getting run down.