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We don’t love our land because of its great size and power,
because of its weakness or tiny size,
because of its snow and white nights or its solar rain,
We love it, simply because is ours.
— Luis Cardoza y Aragón

Luis Cardoza y Aragón is another great Guatemalan writer, born in La Antigua Guatemala in 19041901. In the 1920s, Cardoza y Aragón moved to Paris, France where he became friends with André Breton. Influenced by the avant-garde members of the surrealist movement, his first work titled “Luna Park” was published in 1923 and dedicated to the Guatemalan writer Enrique Gomez Carrillo (1873-1927). He also go to know fellow Guatemalan writer Miguel Ángel Asturias who came to Paris to study at the Sorbonne. Decades later in 1991 Cardoza y Aragón wrote a book entitled “Miguel Ángel Asturias, Casi Novela” (Ediciones Era) about their time in Paris during the 1920s and 1930s that earned him the 1992 Mazatlan Literature award in Mexico. (source Wikipedia)

For being such small country, Guatemala produces many great writers, most of them are forced to live in exile though. What a paradox that is. For instance, all three names above Enrique Gómez Carrillo, Miguel Ángel Asturias (Nobel Prize of Literature 1967) and Luis Cardoza y Aragón lived most of their lives in exile. They are also considered the best Guatemalan writers of the 19th – 20th centuries.

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?

One of the things I like best about La Antigua Guatemala is its location. One hour or less from Guatemala City and the Pacific Ocean, about two hours or less from the most beautiful lake in the world: Lake Atitlán (according to Alexander von Humboldt). A little under three hours from Quetzaltenango or Xela like its locally known. Back on January 17th I showed this satellite map of Southern Guatemala in which you can see La Antigua Guatemala in relation to Guatemala City, Lake Atitlan, the Pacific Ocean and the volcanoes of Pacaya, Agua, Fuego and Acatenango. It is great little map and I recommend that you take a look at it along with the other satellite maps I posted on the very first entry on this site: Where in the World is La Antigua Guatemala.

After the long explanation above you may ask yourself, what’s the point anyway? Well, just a simple background information so you know that you can drive down to hot and humid tropical lands of Southern Guatemala within 45 minutes from La Antigua. The driving down part is literal since you take the sinuous road from La Antigua Guatemala at 1500 meters/5000 feet above the see level toward the Pacific Ocean, traveling between volcanoes of Agua, Fuego and Acatenango, with coffee and flower plantations on either side road. It is one of the most beautiful stretches of road in Guatemala. On the hot and humid land of tropical Escuintla you can find many exotic fruits like the ones shown above.

Enough ramblings. To play this game you simply try to name as many fruits as you can from the tropical stand above (you might need to click on the photo to get a larger version for details). Let the game begin.

The photo above shows the façade of the Escuela de Cristo church in La Antigua Guatemala, which is located to the southeast of the city in the way to El Calvario Church. It is on la Calle de los Pasos (the Steps Street) which takes its name from the Ví­a Crucis (Stations of the Cross). La Escuela de Cristo church was founded and established as such in 1689, later destroyed in the earthquakes of 1717, and finally rebuilt in 1730. More detailed information about its architecture and history, in Spanish, available here.

I had said it before, La Antigua Guatemala is tiny town —barely a 10×10 block grid— yet it manages to host well over 65 Spanish-language schools. As a matter of fact, Guatemala is a popular destination for those willing to learn Spanish, even though Guatemala’s Spanish is an old flavor and many words are only available here. On top of that, I could say La Antigua Guatemala is not the best place to learn Spanish. How’s so, didn’t you just say there are well over 65 Spanish-language schools? Well, I guess I did, but I also forgot to mention that almost everybody speaks English here and so this is not the ideal place to take classes because shortly after that you go meet your friends or a total stranger to converse in English. Xela or Quetzaltenango is a better place. But, be careful you might stay longer than you expect.

I can almost hear the crow grackle yelling Bush is coming, Bush is coming! What a nightmare. Poor bird, it is so exhausted that it needs to take a break and drink some water. Just when you think things can not get any worse, Bush decides to visit Guatemala.

Recent entries about Bush’s visit to Guatemala:

• Mayan priest to purge Bush’s evil after he leaves
• Doused in spiritual bleach
• I can’t wait to congratulate him
• President Bush in Guatemala
• T-6
• Even more posts on Bush’s visit, thanks to Google News

Sometimes there is no better lunch than a great book. Now I am having Saturday from Ian McEwan for lunch. The prologue of the book Saturday, “For instance?” appears to be appropriate for the visit of Mr. Bush to Guatemala. Here’s a little fragment: “… Which spent military billions against foreign enemies but would not pay for order at home…” You can almost read the the whole page if you click to enlarge it.

Have a great weekend, full of pleasant events. We will not be so lucky in Guatemala.

One of the best things to do in La Antigua Guatemala is to enjoy the sunsets at the parks or in a bar. Here you see some Spanish-language students, I supposed, taking a break from classes and warming up with the sunshine of the late afternoon at the park right across the Escuela de Cristo church. More photos about this park and the church in the coming day.

Stay tune, Bush is coming to Guatemala!

Normally, I try to publish clean, with almost no visual noise, photographs as in Shadow Casting Lamp, the wallpaper series, Palo de Izote Tree and Arches reflected on Tanque de la Unión. This is an extremely difficult task when you live in a part of the world which is very noisy, both visual and audio; but, I had managed to catch a few. The photograph above, however, is the exact opposite. A photograph with so many details that one can easily spend 10 minutes just trying to look at every nook and cranny.

Related articles:

1. Inside a Bicycle Repair Shop
2. An old bike for an old town
3. By bike
4. El pan nuestro de cada dí­a
5. Framed bicycle
6. Cycling the dogs

Cultural and Language Side Note:
The No se da fiado sign could be translated as “no credit card accepted” for the poor and lower middle classes. It literally means “no work or service to be done on credit”. This little sign can be found in many small shops and convenience stores.

Normally you need less words in English to say the same thing as you do in Spanish. But there some instances where the opposite is true. The No se da fiado sign is one good example. Other examples are the G&T Insurance slogan: No le falla which translate as the insurance that does not let you down and sí­ sé as yes I know; Sí­ Sé is, by the way, also the name of one of my favorite eclectic latin jazz meets electronic bands. Check out the sample songs and videos at Sí­*Sé site, especially The Truth.

I have posted many photos of bicycles in and around Antigua Guatemala and I even said that bicycles are among the most-widely used vehicles in La Antigua Guatemala. It is only logical that many bicycle repair shops exist to fix them.

Here is a glance at a tidy and messy bike repair shop. Come back tomorrow to see an overall snapshot of the bicycle repair shop.

Related articles:

1. An old bike for an old town
2. By bike
3. El pan nuestro de cada dí­a
4. Framed bicycle
5. Cycling the dogs

International Women’s Day Side Note: Today, March 8th, is celebrated Women’s Day around the World. In Guatemala, more than in other places in the world, there is a need for attention and caring for women’s rights. My best wishes to all you women of the world in your day and always, as every day should be women’s day.

During the Lent period (Cuaresma in Spanish) many houses and businesses are decorated with purple or violet strips of textiles and bands as the one above seen at the Santo Domingo Hotel.

Even simple details like the marker for the men’s bathroom is done with style in many places around Antigua Guatemala. Here you can see the stain glass marker for the bathroom for señores. Nothing like an image to be universally understood. This photograph was taken at La Fuente as well.

Here is a better shot showing how the Guatemalan textiles literally carpet the garden around the fountain (fuente in Spanish) at La Fuente. I had to underexposed the fountain and the people in the background to get a better view of the colors and textures of the textiles in the foreground. As always, if you are interested in zooming in to see the details, all you have to do is click on the photo above to get a larger version. This textile market is only available on the weekends.

On the weekends the center garden around the fountain in La Fuente strip mall and restaurant is carpeted by Guatemalan textiles on sale; awesome stuff, by the way.

La Fuente is one my favorite places to have lunch and meet with people. You can recall the entry about Six Degrees of Separation at La Fuente where I met Sompopo’s family. Also, many of the traditional Guatemalan dishes I posted here have been photographed at La Fuente, like the Pepian dish. If you are coming to La Antigua Guatemala and want have an economic traditional lunch, head up to La Fuente, next door to Doña Luisa Xicotencatl on 4a calle oriente #14, one block away from the Central Park on the east side. Make sure you ask for the daily menu.

Make sure you come back tomorrow for another shot at La Fuente and its textiles around the fountain.

Is it motorcycle or automobile?
The meeting of the tuk tuk drivers and the police was to define the tuk tuk as either a motorcycle or an automobile so that the drivers can have the proper license and insurance. Interesting enough, they meet to decide this after the introduction of the tuk tuks mototaxis. Even the Politour (tourist police) have tuk tuk police units. To me tuk tuks are motorcycles that can carry four or five passengers, period. If they are going to be used as taxis they need to be regulated and have insurance.