AntiguaDailyPhoto.Com

I guess that if you live in a town overcrowded with churches, you are bound to photograph them often; even if you don’t mean to. It’s been only four days since a church popped into the background of my mobile library chicken bus shot and only a week since the San Francisco El Grande Church got in the way of my photo of a monk. What can I do?

In the picture above you can see the dome of the Ciudad Vieja Cathedral; a town four kilometers away from La Antigua Guatemala. Now a little trivia information. Ciudad Vieja was the second settlement of Guatemala City right before they moved it to where La Antigua Guatemala is now. Thus, its name means Old City or Ciudad Vieja in Spanish (check the aerial shots of Ciudad Vieja).

La Antigua Guatemala means almost the same thing; it could be translated as The Old Guatemala City. So, now that you know Antigua means old, you can understand that calling the city old is a misnomer since the word old is only the adjective modifying the name Guatemala. When people just use Antigua instead of La Antigua Guatemala is almost like if we only used “new” for New York or New Zealand or “San” for San Francisco. On top of it, the single word Antigua refers to a Caribbean Island.

Countdown side note: Tomorrow La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo site will be celebrating its one-year anniversary. Thank You All!

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / Ciudad Vieja Cathedral / dome / Catedral de Ciudad Vieja

The bibliobuses’ route takes them around Sacatepequez, that is the name of the State where La Antigua Guatemala is located—called Departamentos in Guatemala, visiting the villages around La Antigua for two hour per stop and returning every week. So kids with no access to public libraries, get the chance to read and check out the material in the mobile library chicken buses once a week. Here is the side view with the contact information of Probigua and their motto: Please Help Us to Help!

Enough said. I am living proof that education, reading and libraries are a solid ladder through which one can climb to success, whatever one decides that is. If I was not an Art Director/Graphic Designer, I would be a librarian.

Countdown side note: 2 more days to May 1st one-year anniversary. Two more days and we’ll cut the cake and blow the candle.

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / Chicken Bus / San Pedro Las Huertas / Mobile Library Chicken Bus / Probigua

The back of the mobile library chicken bus has even the same typography and three-step color gradient as the public transportation buses. However, it lacks the naked-woman silhouette on shiny metal and/or the Disney cartoon figures (what’s the fascination with Tweety bird, can anyone explain it to me?). Instead, it has a three-word slogan: we move books!, other than that you could not tell the difference from PROBIGUA‘s bibliobuses and the regular camionetas. If you don’t believe me, please, browse over the 2,112 photos of chicken buses at Flickr (about 99% are from Guatemala; can someone explain me the foreigners’ fascination with chicken bus?).

Countdown side note: 3 more days to May 1st one-year anniversary. For the year two of Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo, I will also cover the process of how textiles, forged metal crafts, wooden furniture and handicraft are made. Stay tune and come back often; daily if you can!

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / Chicken Bus / San Pedro Las Huertas / Mobile Library Chicken Bus / Probigua

Some of you have asked to update yesterday’s entry about the Mobile Library Chicken Bus with information on how to help and how to send donations. Come on people, you did not think I was going to left the entry about bibliobuses there, right? I have three more photos to go, one per day, as that is our agreement. I will be posting all this information for you to help and donate to such worthy project.

For starters, here is the text that explains why PROBIGUA support the public libraries (Probigua stands for Libraries Project of Guatemala; Biblioteca is the Spanish term for library). The text on the web site may be a bit outdated, but it should be plenty to explain.

Why we support libraries?
In Guatemala, where 46% of the population cannot read, educational opportunities are severely limited by a lack of access to books and other written material. Most towns and villages do not have libraries; neither do the public schools, which also do not supply any textbooks. Parents, many of whom earn the minimum wage of only $18 per week, simply cannot afford to buy books for their children.

Instructional methods in the public schools are limited to listening to the teacher and copying what is written on the blackboard. Many children simply do not learn to read and drop out of school after a few years. Many of those who do achieve some literacy begin losing it as they grow older. Only 10% attend school past sixth grade. As adults, most of these children are limited to doing manual labor – when they can find it. (source: Probigua to continue reading)

You can visit PROBIGUA’s web site to learn how to get in touch with them and all about their projects as well as how they get their funding and donations. Or you can wait for tomorrow’s picture in which I will give more in-depth information.

Countdown side note: 4 more days to May 1st one-year anniversary. For the year two of Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo, I will cover more non-profit and non-government organization that, in my opinion, are worthy of our help. I will also cover the cemeteries, churches, museums, art galleries, parks, restaurants, hotels, get-away places, local hotspot, et-cetera in series as to be able to give you more in-depth information. Stay tune and come back often!

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / Chicken Bus / San Pedro Las Huertas / Mobile Library Chicken Bus / Probigua

Chicken buses is the derogatory term used in many guides to refer to the rural public transportation buses in Guatemala and in many parts of Latin America. Chicken buses are the improved version and second wind for the retired school buses.

Here is an interesting twist for the infamous chicken bus. Turn it into a bibliobús or mobile library bus so you can take the books to the communities that lack a library. For now, they have two bibliobuses, but I believe they will need a whole fleet to cover all the communities that do not have a library in Guatemala.

Now I know where I will be donating my next batch of books. The two mobile library buses belong to the Non-Government Organization (NGO) Probigua, which stands for Proyecto Bibliotecas Guatemala (Libraries Project of Guatemala). Come back in the next few days to learn more about the project and to see the inside of a “chicken bus”.

Countdown side note: 5 more days to May 1st. I want to thank all the comments and feedback along the 361 days. They are a real encouragement to do a better job. So far these are the numbers. 371 posts, 2,260 comments, 42 catergories, 1,284 incoming links and 208,214 visits. Not too bad for a first year, don’t you think?

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / Chicken Bus / San Pedro Las Huertas / Mobile Library Chicken Bus / Probigua

It was almost a year ago when I published a photo of the public laundry washbasins in Ciudad Vieja and Heidi asked how do they wash their clothes? As an answer I did a follow up photo of public laundry washbasins at work (about two months later, heck this was fast), but this lavaderos, the Spanish term for washbasins, lack the beauty found at Tanque de la Unión public washbasins. While taking a photo of those washbasins in La Antigua I stumbled upon one of my favorite photos: Arches reflected on Tanque de la Unión and its more abstract sibling Upside down arches; just posted a few days ago. It is only now, almost a year later (boy, I am fast!), that I can show Heidi how are the washbasins used for laundry.

If you have click all the links above, you can see that the public laundry washbasins consist of one shared water tank with basins all around it, sort like stations, where women take their clothes to wash them by hand. In the photo you can see only a fraction of washbasins stations around this huge public lavadero in San Pedro Las Huertas. In one of the captions for the photos linked above I said that “public laundry washbasins (sometimes rivers or lake shores) serve as the gathering place for news, gossip and community building through the interactions that take place. Public washbasins could be considered the first news broadcasting sites; batteries not required.”

Countdown side note: 6 more days to May 1st. Thank you all for all your support, comments and feedback through this 360 days. I also want to THANK all the people who have donated towards the hosting bills through the donation buttons right below the search box. About 50% of the hosting bill was paid through donations made by people like you. THANK YOU!

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / public washbasins / San Pedro Las Huertas / women doing the laundry

Many artisans come to La Antigua Guatemala to sell their crafts. The streets are for anyone who wants to sell, just watch for the tourist police or they might confiscate your work, give you a ticket and send you home with empty hands. On the streets you can buy tortillas, handicrafts, textiles, furniture, watercolors paintings, orchids, ice cream, charcoal broiled meats, ceviches (shrimp or sea food salad) and a very long et-cetera. Please, make this old man happy —buy his wood-carved saint.

Countdown side note: Last year on May 1st, the La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo was started as a way for me to express my opinions about this particular colonial town embedded in the Sierra Madre mountain range in Central America. Inspired by the fabulous work of Eric (a friendly Parisian —yes, they do exist!) from Paris Daily Photo and others around the world who choose to document life as they see it in their home towns and cities.

The challenge seemed overwhelming since I can barely keep an activity for a week (yes 7 days is often too much for me). But I decided to give it a try figuring I could probably hold on for a month. It was also a challenge because La Antigua Guatemala is a tiny town (about 10 x 10 blocks) and I did not know if I could find enough material to keep up with the big cities like Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Los Angeles, et-cetera.

There are over two hundred and forty-six cities now in this world-wide community, yet La Antigua Guatemala remains the only city in Central America (yes most people did not know about Central America). La Antigua Guatemala DP was also one of the first in Latin America, even before Mexico City or Santiago de Chile.

I am happy to say that I only see friends in many of those 246 cities and to me Lisi is Hong Kong, Pamela is Tenerife, Lessie is Anderson, Jing is Shanghai, Edwin is Kuala Lumpur, Dsole is Madrid, MarieMc is Alexandria just to mention a few names.

Also, there are the regular visitors and commentators who enrich the whole experience for all, like Sompopo and Jerry. Sorry, I wish I can name everyone here, although I am very grateful for all your wonderful feedback, but this side note is already longer than the post (it almost feels like the post-signatures of Sub-Comandante Marcos).

Anyhow, please, I urge you to come along this ride of seven days before the one-year anniversary. If you are one of those SM Guatemalans who visit this site regularly, please stay away on May 1st, I will have a photo that might make you wish you had an airplane ticket in your hand.

Can you still see monks in your home town?

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / old man / wooden saint

It is not unusual to come across monks or nuns in La Antigua Guatemala. This morning as I was driving past the San Francisco El Grande Church, I spotted a classic post card of Antigua Guatemala, so I parked, I prepared for the shot and waited for tourists or Antigüeños to appear. I had done three takes when the monk came into the viewfinder and so the shot was resolved.

This church is where Santo Hermano Pedro de Bentancourt was buried. You can check Pamela’s Tenerife Daily Photo for more background information about his birthplace. Or you can check the previous entries in Antigua Guatemala DP about Santo Hermano Pedro de Bentancourt (Saint Brother Peter of Bethancourt).

Can you still see monks in your home town?

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / monk / arch portal / San Francisco El Grande Church

La Antigua Guatemala is based on the time-tested Spanish grid of Streets and Avenues (see this map to get an idea). Streets are divided between oriente or east and poniente or west (although poniente means sun setting point). Avenues are divided as usual sur and norte. So you have all the basic elements for street names and numbers, the basis for addresses, yet if you ask for directions here, people will tell you: “it’s next door to Doña Luisa“, “Go to la Calle del Arco and ask there”, “it’s right across the street from where the Subway restaurant was located”, “go to Posada del Ángel, it’s on the same block.”

I can imagine the lady in the green shorts pointing to oriente and telling the other two: it’s over there! Just walk a few blocks until you get to Nicolas restaurant, what you are looking for is three house up.

How are directions give in your little niche of the world?

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / women / arch of panaderas portal / panaderas portal

Let it be known that I am not breaking the rules with yet another photo with cats. Even though our little Tito is in the picture (now you have seen all three of our cats: Lolita, Camilo and Tito), really what I want to show you is the pumice-stone blocks which are used to build houses in Guatemala. Also, I want to show you the broken glass, chaye in Guatemalan Spanish, which is put on top walls as protection against burglaries.

So there you have it, as you can see the today’s photo is not about a cat. Now, if you really find Tito more interesting than a grey naked wall, you can click this link to get a close-up portrait of Tito.

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / Tito / our cats / pumice-stone blocks

Guatemala is a football-playing country and thus it is obvious that balls are the favorite toy for young and mature kids . The most popular balls are the small striped sitting on the left against the plastic baskets. You can find them everywhere, from Guatemala City to Playa Grande Ixcán (the first the largest metropolis in Central America and the latter one of the most remote communities in Guatemala, because they are very cheap and kids can buy them in any convenience store or tienda as they are known here.

Through these balls you can also appreciate the fact that Guatemalans like a bright and vivid, in-your-face color palette for all aspects of life. You can browse the Color Palette category to see samples of how color permeates everything in the daily life around La Antigua Guatemala.

Have a ball of a weekend; my best wishes to you and your love ones!

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / balls / plastic balls / color palette

The first time I published the arches reflected on the water tank at Tanque de la Unión Park in La Antigua Guatemala, there were many people who really liked the photo. There were even some Guatemalans who said the reflection was done in Photoshop. Now you can take the statement either way: you can feel proud to know that you’ve snapped a shot that people think you spent many hours in the digital lab of Photoshop or you can take it as a put down on your photo-taking ability. I am glad I am very competent in the Photoshop department, heck I could even argue that I excel in the skills of Photoshop since I started working in version 2 and I use the program in a daily basis.

However, I must admit, photos I publish in Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo are Photoshop-free. I do minor color-casting removal and I improve the contrast when needed in Apple iPhoto (my light photo library manager). I do not retouch the photos in Photoshop for two reasons: 1. I don’t have the time to do retouching (sometimes I barely have time to keep up with that blog as it is) 2. I cheat by taking many shots of the same subject at different angles and settings so I will have a better original to begin with (this is a time-honor procedure called bracketing).

So there you have it. Another water reflection at Tanque de La Unión. Other shots of the arches are: Palm Trees in Antigua and Public Washbasins at Tanque de la Unión.

There are still many walls in La Antigua Guatemala made from stones. The lucky owners of such wall choose to show the guts. What would you do if you had a wall made from stones?

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / wall / stones / doorway

Flowers for the innocent who died yesterday in the Virginia Tech college and everywhere in the world.

Not all the walls in La Antigua Guatemala are made from stones, bricks or pumice blocks, some are actually made from organic recycled materials like the canes from the maize field. I am sure this doorway could not be admitted in MarieMc’s wonderful collection of Doorways Around the World. The fence is not as green or as alive like the hedgerow I showed to you back on September 28th, yet there is still something in the photo that moves me to post it here. Maybe is the spelling error on the sign painted on the door (it should read prohibida), or the doorbell on one of the poles, or the different shades of brown. I really don’t know. Can you help me?

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / San Miguel Escobar / Maize Cane Fence / Doorway