Life Can Be Tough in La Antigua Guatemala
As suggested by Scott, here’s a more challenging photograph, although I did include a door (does that count?), yet it is an everyday-life scene. As Pamela said, these doors and windows are portals to the history and witnesses of events and people. But I have to admit, they are not very pleasant to look at —sometimes— as Abraham pointed out, unless you have a new set of aesthetic values to appreciate and old town like La Antigua Guatemala.
Thank you for your wonderful feedback and interesting links. I hope to be able to reply more quickly soon and to visit your own websites as well.
Daily Content
He could be straight from Anderson with those droopy drawers and that hat. 
May 22nd, 2007
Rudy, I really appreciate your including this photograph. Life IS indeed hard in Antigua and all of Guatemala, and I feel like to be an honest photographer you need to show all aspects of the community. In fact, I would appreciate more of it; it humanizes your work.
May 22nd, 2007
The woman looks as browbeaten as the weathered, carved panels on the doors, which in both cases, is sad, but it is good that it forces us to face the reality of what a lack of care produces for both.
May 22nd, 2007
simple photo, not too busy, but very classy. I like it.
May 23rd, 2007
the lady is old, she has lived a long life and soon will lay her burdens down. I would tell you since i am of that age there is a lot to be said for growing old and not all is bad. have a good day rudy.
May 23rd, 2007
I personally love the door shots — but I love architecture and old buildings. And this door shot is especially special. Catching her breath from errands, maybe?
May 23rd, 2007
Ok, now this is a very honest, living, beautiful and thought provoking photograph! Don’t you enjoy a challenge?
May 23rd, 2007
People, keep in mind that the other side of the tourism development in Guatemala, being exploited by the Government and business owners, lies on a deeper difference of race and class within an already alienated society like the one we live in Guatemala.
Antigua is the prime example of such tourism development and alienation.
May 24th, 2007
Wonderful photograph; another sadness-tinged and thought-provoking image.
May 25th, 2007
Great photograph. Another thought-provoking and sadness-tinged image.
November 6th, 2007
[...] The irony of life in La Antigua Guatemala, a tiny colonial town with hundreds of bed & breakfasts, luxury hotels, cozy posadas, 5-star hotels, and thousands of rooms for every kind of budget. Yet, the number of homeless people without a roof increases every year. Certainly, life can be tough in La Antigua Guatemala. [...]
November 7th, 2007
Yes, I think especially for those who have not visited Antigua- this is a big part of life there. It is also life in los estados for an increasing number of people as disparity between rich and poor grows.
November 18th, 2008
Homelessness is a fact of life in most cities, including Paris, New York, Los Angeles as in most cities in Europe, the US and the rest of the world. The only thing, its tougher to be poor in many of those cities than in Guatemala. Antigua is a tourist haven and one that has provided much more for its inhabitants and traveling salesmen than most other Guatemala villages and towns. For instance, Paris is surrounded by ghettos ready to burst, large families of immigrants living in dire conditions. Visitors to Guatemala and developing countries might want to assess the meaning and relative condition of poverty and take the time to think about what is needed by the under privileged in their country of origin - You might realize that life is tough there, and the needy there are in need of your compassion and social responsibility as much as in “exotic” destinations.
November 19th, 2008
@John H. , wow I really dig what you said here; lots of truth.