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People are strange when you’re a stranger,
Faces look ugly when you’re alone.

There are many complications when you take an adopted child from Guatemala to a foreign land and to a foreign culture. One complication could be that he or she will be marked as strange because of her Mayan traits and the dark color of the skin.

Streets are uneven when you’re down.
When you’re strange

Hispanic and Indigenous children might be walking on uneven streets if they are taken to mostly white neighborhoods where racism and discrimination could part of their daily bread.

When you’re strange
No one remembers your name

How much can the love of the adopting parents shelter the adopted Guatemalan child from discrimination, racism, abusive comments and evil teasing from other children and adults in the community. Racial catcalling, sneers, violence and exclusion could be part of the daily encounters. It is not ease to live under such circumstances.

Faces come out of the rain
When you’re strange.
(lyrics from the song People are Strange from The Doors.

It was not even easy for the King Kong fictional character to adapt to a foreign land, away from his natural surroundings and peers. So it does come as a surprise to learn about Rosie who lives as a stranger in England (Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire). Rosie has managed to cope with, so her mother says, her daily encounters with racism, discrimination, physical violence, racial catcalling, sneers, abusive comments, evil teasing and a King Kong chant.

There could be complications and contradictions when you take an adopted child away from his birth country, culture and society. Guatemalan adoptions are not as easy as you might have been inclined to believe.

Mayan children could suffer all of the above even here in Guatemala, but they are protected and sheltered, in part, by their parents, community and friends which are not strange to them. Guatemalan children do not look strange in Guatemala; at least I hope not.

I want to thank Kyle from Immigration Orange for bringing Rosie’s case to light in his entry The Contradictions of a Parent Who Adopted a Guatemalan based on the Guardian news article Mixed blessings. Like Kyle, I want to extend the invitation to Rosa where she can have a place to stay in La Antigua Guatemala.

Other entries related to Guatemalan Adoptions:

• Guatemalan Adoptions
• May 10th: Mother’s Day in Guatemala
• Guatemalan Cowboy Kid

Guate, Guate, Guate… vamos vaciooossss!

That is what you hear the chicken bus driver’s helper yell out as the omnibus makes its way back into Guatemala City. But there are all kinds of yellings: Antigua, Antigua llega llega… dale, Chimal, Chimal, Chichi, Chichi, Xela, Xela and so on.

Guate, Guate, Guate… vamos vaciooossss! Guatemala, Guatemala, Guatemala, we are empty is what the driver’s ayudante (helper) would yell out if they are full, like this.

Instead of writing all the possible things the driver’s assistant of a chicken bus can yell out I leave you with Zacatenango; an electronic-genre song with samplings of many different call outs from chicken buses and sounds of Guatemala. Zacatenango is the third song in an awesome anthology by the name of Democracia Sonora (Sonic Democracy) which is a compilation of electronic songs made by Guatemalan DJs with the common thread of samples of street sounds of Guatemala and its public transit system. You can download Democracia Sonora from Electronik.net; a site dedicated to the work of Guatemalan DJs and their electronic creations.

No. I am not stalking this poor fellow. He just so happened to move in the same direction as my viewfinder.

Chicken bus is the derogatory term used for Guatemala’s rural public transportation system. The chicken bus is the second life for the old school bus in the third world. The chicken bus ride can make for a great post card or provide enough material for your exotic travel chronicle. But, chicken buses do not make for a safe and quality transit system and as a such they do not have designated and built-for bus stops. The omnibus stops can be anywhere, including in the middle of the main entrance or exit to La Antigua Guatemala.

So a window sill is as good a bus stop as any. What is the most interesting bus stop you have seen?

Too bad this is the main exit street for La Antigua Guatemala if you are going to Guatemala City, also known as 4a calle oriente. If this was the main entrance, you could see the Fire and Acatenago volcanoes right above the Spanish-tile rooftops. This is the last thing you see also as you wave goodbye to La Antigua Guatemala.

I am almost sure, some of you would rather say hasta la vista, baby.

Although this image is not as elegant and clean as the one shown in Fire and Acatenango Volcanoes Wallpaper, I thought, some of you may enjoy having it as wallpaper for your desktops over the weekend. If you do, download the image (1600×1200) Electric Wire Grid and Volcanoes Wallpaper.

I don’t know why I have a fascination for this horrible electric wire grids or webs that break up into pieces, the otherwise, gorgeous sky line around La Antigua Guatemala. Well you can at least use this visual noise as wallpapers for your computer.

Have a great weekend everyone!

La Antigua Guatemala is like a huge living catalog of colonial architectonic design elements. You can walk around the town armed with a camara, notepad and pencil and an eye for detail to capture all the beauty that make up the architecture of The Very Noble and Very Loyal City of Sait James of the Knights of Guatemala. All the colonial architectonic design elements make this an enchanting and haunting little town. It is, certainly, more than the sum of its elements.

The photograph above captures another aspect of El Palacio de Doña Leonor in La Antigua Guatemala.

Those who have followed this blog for a while, especially the Guatemalan Fair series, would know that today, July 25th, is La Antigua Guatemala Patron’s Day; otherwise known as the fair day of Saint James. Why is Saint James the patron saint of La Antigua Guatemala? If you read the entry What’s in a name? That which we call La Antigua Guatemala you will find out that La Antigua Guatemala used to be the capital city of Guatemala (Central America to be precise) and at the time its name was La Muy Noble y Muy Leal Ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala, or The Very Noble and Very Loyal City of Saint James of the Knights of Guatemala as was pointed out by Manolo in his comment.

Can you imagine telling your relatives and friends you are going to The Very Noble and Very Loyal City of Sait James of the Knights of Guatemala to adopt a child or two; they would probably ask you where in the world is that and then say a few words with insane as one of them.

Santiago was a very popular name for the conquistadors to use as they rechristen the new lands of the American continent. If you check the entry for Santiago in Wikipedia, you will there are over 60 cities and towns throught the world that carry that name and that is a very short list since you could probably find about 60 towns with the Santiago name, just in Guatemala. But why was Santiago such a popular name for the Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors?

The remains of Saint James the Greater are said to be buried in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia (Spain). Saint James is the patron saint of Spain and is related to the reconquista in the role of moor-slayer. His burial town, Santiago de Compostela, is considered the third most holy town of Catholicism (after Jerusalem and Rome). The pilgrimage to the grave of the Saint has become the most popular pilgrimage for Western European Catholics from the early middle ages onwards; making him one of the patron saints of pilgrimage. (source Wikipedia)

Enough, I get it, you say. Now tell me why in the world you pick a palm tree to tell us all this [boring] history? Simple, blame Pamela from Tenerife Daily Photo. She pointed out that Tenerife’s Bishop is to visit La Antigua Guatemala on July 25th to visit the burial site of Santo Hermano Pedro Betancourt. Also, often she points out the close relationship between Islas Canarias, Spain and La Antigua Guatemala; sometimes she even copies the subjects of the entries from this humble site. Rudy, you are rambling again, get to the point, you shout. Okay, this palm tree in Central Park of La Antigua Guatemala was brought from Gáldar, Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, which by the way shares the Santiago name.

The Plaque below, planted next to the palm tree says the following:

The Honorable City Hall of Gáldar
TO THE ANTIGÜEÑO PEOPLE
Under this canarian Palm tree
It will be remember through perpetuity
The brotherhood
Of the Jacobus Cities
Of La Antigua Guatemala
And Gáldar (Canary Islands)
United through the common name of
Saint James of the Knights (fast and liberal translation from yours truly)

The Saint James Trivia Side Note:

The name “James” in English comes from “Iacobus” (Jacob) in Latin. In eastern Spain, Jacobus became “Jacome” or “Jaime”; in Catalunya, it became Jaume, in western Iberia it became “Sant’Iago”, which developed into Tiago in Portugal and Galicia; Tiago developed into Diego, which is also the Spanish name of Saint Didacus of Alcalá. James’s emblem was the scallop shell (or “cockle shell”), and pilgrims to his shrine often wore that symbol on their hats or clothes. The French for a scallop is coquille St. Jacques, which means “cockle (or mollusk) of St James”. The German word for a scallop is Jakobsmuschel, which means “mussel (or clam) of St James”; the Dutch word is Jacobsschelp, meaning “shell of St James”. (source Wikipedia)

Rudy, all of that for a palm tree; you’ve got to be kidding me, you say, right?

Every day that passes by makes La Antigua Guatemala a more cosmopolitan place to live. Mexican tortas is one of the latest additions to the antigüeño menu and what better transnational than Tortas Locas Hipocampo.

I had the tortas from Hipocampo in Mexico and they are made to the highest standards and the quality of their ingredients is superb. So, it was a surprise to learn they had opened a franchise here in La Antigua Guatemala. I had to go and try them out. The verdict is that the Tortas Locas Hipocampo serves pretty good tortas, not as good as the Mexicans since the bread is not exactly torta bread and they serve their tortas with french fries; this must be a Guatemalan twist. But overall the quality of the tortas is pretty good. It is on the expensive side for lunch though.

The meal you see pictured above can set you back Q55 (55 quetzales equals US$7.20). Let me put the number in perspective because otherwise it may seemed cheap. The Guatemalan daily minimum wage is around Q40. Most Guatemalan typical food daily menus can cost somewhere between Q15 to Q25. But if you want to have the closest thing to Mexican tortas without actually going to Mexico, this place should fit the bill. The dining area is quite pleasing too. Check it out.

Believe it or not, I derive pleasure from walking around La Antigua Guatemala and seeing business signs. Maybe, the fact that I am an art director and graphic designer has something to do with it. Or maybe it is the fact that many of them are beautiful to me. I do not get this pleasure in Guatemala City per se.

In La Antigua Guatemala even transnational companies have to bend their rules of signage and corporate identity to blend and be in harmony with the architecture and colonial style of the town. Check out the Transnational series signs I did back in October 2006.

The sign above belongs to Palacio Doña Leonor, a luxury hotel a few steps from Central Park. I showed the fountain in their central patio on May 20th, 2006.

What do you think of the signs you have seen thus far in the La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo?

The opposite corner of the Cookies is the Joyerí­a del Ángel, which by the way is the twin business for Posada del Ángel. Both businesses are run to the highest standards and thus you can find just of about any high-end and exquisite jewelry produced any where in the world right here at Joyerí­a del Ángel, in La Antigua Guatemala.

Obviously what they sell there has not influenced my appreciation for this wonderful light-blue, celeste in Guatemalan Spanish, corner. I simply liked the light hitting the building and the tourists walking by that afternoon. Also, I like the geometry of the white stripes, the Joyerí­a del Ángel sign and the lamp. You will have to excuse the white sky in many of the photos taken during the rainy season; not much I can do.

Disclosure side note: I am not being paid anything for saying nice things about the Posada or Joyerí­a del Ángel. Even though I know the general manager, these things I say them because I know the businesses and have been give unrestricted access to photograph them. That is all. If I ever I am being paid for promoting or saying nice things about a particular business, I will let you know with a disclosure. That is the deal.

Often as you stroll around La Antigua Guatemala, you come across walls with lots of texture made from the many layers of natural lime-stone-based paints. Below is a quote from an previous entry about Natural paint textures.

Because the high levels of humidity around Antigua, people have to paint their walls often. Not every time the walls get painted they use the same color and after so many years when the paint peels, you get the gorgeous texture where the different colors peek through. The Antigua Protection Agency recommends that people use lime-stone-based paints because they allow the walls to breath. The lime-stone-based paints have shine, similar to pearls, so that is how you get some incredible colors as light changes through the day.

Some people may find this kind of photographs boring and uninspiring; others get their kicks from the yellow texture on the wall. To which kind of people do you belong?

A quick search for the name Posada del Ángel in this site can reveal how much I enjoy photographing the gorgeous bed and breakfast inn. Every time I go there I found a new photo op. Today’s entry shows the living room, right next to the lap pool. My two other favorite shots of Posada del Ángel are Really green garden and Guatemala sells light and color. You can browse all the other photos taken at Posada del Ángel by following this link.

My best wishes to you guys for the coming weekend!

There are three cell phone companies in Guatemala (4 according to Wikipedia). Tigo is the mobile phone brand of Millicom International Cellular. Claro mobile telephone operator is owned by the Mexican group América Móvil, which in turn is the umbrella name for the mobile telephone division of Telmex, owned by Carlos Slim (estimated fortune of US$67.8 billion). Carlos Slim’s empire also owns the Guatemalan National Telephone Company, Telgua, and Telgua’s division of cellphone Claro brand. Movistar is the mobile division of the Spanish transnational Telefónica telephone company. Believe it or not the Telmex/América Móvil and Movistar/Telefónica are probably bigger than AT&T.

Among the three major mobile telephone brands in Guatemala, they have over 6.8 million subscribers (December 2006). There are 1.3 million land lines, most of them, belong to Telgua. If you consider that the total population of Guatemala to be close 12 million, you could say that one in two Guatemalans owns a mobile phone. It is an incredible figure if you also consider that about 70% of the population is poor.

One more interesting aspect of the mobile telephone companies is their illogical rate structure. Let me explain, it is cheaper for me to call Manolo who lives in Toronto than to call his brother Mauricio who lives in Guatemala City. Yes, calls to the U.S.A. and Canada cost about Q0.80 (80 centavos of Quetzal or about US$0.10) while calls within Guatemala cost around Q1.35 (1 Quetzal and 35 centavos or about US$0.17). Mobile telephone rates vary very little between the three mobile telephone companies.

Not everything is rotten in the paradisiac lands of Guatemala. Sometimes you can take a pause from your hectic life or trip to enjoy the afternoon sunshine while having some of the best “home-made” cookies and coffee in Guatemala as you read a book or the Revue Magazine in our little green corner; our tiny and cozy corner of the world.

If you want to see what this corner looks like from outside, check the entry Antigua’s Color Palette: Green, published in June 22nd, 2006.

No, this stencil-art graffiti portrait of Rigoberta Menchú is not part of Banksy‘s art portfolio. According to NEARsyx, our Guatemalan expert in uban art, this portrait is quite possibly the work of H.I.J.O.S. (Sons and daughters for the Identity and Justice against Oblivion and Silence), a collective of sons and daughter of the disappeared during Guatemala’s civil war. Their main objective is to bring justice and to not let Guatemalans forget the recent history; The Peace Accords were barely signed 11 years ago in 1996.

Who is Rigoberta Menchú, anyway? Well, she thought you may want to know, so she coauthored a book by the name of “Me llamo Rigoberta Menchú y así­ me nació la conciencia” (My name is Rigoberta Menchú and this how my Consciencie was Born) back in 1982. TThe book became a great success when translated into English (as “I, Rigoberta Menchú“), giving her a role on the international stage at the time of the ongoing conflict in Guatemala [source: Wikipedia]. If you have the means to buy the book, available through Amazon, you should get it if you are interested in learning a bit about Guatemala’s recent history. You can also read the entry about Rigoberta Menchú in Wikipedia. She was the recipient of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize and Prince of Asturias Award in 1998.

What is Rigoberta Menchú’s Mission, anyway? She has embarked in an impossible mission. She is running for the Guatemalan Presidency. So what, why is this an impossible mission? Isn’t she Guatemalan and thus possess the legal rights to run for the presidency? Well, yes, that is correct. But, and this is a big but, she is a woman; worst yet, she is an indigenous woman; even worst, she is an indigenous woman from the left.

See, not everything is fine and dandy in the paradisiac lands of Guatemala. Real democracy is still over a century behind. In Guatemala, a woman could not get elected as president, just yet, although it has happened several times in Latin America (even in Central America). In Guatemala, an indigenous person could not get elected as president, just yet, although it has happened twice in the American continent with Benito Juárez and Evo Morales. In Guatemala, a person from the left could not get elected as president, just yet, even though most countries in South America and even Nicaragua in Central America have elected people from the left.

Now you can see why her candidacy for the presidency of Guatemala is such an impossible mission. I guess she decided that one can be part of the problem or part of the solution; she opted for the latter. Who was it that said, those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it.

If you could vote in the next elections in Guatemala, would cast your vote for a woman? for an indigenous person? for somebody from the left (democrat)? would you cast your vote for Rigoberta Menchú? or none of the above?