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The Guatemalan word for kite is barrilete. Papalote is the most often heard word in Spanish for kite, but in Guatemala barrilete is what people use. The kites on sale at this convenience store or tienda are Q2/$.25. The kite that the little boy was holding yesterday was bought from this store.

Kites have a very special meaning for many Guatemalans, especially the indigenous. Kites and Giant kites are used to help guide the dead ones back to their love ones and to the cemeteries where they are remembered. Giant kites are flown over the cemeteries of Sumpango and Santiago Sacatepéquez. If you can read Spanish you can browse this photographic tour of the giant kites. Giant kites are flown on November 1st and 2nd; so if you are around, grab your camera and backpack and head up to one of those towns.

Here’s a summary of what you can expect for this celebration:

On November 1st and 2nd Guatemala, like many other catholic countries, celebrates the Day of the Dead (Dí­a de los Difuntos) and the All Saints Day (Dí­a de los Santos). The cemeteries, from the most exclusive to the most modest and humble, become overwhelmed with people bringing flowers, crosses, food and even music (sometimes Mariachi music) to their dead relatives…

Fiambre, a salad made from cold cuts, all kinds of meats, fish, vegetables and pickled vegetables, is served on November 1st, after a visit to the cemetery. Fiambre is a cold meal of Spanish origin, possibly from the Extremadura provinces in Spain. Fiambre is a very special meal for Guatemalans and it is only available on November 1st and 2nd. Because fiambre is an extremely rare and unique meal which can include over 50 ingredients, I decided to show you the final part of the preparation through a slide show.

With November come the strong winds (Vientos fuertes would say Miguel Ángel Asturias). With the strong winds come the kites. With the kites come the celebrations of the day of the dead and all saints day. With the day of the dead celebrations comes the fiambre, the food to share with our dead. Stay tune for background information on the kite flying rituals and its meaning.

Also with November comes my first collective photographic exposition. That is right, yours truly will be participating with other Guatemalan photographers in a photo exhibit on November 8 at Rocí­o Quiroa Gallery in Guatemala City. If you happen to be in Guatemala next week, we will be delighted if you can join us to see all the different visions of this tiny banana republic. Below you can see the official invitation created by Iván Castro with a photograph by Javier Uclés.

Post cards request update: Cathy from Saint Louis sent her post card on the 22nd of October and today was already in the post office box. It arrived in Guatemala City on October 26. This is one of the fastest deliveries just yet. Thanks Cathy for you post card and your description of St. Louis Missouri. If you don’t know what I am talking about, please do read the entry Postscript.

Okay with this last photo of people carrying umbrellas we can now declare the rainy season of 2007 officially over. Okay everyone, you are welcome to the most beautiful weather in La Antigua Guatemala; come on over now!

Last year I posted the Requiem for the Rain on October 30. This year the requiem was on Wednesday 24th of October.

I begun photographing Guatemalan dishes especially for those S&M Guatemalans who live abroad and for those people interested in a Latin American cuisine other than the omnipresent Mexican cuisine. I believe the first shot was a Shrimp ceviche from Don Quinchos station wagon on Alameda Santa Lucí­a. Then I did a mini-series on Guatemalan Cuisine.

Little did I know where all these food shots were going to go. For one, the Guatemalan food shots are the most often used images with and without permission. One such image of Fiambre even found its way into a newspaper advertisement this week (without permission). On the other hand, about eight to ten of my Guatemalan food shots took a different path into an international anthropological and ethnic exhibit about the Central American Cuisine (with permission and high resolution images). Let me explain a little better below.

Several of my photographs are on display in a Exhibit at the Museo de Arqueologí­a y Etnologí­a (Salón 5, Finca La Aurora, zona 13, Guatemala City) about the gastronomy of Central America under the name of Fiesta de los Sentidos: La Cocina Centroamericana (Feast of the Senses: Central American Cuisine). This same exhibit is on display simultaneously in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama from October 12 through January 12, 2008.

The Feast of the Senses: Central American Cuisine exhibit is based on scientific investigation around the Central American gastronomy. The exhibition panels have the information in Spanish and English, in case you are in Guatemala during this period.

Below you can find the programs for the activities to be held in October and November and one sample of the panels on display in the exhibition.

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Post cards request update: I forgot to mention that on Friday I found four new post cards in the p.o. box. The first Canadian post card I received was sent by Manolo, who, by the way created the post card from his amazing photographs. Next, I had a chance to see the beauty of the gorgeous gothic cathedral of Saint Patrick, in New York City, thanks to Claudia. Carolyn from Minnesota sent a post card of the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (one more word with the árbol root). Last, I’ve got a post card from Cynthia, Michele and Joan from Pennsylvania about Amish children. Needless to say we are delighted with all the post cards and my wife suggested we make an album with all of them. Please keep them coming. If you don’t know what I am talking about, please do read the entry Postscript.

Touring around Guatemala can be tough during the rainy season, but it can be done… nothing a good raincoat and an umbrella can not solve. But, if you absolutely want the best weather, the best photographic light, the best Volcán de Fuego show, then you have to come in the November through February months.

Even backpackers have to add an umbrella to their arsenal while traveling in Guatemala during the rainy season.

This is Rex, our office supervisor. He was overseeing the proofreaders’ work on the last leg of the November production of Recrearte and Revue Magazines. He’s the nicest supervisor I ever had.

P.S. This photo was taken by my wife, a cat lover like myself.

Here is a little over-sharing, as Miss Jill would say. This is one of the views from our office window into the garden. Here we can see José, our green-thumb gardener waiting for the heavy rain to pass. By the way, rain is one of the most difficult things to photograph. Here I set shutter’s timing at two seconds, holding the camera over the window crate as a tripod, to try to capture the heavy down pour, yet I was only able to show silky lines. I’ve tried to do the same before in the entry Comtemplating the heavy rain with a little better success. We are about one to two weeks from the end of the rainy season.

What kind of weather are you experiencing where you live?

This shot was taken from my car’s window, which I parked on the shoulder of the road that goes from La Antigua Guatemala to La Nueva Guatemala (Guatemala City) about three kilometers from La Antigua’s entrance or exit, depends which way you’re going. These houses belong to the community of San Juan Gascón, a small village just outside of Antigua Guatemala.

As beautiful, cosmopolitan, antique and modern as it is La Antigua Guatemala, many people choose to live in one of the surrounding villages that belong to the municipio (county) of La Antigua Guatemala. There are many reasons for this decision which range from the economics, ‘real guatemalan experience’, or simply to live in a more natural and greener environment.

To try to live in el casco histórico (downtown) of La Antigua Guatemala is the equivalent to try to live in Manhattan; very prohibitively expensive. Others feel that Antigua has lost its Guatemalanness (new word for you there) so they pick one of the villages where the slow pace of the lifestyle and traditions are more in check with the rest of the country. Many more opt for a bigger space where they can have a large garden, trees and lush surroundings. Finally, for some people all three reasons make perfect sense. Besides, all the villages belonging the La Antigua Guatemala are so near as to be 5 to 10 minutes away from Antigua. Nowadays, with Satellite TV, Direct TV, cellular telephones, and wireless internet access you can have it all.

With certainty I can declare that the lifestyle one can have in La Antigua Guatemala and its surroundings is among the very best available in Guatemala and the world. That is if you don’t mind the loud firecrackers, the processions, the church bells, the horrible city services, the common crime, the copious rainy season, and so on.

Post cards request update: Two new post cards were found in my post office box on Monday. Susie sent her post card from Iowa on October 9 and it only took three days to arrive in Guatemala City. Becky sent a post card of the Heublein Tower in Simsbury, Connecticut on October 2 and it was received by the postal service in Guatemala on October 9, but it did not make its way down to La Antigua until Monday 22nd. Please keep them coming! If you don’t know what I am talking about, please do read the entry Postscript.

From the Guateflora series we take a different road to show you the lush roads around La Antigua Guatemala. By the way, the roads that communicate La Antigua Guatemala with the rest of the ‘real’ Guatemala are some of the best in the country, if not the best; they are kept in better conditions than the rest of the roads around Guatemala.

Some of the readers have tried to pegged me with a specific color, which I think, is more their liking than mine. I have said nothing. For instance, Lessie thought that my favorite color was yellow and Manolo mentioned that I was in my red period. But if you come often to this site, you will know that I am a Panza Verde at heart, even though I am from GuateCity. See it is impossible not to like green in Guatemala, especially when there are a million shades of green.

The etymology of the name Guatemala has the source for all this greenery. I have touched this subject a couple of times in Wood used as fuel in Antigua and Wood Handicrafts and the Mahogany Side Note. Here’s a quote from the original entry on May 25th, 2006.

The name Guatemala derives from the word Goathemala which was given by the Spanish conquistadors and it derives from Quauhtlemallan a word from the Nahualt language spoken by the Tlaxcala’s natives that accompanied the conquistadors. Quauhtlemallan was a direct translation from the Mayan language’s Quiche or Iximche which more or less translates to the land of many trees or forests. This was long-winded explanation to bring forth the fact that this land has been a powerful lung for earth for a very long time; thanks to its many forests.

As you can see, green is the most prominent color in the Guatemalan rainbow and my favorite color; heck! I even use it in this site (but not for long).

Would you share with us what is your favorite color from the color palette of La Antigua Guatemala and why?

This kind of tree with its orange flowers is very popular around La Antigua Guatemala. According to the Guateflora book its name is Llama del bosque (flame of the forest or Spathodea campanulata) which brings me to an interesting fact between the English and Spanish languages. Forest in Spanish is bosque, but deforestation is deforestación. Trees in Spanish is árboles and Arbor Day in Spanish is Dí­a del Árbol. In English the root for the word bosque is still available as bosk for a thicket of bushes. Can you come up with other samples?

Do you know when is Arbor Day celebrated in your neck of the woods?

Poison Ivy is without a doubt the most famous ivy in the family; especially after Drew Barrymore gave it human traits. I am not sure if we have poison ivy in Guatemala since I am not familiar with the plant. But, we have our own poisonous plant: Chichicaste. The scientific name is Chichicaste grandis and it belongs to the Loasaceae family, but here we just call it chichicaste. The chichicaste plant is used often in hedgerows and if you have followed this blog for a while, you will know that this is not the first time the chichicaste has entered the viewfinder. I know of two kinds of chichicaste, the regular kind and chichicaste de caballo (horse’s chichicaste), which has a leaf about three times the size of normal chichicaste.

The chichicaste leaves have tiny hairs that when touch they create an intolerable painfully ardent itching, a sort of burning rash. For this reason chichicaste is often used in the hedgerow (seto vivo in Spanish); like a live and aggressive fence. I even wrote a tiny short story in Spanish inspired by the sting of the plant; I titled it Chichicaste and you can read it by following the link.

Enjoy your weekend and please, by all means, stay away from the chichicaste!

The hoja de falsa uva (false grape) or Parthenocisus inserta as it is known scientifically is a trepadora (climbing) plant. In the trepadoras category the most often used are the hiedra (ivy), uña de gato (cat’s claw), falsa uva (false grape), collar de la reina (queen’s collar), and of course the ever-present bugambilea (bougainvillea). The trepadoras (climbing) category in the Guateflora book has 34 different plants, so I have homework to do.

Obviously I am not going to cover consecutively the over 400 plants shown in the Guateflora book because it would take over a year to show the most often used plants in La Antigua Guatemala gardens. Nevertheless, all this flora is an important aspect of the antigüeño lifestyle, so I will come back the guateflora category often to do mini-series of flowers and plants. For now, I still have a few more shots to come (including our Guatemalan poison ivy known as chichicaste). So stay tune!

The Guateflora category takes its name on a wonderful compilation book by the name of Guate Flora: Plantas ornamentales más utilizadas en jardí­nes guatemaltecos (Guate Flora: Ornamental Plants Most Often Used in Guatemalan Gardens). The books compiles more than 400 photos of the plants most often used in Guatemalan gardens along with technical description about the plants’ categories, and how to grow them. Many of the photographs in the book were taken from gardens in private homes, hotels, restaurants, parks, green houses, mini-malls or on the streets around La Antigua Guatemala; this fact is what prompted me to try to take shots of the ornamental plants as I encounter them in my comings-and-goings.

Falsa maní­a or Maní­ forrajero (false peanut) as it is known in Guatemala the Arachis pintoi is a cubresuelos (ground-creeping) plant used often in the garden of La Antigua Guatemala. José, our gardener, told me that you can also use it a trepadora (climbing) plant if you guide it. I really like this evergreen plant which flowers all-year-round a tiny yellow flower. According to the Guateflora book, it can grow anywhere and handles well people walking over it.

The Guateflora category takes its name on a wonderful compilation book by the name of Guate Flora: Plantas ornamentales más utilizadas en jardí­nes guatemaltecos (Guate Flora: Ornamental Plants Most Often Used in Guatemalan Gardens). The books compiles more than 400 photos of the plants most often used in Guatemalan gardens along with technical description about the plants’ categories, and how to grow them. Many of the photographs in the book were taken from gardens in private homes, hotels, restaurants, parks, green houses, mini-malls or on the streets around La Antigua Guatemala; this fact is what prompted me to try to take shots of the ornamental plants as I encounter them in my comings-and-goings.

Hiedras (Ivies/Hederas helix & H. canariensis) are very popular as well as all kinds of trepadoras (climbing) or cubresuelos (ground-creeping) siempreverdes (evergreen) plants in La Antigua Guatemala. Hiedras and trepadoras are found in many antigüeño homes covering the gardens’ walls. The picture above is not very good, but this is the only one I had in my photo archives at the moment to show you ivy plant (I promise I will take more sample shots of climbing and ground-creeping plants). This hiedra shot was taken as a continuation of the Burger King’s fountain shot; which by the way has all kinds Guateflora plants growing on the walls of the búcaro fountain. Right above the Burger King’s fountain the ivy plant begins to cover the wall and it goes all the way to the second floor wall.

To compensate you for this horrible picture, I am sharing a link sent to me by my dear friend and commentator of LAGDP, Manolo, to a slide show of Vivero La Escalonia (La . Manolo took this photos back in August when he visited La Antigua Guatemala. Enjoy!

The Guateflora category takes its name on a wonderful compilation book by the name of Guate Flora: Plantas ornamentales más utilizadas en jardí­nes guatemaltecos (Guate Flora: Ornamental Plants Most Often Used in Guatemalan Gardens). The books compiles more than 400 photos of the plants most often used in Guatemalan gardens along with technical description about the plants’ categories, and how to grow them. Many of the photographs in the book were taken from gardens in private homes, hotels, restaurants, parks, green houses, mini-malls or on the streets around La Antigua Guatemala; this fact is what prompted me to try to take shots of the ornamental plants as I encounter them in my comings-and-goings.

Post cards request update: Four new post cards were found in my post office box on Monday. We received one from Downtown Minneapolis sent on October 1; another from Historic Romeo, Michigan sent on October 3; one more from Owego, New York mailed on October 2; and the last one from Grand Junction, Colorado. The four post cards arrived in GuateCity “La Nueva” on October 9 and it took almost a week to get to “La Antigua”. It is incredible that is takes almost the same time to travel the thousands of miles to get to Guatemala City as it takes to travel the 30 miles that separates La Antigua Guatemala from the capital; no wonder my bills are always late. By the way, my wife and I are enjoying your post cards very much, especially the many different stamps. Please keep them coming! If you don’t know what I am talking about, please do read the entry Postscript.