Marimba Chicken Bus and Church of San Pedro
Well, well, what we have here… what’s up with that, why are Guatemalans so enchanted with the infamous chicken bus. I mean what makes Guatemalans take on the crappy junk and retired school buses from up north and give them a second life as public transit chicken bus, mobile libraries chicken bus and now as a marimba orquesta mobile unit chicken bus.
Now this is too much! Come on, who came up with the bright idea of mixing the chicken bus and the marimba orquesta. If hell existed, this would be it. 
By the way, chicken bus 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. The marimba (pronunciation) has to be Guatemala’s most popular musical instrument.
If you don’t know what marimba music sound like, I leave you with a sample of it with Tristezas quetzaltecas below. You can also check out the entry Marimba Music at Calle del Arco in Antigua for more background information and two more marimba music songs.
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November 26th, 2007
I love these old buses!
November 26th, 2007
Great photo. Love the color juxaposition. And thanks for the link to Daniel Chang in the other entry. Love his site.
November 26th, 2007
So now I know what is the name of that “pieza de marimba”… what memories… I can almost feel the pine needles under my feet and the smell of “tamales” coming from my great-grandmother’s (QEPD) kitchen in zona 8 of La Nueva.
November 27th, 2007
[...] Manolo said, with Marimba music as the background for many parties and celebrations around La Antigua Guatemala [...]
November 27th, 2007
Ioanna, don’t we all?
Lessie, I’m glad at least you followed the links.
Manolo, man, you bring long forgotten memories with the pine needles and the tamales.
November 27th, 2007
OMG, Manolo, pine needles, that’s old school. Hee hee, the only thing is you have to be careful those things can be slippery. But you’re right - tamales, the smell of polvora, the heat of the ponche, and then the too-tight hugs from the neighbors, if you know what I mean.
November 28th, 2007
Claudia I prefer “retro” to “old school”… as my sister just called me yesterday for using “tuanis”… Ah, and there is no such thing as “too-tight hugs”
I forgot about the smell of “pólvora”… which reminds me that “La Quema del Diablo” is coming soon…
December 1st, 2007
[...] Manolo and Carmen were reminiscing just the other day about the smells associated with the Christmas season in Guatemala. Pine needles have a very peculiar smell and indeed its smell its burnt in the Guatemalan collective memory of Christmas and birthdays parties. Flor de Pascua or poinsettias are a visual cue of the upcoming Christmas as well. Shops know this and they use pine needle and poinsettias among other Christmas decorations to reel in the customers; it seems to be working just fine in this shop. [...]
December 12th, 2007
[...] any pickpocketers who cut your pocket open while you’re in an orgy of bodies on any given chicken bus; the really tricky and clever pickpocketers who throw their baby at you and when, in utter shock, [...]