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This is what Guatemalans think of when you utter Tanques de gas (gas tanks); it doesn’t cross their mind the fuel tank (gas tank) in the car. These stove gas tanks are ugly too and dangerous, if you ask me, to have around the house or on the street like in Calle del Arco. But, believe it or not, Guatemala does not have underground gas pipes going into each house. So people have live with this horrendous and risky gas tanks at home, sometimes right next to the stove.

Aren’t you glad the taxes you pay keep you in a safe and nicer environment?

… are ugly for sure. I agree with everyone that commented that Guatemala would so much nicer and beautiful if all the wiring were kept underground. However, I am sure not to many alcaldes (town/city mayors) would want to go for it; to them the aesthetic is the least important item in their list of priorities. .-(

Here is the Spanish word of the day for you. Ornato is in Guatemalan Spanish the aesthetic or beauty of town or place. Boleto de ornato (decoration ticket) is a variable obligatory tax that Guatemalans must pay every year to their local municipality.

That’s right fellas, even though Guatemalans pay their yearly tax for decoration, beauty, and cleanliness to their local municipal government, their alcaldes would look the other way and think of their citizens as crazy if they actually went in their local municipalidad (town hall) to demand clean streets, beautiful parks and underground wiring.

Aspirante PMT printed in t-shirts means ‘aspirant’ for the Municipal Traffic Police (PMT abbreviation in Spanish). The proper word for traffic, as in vehicles, is transito although tráfico is also used; mostly because people don’t realize that tráfico in Spanish means the action of dealing or trading in something illegal. That’s the word of the day for you.

With new mayor, more police were hired to organize and protect the citizens of La Antigua Guatemala. PMT can also means Policí­a Municipal de Turismo (Municipal Tourist Police); that’s the police with green uniforms. Now there are so many different police entities (national, army, tourist and traffic), yet La Antigua Guatemala is not a safe town yet. So, please, always be careful while in La Antigua Guatemala; don’t be fool by its tranquil atmosphere.

I don’t get it, why would anyone would go through the hassle of building a fake door, then painting it to look real, and finally adding a sign above it?

¿Qué alguien me lo explique? Can somebody explain it?

You can tell Ceviche is my favorite Guatemalan Cuisine dish if you search for the word ceviche or just browse the five photos of ceviches posted thus far. But I am not the only one, Guy from Inner Diablog, has as many entries dedicated to ceviche as I do. Both of us have even describe how to prepare ceviche:

Here’s what I wrote back in May 2006:

The Guatemalan ceviche is based on roma/plum tomatoes, onions, garlic, mint, cilantro, soy sauce, English sauce (Worcestershire sauce), lemon juice, hot peppers (chiltepe), seafood (shrimp and Guatemalan clamshell especially) and is usually served with cold beer (Gallo Beer)

Guy’s approach is dictated by the ingredients he can find in London.

Guatemalan ceviche, (Shrimp, juice of three limes, chopped onion, garlic and chillies, fresh coriander, dried oregano and plum tomatoes.) I skipped on the salsa inglesa (Worcestershire sauce) and you can’t get chiltepes in the UK. (continue reading…)

He’s so clever that he has even come up with a vegetarian’s ceviche that he calls ‘Naked Ceviche‘; in his words, “‘naked’ ceviches, which contain everything except the main ingredient, meat or seafood.”

By the way, I am sure that Guy will have something to say about today’s photo. In the picture above, you can see the small serving ceviche de concha for Q50 at Hugo’s ceviches, which can be found at their mobile locations of Alameda Santa Lucí­a (one block south of Pollo Campero), on the corner of Tanque de la Unión and at their restaurant located in the parking lot of the gas station on the Road to Ciudad Vieja road; right across from the Soleil hotel.

If you are interested, I can update this entry with my recipe for home-made style ceviche and even my own version of naked ceviche. Ceviche is one of the few recipes that you should be able to prepare anywhere in the world. Ten requests for the recipe and I will post it here.

Back in December 26, 2006 I wrote about the banking war in Central America between Citibank and HSBC Bank over the access and the control of the currencies in the isthmus in the post entitled Banking on the Banks. Below you can read the introductory paragraph:

There is a war going on between CitiBank and HSBC Bank over the control of the Central American money. Recently, these two humongous banking corporations pulled out their hefty wallets and bought out four of the largest Central American Banking chains: Banco Uno, Banco Cuscatlán, Banistmo, Banco de América Central (this one still in the works). I guess there is money [to be made] in the banks.

Recently I came across an article on How To Make Money from the blog on my hosting company. Below you can read the first sentences of the article:

… it seems to me there’s really only one way to make money.

Banking.

And I don’t just mean get money, like from people depositing it with you. Nor do I mean earn money that already exists, like you would from say, working or investing.

No, I actually mean it: MAKE NEW MONEY!

The fact that banks can actually create money is why they’re such a great business.. and also why the recent crash has been so hard.

On Monday, November 10, Citi officially defaced Banco Cuscatlán and Banco Uno and from this point forward will do business as Banco Citibank de Guatemala. I just hope they change their ugly generic signs soon for tiled or metal sign to be in harmony with the signage regulations in La Antigua Guatemala.

In the picture above, you can see the Citi sign on what used to be Banco Cuscatlán branch in the corner of Parque Central. Below, the new Citi sign which replaced the Banco Uno wood and metal sign.

Acuario is the Spanish word for aquarium and Don Chobe is the only shop in La Antigua Guatemala that caters exclusively to those who love to have fish tanks in their homes or offices. In our home studio we have a wonderful blue betta fish that keeps us company; Bruno is his name.

I absolutely love Don Chobe’s sign. As graphic designer I am impressed at simplicity and effectiveness of this sign. A few pieces of metal sheet cut out into form and then nailed down to a piece of an old wood log and you get an distinctive and long-lasting sign. I have to admit, this sign is among my favorite thus far.

Don Chobe Acuario means Mister Chobe Aquarium. I know Chobe has to be a nickname or diminutive, but I wish I knew what’s the original name. Other such nicknames/diminutives are Chepe for José, Fofo or Chofo for Rodolfo, Güicho for Luis, Tito for César or Ernesto, Lolita for Dolores, Chuy for Jesús, and long et-cetera. Feel free to share with us what’s the original for Chobe and what other nicknames you have heard or come across.

It’s amazing how creative are the sign makers around La Antigua Guatemala. A quick glance at the Signs category can show the great diversity in design, materials and colors. I am sure, by now, I possess the largest collections online of signs from La Antigua Guatemala.

The Hotel Posada San Vicente sign above is made from metal rods forged into shape for very stylish typeface. Come back tomorrow to see another sign made from metal sheets and old piece wood.

Those darn electrical wires! There they are again… getting in the way. ¡Son tan metiches! —MO

I agree, but what can I do? I could edit them out in Photoshop, but then the photos would not be true document of the place. Also, next time you come to La Antigua Guatemala and take the same shot, you’re going to notice your photos have those darn electrical wires and think: damn it, those wires were not there before!

I would never do that to you. Instead, I try to present the beauty of the wire webs we humans create. Don’t believe me? Well, check the following past entries:

• Antigua’s Electric Wires
• Electric Wire Grid and Volcanoes Wallpaper
• The Catcher of the Kites

By the way, in case you haven’t notice, Jocotenango’s Cathedral also received a new paint job since last time I showed you BMXing in Jocotenango.

I’m amazed by the abundance and variety of fruit in Guatemala. My chapí­n friends lament the relatively poor selection here, and miss the freshness. One family I know has coconut, papaya, and banana trees towering over their house in Chiquimula. Their fruitful trees seem like such an unimaginable luxury to me. — Janna

Come on! This is not fair! At least they are not “misperos” [Nisperos] (which are my favorite fruit); or “mangos verdes”; but anyways you found a way to tortur me, I am drooling for some Jocotes! —Nadia

One can find fruit trees in the houses in and around La Antigua Guatemala. For instance, in the picture above you can see the nispero trees towering over the roof of this house. One can also see lemon, orange and coffee tress in this house. Nisperos are known as sapodilla and naseberry in other countries. Want to know more about the nispero? Follow the white rabbit.

How can we go by Dí­a de todos los santos (All Saints’ Day) and Dí­a de los fieles difuntos (All Souls’ Day) celebrations in Guatemala without showing the world-famous and omnipresent dish of Fiambre. No way José, I would never do that, not for some crappy kites photos or commonplace shots of Volcán de Fuego erupting. Come on, you know me. I shared with you a Fiambre slide show in 2006 along with a pretty good explanation about its history and ingredients. Then, in 2007, I made available a Fiambre wallpaper for those who like really crazy stuff on their computers.

So, of course I had to show you this year’s fiambre. Below you can read the list of ingredients if you click on the thumbnail. Bon appetite!

Even the grounds gave us good signs! The rest is history… and hope of a better future.

This time, I will share with you the Volcán de Fuego: Sí­ se pudo! Wallpaper at 1920×1440; enough for a 24″ monitor… enjoy it and be happy!

Those of you, who have followed the daily updates of La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo for a while, would know already how much I like to name certain entries with titles of films. If you look in the past 930 days, you would find the titles of some of my favorite films. Can you name some of the film titles I have borrow in the past?

Today, I was tempted to call the entry The Dark Knight, but I decided that The Kite Runner was a better fit. For those who have not seen The Kite Runner film yet, please do yourself a favor and get online right away and order it for your next netflix/blockbuster delivery. You will not regret it. Besides, watching the film The Kite Runner is much faster than actually reading the book (although, not as rewarding).

Answers to the questions in previous comments:

Cemeteries should be one of the monthly topics on the daily photo team, or has it been already?
No, I don’t think cemeteries has been a theme day. Thanks for suggesting it Manolo, I have already passed your request to the proper authorities .

There was a big procession through town [La Antigua] last night. Did you take pictures?
No, I did not take any pictures of it. We did see it from two blocks away though. Because of this procession, it took us the same amount of time to cross La Antigua Guatemala as it did to drive from Santiago Sacatepéquez to La Antigua. Go figure.

I’m curious about that graveyard, though. Why is it all bare earth, with no grass or plants?
Disparity and inequity follow Guatemalans to their resting grounds. The bare ground graves belong to the poor.

Looking hard at the pictures, it was hard to pick much detail about what type of materials were used, and construction methods?

Once again, I borrow another paragraph from the masterful article by Ignacio Ochoa: Messengers in the Wind.

All kite materials are natural. The glue is made from yucca flour mixed with pieces of lemon peel and water. Ropes used for kite strings are made from maguey, the plant from which tequila is extracted. Kite tails are made from woven cloth (to which people often attach hand-written messages to guide the spirits in their journey from heaven to earth). Woven stalks of castilla, a plant similar to wheat, form the frames of smaller kites, while the largest frames are made from the bamboo gathered on the coast.

Below, I decided to share with you, my dear visitors and commenters, other photos and a video clip as way to expand on the answers and to get a better idea about the celebrations around the Day of the Dead in Guatemala. Perhaps next year we will decide to take a trip to Todos los Santos Cuchumatán to learn about another way of celebrating the Dí­a de todos los Santos (All Saints Day); please reserve your seats ahead of time, especially MO since the road this town would really make car-sick.

As always, click on the thumbnails to load a larger photograph:

Below a short video clip of some young Santiagueros running around to pull the Giant kite line (rope) to raise the kite higher and higher.

Here’s another quote taken from the article written by Ignacio Ochoa and published in Revue Magazine about the history of kite making in Santiago Sacatepéquez under the name of Messenges in the Wind.

At 4 a.m. on November 2, everyone moves toward the cemetery with candles so the spirits can return to their celestial home. The townspeople raise the giant kites one final time to guide the spirits back to heaven. Later that evening, the kites that were torn by the winds are burned inside the cemetery, the smoke showing the way back to heaven for any vagabond spirits. The surviving kites are exhibited in the local Catholic Church during a novena for the deceased, after that they are burned, and the ashes are buried in the cemetery, completing the annual ritual for the Day of the Dead in Santiago Sacatepéquez. (continue reading… )

Hello, hello is there anybody out there? Are there any comments or feedback regarding the giants kites?

Ignacio Ochoa has published a recent article about the history of kite making in Santiago Sacatepéquez under the name of Messenges in the Wind. Below the first paragraph of this wonderful article:

On November 1 and 2, a powerful force stirs in all the towns of Guatemala. Traditional markets are filled with flowers of sempa (orange marigolds), chrysanthemums, wild daisies and the smell of copal—a pre-Columbian incense made from pine resin. People clean family graves and adorn them with cut-out tissue paper called papel picado, wreaths of fresh flowers and candles. They also honor the dead with festive foods such as candied fruits, tamales and fiambre (a cold meat and vegetable dish prepared only at this time of year). These days mark the celebration of El dí­a de los difuntos or the Day of the Dead, a very important festival throughout Guatemala, especially in the predominantly indigenous town of Santiago Sacatépequez, where it is the occasion for a unique kite-flying ritual of the Kakchiquel people, integrating the Catholic feast of All Saints with pre-Columbian Mayan practices of remembering the dead. The kites are made as a way to communicate with the dead, symbolically attracting the spirits to earth at this special time of the year, when family members, living and dead, are reunited. (continue reading… )

If you would like to have the following giant kite flying image as a wallpaper for you desktop or laptop computer, as always, just download the following photo (1200×900). You can click to thumbnail below to get a larger preview. Enjoy!