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The Guatemalan shuco hot dog comes with guacamol (avocado sauce), boiled cabbage, mayonnaise, tomato sauce, mustard, hot sauce, and one or more of the following: chorizo (Guatemalan red sausage), longaniza (Guatemalan white sausage), salchicha (normal hot dog sausage), ham, bacon, pepperoni, german ham and sausages, chichen breast, beef steak fajitas, polish sausages, et-cetera. Well, at least they do at La Perrada, a hot dog joint in Antigua. Click here if you want to see how the shucos hot dogs are made in La Perrada.

The Guatemalan shuco hot dog is becoming world famous and now even Wikipedia has reference for the Guatemalan shucos:

Generally called “shucos”, are cooked in a carbon grill. They’re served with the classic boiled sausage, guacamole, fresh onion, mustard, mayonnaise,ketchup, boiled cabbage and hot green sauce. If you want you can add ketchup, bacon, pepperoni, salami, Spanish chorizo, longaniza or meat. They cost around $0.50 in all Guatemalan cities. You may order the famous “mixto” who brings all the toppings already mentioned, but it’s price may rise to $2.00 or $3.00. (… continue reading in Wikipedia under Guatemala section)

These colorful Guatemalan eggshells filled with confetti are known as cascarones and are the sure sign that marks the arrival of carvinal and then Ash Wednesday (Miércoles de ceniza), which is the first day of Lent (Cuaresma) which in 2009 will be celebrated on February 25th. That’s right folks, on Wednesday 25th we will begin the count down to The World Famous Holy Week in Antigua Guatemala, top city travel destination.

First World versus Third World Aside: Much of what I am today and the decisions I made that took me to La Antigua Guatemala were inspired or influenced in part by Milan Kundera’s writings. Through the reading of several of Milan Kundera‘s novels, especially Life is Elsewhere, Laughable Loves, The Farewell Party, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Immortality and Identity, I begun to question my life, lifestyle and what I wanted out of the day. Life is a jigsaw puzzle made up from instants (seconds) and where and with whom you spend those moments shapes the picture you see at the end. Honestly, I do not know if it is better to live in the ‘first world’ with a first-world salary, first-world commodities and such or to live here in the south or third world with all the complications and dangers that decision entails. I don’t know about the first/third world euphemisms either. However, I do know that a different life or lifestyle is possible outside the safety net. There are other ways to be human and to experience unusual traditions and celebrations. There is a huge difference between Spring Break, Easter, Holy Week and Semana Santa as we live it in La Antigua Guatemala for sure. To each its own. For the moment, I’m just happy to be able to take ordinary snapshots from my daily comings-and-goings and to be able to share them with YOU! I hope you enjoy them too.

@Manolo, gracias por la llamada de atención.

What better photo to wave goodbye to the Casa Antigüeña series than an image of the balconies against cloud-free deep blue sky, tell me?

Balconies are not very common in walls that face to the outside, unless of course they are on a second floor, like in the entry Sun-bathing in La Antigua Guatemala. However, balconies are more common in houses inside enclosed residential areas with security; like it is in this case.

Word of the Day Aside: Balcón (Balcony)
In Northern Italy the Longobardos (now Lombardos, from Germanic background) imposed the word balko (beam, balken in modern German) from which we got balco and later balcone which finally gave us the Spanish word balcón. (Source: La palabra del dí­a {ñ})

I have a few dozen more photos for the casa antigüeña series, but I believe I have shown you the most relevant rooms and architectonic elements. I am sure you don’t want to see the bathrooms or the garage and the such; right?!

Anyway, I would love to hear your impressions about the series as a whole, whether you found it too light, too boring, too long, or too anything. Please, take some minutes from your time and let me know your opinion. I will really appreciate it. Thanks.

We are just about done with the Casa Antigüeña series. Here you can see the master bedroom which basically has two large doors; one that opens into a balcony that overlooks a common area garden and the other (not seen) door opens to a private garden. Once again you find a fireplace which get very little use with the delightful weather of La Antigua Guatemala.

The tragaluces (sky lights) are those crystal blocks you see at the far end. Craig was asking if the the light washing the back wall in the kitchen was coming from the cupola. I promised Craig I was going to show the origin of the light washing the back wall in the kitchen. Well, the mystery is resolved; the light comes through those sky lights or crystal blocks you see here, which are located in the roof, right behind the cupola. Simple and effective, don’t you think?

Boy, how many architectonic terms in Spanish have you learnt through the Casa Antigüeña series?

The pila is basically a Guatemalan home staple. Normally the pila design has a water tank in the center and two sinks, one on each side of the water tank. One sink is for hand-washing your laundry and thus its surface is ribbed. The other sink is for doing dishes and the surface is smooth. There is a water faucet somewhere near the water tank to fill it up. Now, Guatemalan pilas are not as beautifully designed as the pilas found in La Antigua Guatemala; don’t you agree?

Of course, big part of the beauty of the Casa Antigüeña is found in its details, like the niches that can host angels, owls, figures of Santo Hermano Pedro, Jesus, Virgen Marí­a, et-cetera. It is nice to have a spot light to illuminate the niche at night, but during the day, the wonderful filtered sun light is more than enough.

Well if the panoramic view of one volcano is astonishing, the view of two volcanoes, Fuego and Acatenango, is breath-taking, especially at sunset and when Volcán de Fuego is putting up a show.

Just give me a hot cup of authentic chocolate from Antigua or a cup the best coffee in the world (from La Antigua Guatemala, of course) a let me be blissful while I listen to the sounds of the near-by fountains and contemplate the sun slipping away behind the silhouettes of Fire and Acatenango volcanoes.

Life is too damn short not to enjoy this glorious eternal Spring weather all year long; especially in Winter. Do you care to join me?

Update: LA ANTIGUA GUATEMALA SELECTED AS TOP CITY
The readers of the prestigious Wanderlust Magazine, the magazine for people with a passion for travel, have awarded the 2009 Top City Prize to La Antigua Guatemala. Below you can read the news advance about the awards. Japan grabbed the Top Country award.

Antigua in Guatemala grabbed the Top City accolade, beating Luang Prabang in Laos, winner for the previous two years. (source: Wanderlust Magazine)

It is quite obvious that when one lives in the land of the eternal spring, one would like to have a nice rooftop living room to enjoy all the wonderful sunsets and fresh air. But what if the land of the eternal spring also came with astonishing panoramic views of three volcanoes, one of them active and such an exhibitionist, what is one to do with such dilemma?

What would you do in such a place?

The cúpulas (cupolas) has to be among the most distinctive architectonic elements of the Casa Antigüeña. Originally design as chimney for the kitchen or to provide light and air to a room, nowadays the cúpulas are mainly decorative pieces.

The cupolas break the otherwise flat rooftop line of the La Antigua Guatemala.

Don’t you want to have one these cupolas in your home? I know I do!

From the attic, it is only a matter of a few steps to reach the terrace or perhaps veranda would be more appropriate term.

Since the weather in La Antigua Guatemala is Spring-like year round, well it only makes sense to make the terrace or veranda accessible through stairways. From the terraces of the Casa Antigüeña you can get panoramic views of the volcanoes around Antigua. As of matter of fact, in many listings for rent or sell of houses around Antigua, you often find the “panoramic view of volcanoes” among the top selling arguments.

Hah, just wait until I show you the panoramic views of the volcanoes for this casa antigüeña!

Finally, we reached the loft in the second floor… oops, I meant the attic. Remember the building codes in La Antigua Guatemala prohibit new construction of two-story houses (wink, wink). They say nothing of really high ceilings in single story homes.

Anyway, you can see how the attic-turned-loft can be used for a guest room or studio. I like the terra cotta ceramic floor tiles set at 45˚ degree angle. I like their rich burned red color which is in harmony with dark mahogany wooden ceiling.

So this room can be called an attic (ático), loft (desván or tapanco) or simply the second floor.

In this escalara de caracol (winding staircase) you find the same repetitive azulejos (ceramic tiles) found in the stairway details photo from yesterday.

And I wonder aloud, how can things so simple be so beautiful? ¡Qué alguien me lo explique!