AntiguaDailyPhoto.Com

Here’s another addition to the color palette category. Also, this is second version of the Show Me The Moon from Antigua Guatemala.

Photo Tip: One of the tips that I received from Ricardo Mata, Guatemalan photographer with over 50 years of experience and assistant to Ansel Adams at one point in his life, was always take the same photo in landscape and portrait orientation; you will never know when you will need one or the other. I try to follow this advice as often as possible.

Even during the rainy season quite often you can enjoy a dry sunset in the company of your loved one. I wonder what the conversation was about? Can you guess?

La Antigua Guatemala is known as the Ciudad de las perpetuas rosas, the city of the perpetual roses. Well, surely you can find roses everywhere in and around Antigua Guatemala; there are even rose farms near La Antigua that grow roses for exportation to the U.S. and Canada.

However, I believe the name should actually be the City or perpetual bougainvilleas as these flowers can be found everywhere in Antigua Guatemala at any given time. Bougainvilleas are really perpetual flowers and an integral part of the jardín antigüeño, Antigua garden. Bugambileas, as they are known in Spanish, go by scientific name of Bougainvillea glabra and belong to the Nyctaginaceae family. Bougainvilleas can be found in red, violet, purple, fuchsia, red, orange, gold, yellow, pink, white, burgandy, terra cotta, kite red, and in light and dark shades of many of the aforementioned colors.

We finish the jardín antigüeño series with the bougainvilleas. I still have other photos, but I will post them at a later time as part of the regular daily flow. Just a little over-sharing: All the flowers shown thus far as part of the jardín antigüeño were photographed at our garden.

I do hope at least some of you have found this series interesting or at least useful with the free wallpapers. Please, let me know your thoughts about the series.

You can download the Guatemalan flowers wallpaper from here: Bugambilea Naranja, Bugambilea Roja Papolata, Bugambilea Enana, Bugambilea Fuscia and Bugambilea Roja wallpapers.

Source: Guate Flora: Plantas ornamentales más utilizadas en jardínes guatemaltecos (Guate Flora: Ornamental Plants Most Often Used in Guatemalan Gardens).

Geranio is the Guatemalan name for Geranium, which is also known in Spanish as Pelargonio. Geranios or Pelargonios can be found with flowers in red, pink, purple, white and orange. Geraniums need a lot of water and in Guatemala they blossom year round. Pelargonios also need a lot of sun.

You can download the Guatemalan flowers wallpaper from here: Geranio Blanco and Geranio Rojo wallpapers.

Source: Guate Flora: Plantas ornamentales más utilizadas en jardínes guatemaltecos (Guate Flora: Ornamental Plants Most Often Used in Guatemalan Gardens).

Oh life, you blink and it’s gone.

A while back I read in the New York Times Sunday edition of the Prensa Libre about the passing away of a man 87 years old that for 55 years had no short-term memory. It turns out that he underwent brain surgery when he was 27 and even though the doctors had healed his ailments, they also damaged the area of the brain responsible for memories. Interesting enough, the article was not about memory loss, rather about Identity loss. If you have no memories, you have no identity the article argued.

The first time I was exposed to the concept of short-term memory loss was in the film Wintersleepers by director Tom Tykwer and later in the American film Memento by director Christopher Nolan. In both films we follow the main characters who have lost their short-term memory through a period of their lives and experience all the complications that having no short-term memory can cause. In both films, the characters with memory loss use photographs as memory, short and long term.

So, what’s memory anyway? Nothing but a series of photographs or static images we keep dearly to know who we are now who we were then and what we have experienced. Thus, coming to this realization, wouldn’t you think it makes sense that we pause every once in a while our hurried lifestyles to take note of the flowers, the aroma of coffee, to pet your cats, to say ‘I love you or I care for you’ to your family and friends and take mental snapshots for our memory bank.

There are only two instances where everybody in the entire world has an equal opportunity: Time and Memories. No one can live more than 24-hour days and all of us have the same chance to keep a large bank of memories. What are you waiting for? Times does not stop for anybody.

Okay today flowers go by the Guatemalan name of camarones (shrimps in plural). The golden camarón is actually a combination of yellow and white flowers. The scientific name for the Guatemalan golden shrimp flower is Pachystachys lutea. The red Guatemalan shrimp flower’s scientific name is Beloperone guttata or Justicia brandegeana. Both camarones belong to the Acanthaceae family. Camarones can grow under direct sun light or part sun/shade (help here for the proper term) and they blossom all year long requiring moderate watering.

Like the days before, you can download the Guatemalan flowers wallpaper from here: Camarón Amarillo and Camarón Rojo wallpapers

Source: Guate Flora: Plantas ornamentales más utilizadas en jardínes guatemaltecos (Guate Flora: Ornamental Plants Most Often Used in Guatemalan Gardens).

Pentas are among the most beautiful and prolific flowers in jardín antigüeño. In the gardens of La Antigua Guatemala you can be sure to find flowers year round, but not all the flowers blossom all year or at the same time. Pentas are a delightful execption since they have many live bouquets all year round and thus are excellent flowers to put on or near windows. Pentas come in pink, red, purple, white and light violet which provide a nice contrast to their luscious green foliage. Pentas require lots of water and sun.

Like in previous days, you can download the Guatemalan flowers wallpaper from here: Pentas Rosadas and Pentas Red wallpapers

Source: Guate Flora: Plantas ornamentales más utilizadas en jardínes guatemaltecos (Guate Flora: Ornamental Plants Most Often Used in Guatemalan Gardens).

Boy, it seems like nobody cares about the flowers found in the gardens of La Antigua Guatemala or the free wallpapers. I believe out of all the series the Jardín Antigüeño is the one with least feedback of all. Not even a wake me up when you are done!

Julias are flowers that blossom all year long. Julias scientific name is Salvias spendens and normally can be found dress in salmon, red, purple, white and red & white.

Once again you can download the Guatemalan flowers wallpaper from here: Julias Salmon and Julias Purple wallpapers.

Source: Guate Flora: Plantas ornamentales más utilizadas en jardínes guatemaltecos (Guate Flora: Ornamental Plants Most Often Used in Guatemalan Gardens).

Throughout the archives of AntiguaDailyPhoto.com you can find many of the plants and flowers available in and around the Antigua Guatemala gardens. In fact, I even created the Guateflora category to host some of the findings.

This week we will feed the Guateflora and Wallpaper categories with flowers commonly found in the jardín antigüeño, the Antiguan garden. Some, if not all, all the pictures of flowers in this week mini series can also work as computer wallpapers, so if you find something you like, please make sure you download it now.

Today’s flower goes by the common name of Nazareno, Nazarene, which is interesting purple or violet-colored flower with two shades in each of its shapes. The scientific name for the Nazareno flower is Petrea voubilis, a native plant of Guatemala, which grows in temperate weather, just like the weather in La Antigua Guatemala, with low irrigation and blossoms all year long if kept under the sun. Source: Guate Flora: Plantas ornamentales más utilizadas en jardí nes guatemaltecos (Guate Flora: Ornamental Plants Most Often Used in Guatemalan Gardens).

Costa, entregado al placer de comer, filosofaba acerca de Dios. Decía que su existencia quedaba comprobada en el sublime sabor del ajo, o en la combinación sagrada del tomate con la albahaca.

—Carol Zardetto, en Con Pasión Absoluta, pág 89

Costa, given to the pleasure of eating, philosophized about God. He said that his existence was proved in the sublime flavor of garlic, or in the sacred combination of tomato with basil.

—Carol Zardetto, in With Absolute Passion, pg 89.

Now, can you tell us where we can find proof of God’s existence in La Antigua Guatemala in the form of the sacred combination pictured above?

Finding romantic spots in La Antigua Guatemala is not difficult at all, but if you want to really impress your loved one, in other words your better half, head straight for the Welten Restaurant where they have a pool partially covered with rose petals, baroque and classical music in the background, candles and flowers in every table and delicious and aesthetically pleasing menu to complement the romantic atmosphere. Oh decisions, decisions, such is life in La Antigua Guatemala.

As more houses of La Antigua Guatemala are turned into business, the old architectonic spaces are converted for new uses. Here for instance, we can appreciate how the classic corridor of the Guatemalan house is turned into a dining area.

The corridor, corredor in Spanish, was an essential element of many Guatemalan houses which served the purpose of a connecting hallway between the rooms on the left of the photo (not shown) and at the same time providing ventilation and light to those very rooms. Back in colonial times, the corridors were wide enough to have a breakfast or lunch dining area, some sofas or furniture for informal meetings, an omnipresent mecedora, rocking chair, for grandma or grandpa and pots with flowers which were set on the outer edge, next to the garden and fountains.

Nowadays, these wide pasillos, passageways, served as dining areas for many restaurants. By the way, we are in the middle of the rainy season right now, but in La Antigua Guatemala that’s no reason not enjoy the sunshine and gardens available throughout town. Oh life is tough in Antigua.

Can anybody guess where in La Antigua Guatemala this photo was taken?

One of the best things about living in La Antigua Guatemala is dining out. Almost everywhere you go you will find elegant, delightful and lovely dining areas, regardless of the quality of the food, which is also an enjoyable challenge in itself. For instance, who’s got the best tomatoes, basil and cheese in town? Where can I find the best nachos? What’s the best sushi restaurant? Where can I find tom yum goong? And so on. Regardless of where you find the ultimate tiramisù cake, you are bound to find enchanting and pleasing dining areas everywhere in La Antigua Guatemala.

Please share with us what are your absolute favorite dining places in La Antigua Guatemala and why?

How can simple instruments and uncomplicated and repetitive sounds create a profound, hauntingly, bewitching and fascinating musical experience? How can Guatemalans explain to other people the spiritual fibers that are touched by the fragile and high-pitched notes of the chirimilla flute and the heartbeat thumps emanating from the drums? How can two unpretentious and complementing sounds transport us through a mystical trip to pre-Columbian times? How? Me urge saber.

These mammoth green leaves are known as Quequeshque or Orejas de Elefante, Elephant Ears, in Guatemala because of its gigantic size. The quequeshque leaves size, of course, is not apparently obvious if they are presented like in the image above, without a point of reference. So, if you want to have an idea of the enormous size of the Elephant Ears leaves, please, click on the image below to see an enlarge version with human figures in the frame for comparison.

Don’t forget to browse the Guateflora category for other fine specimens from exuberant Guatemalan plants.

Now, can anybody guess where in La Antigua Guatemala these photos were taken?

Once again AntiguaDailyPhoto.Com will be participating in the Theme Day of the City Daily Photo community, over 500 cities around the globe. I am not sure how many cities will be participating this month, but I decided to be part of the theme, which is feet for June 2009. If you would like to see the previous theme day photos from La Antigua Guatemala, please browse the Theme Day category.

I hope you like the simple black and white image of several police feet wearing the work boots. Please, let me know your thoughts.

Thanks for visiting and please, if you can do pay a visit to the other participating cities around the planet. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants