AntiguaDailyPhoto.Com

In Hollywood movies whenever they want to portrait or build the character as a safe person, either a house wife or a professor, they often put her behind the wheel of a Volvo, if it’s white is even better.

Cliché!

Who says you can’t drive a white Volvo and be an adrenaline lover at the same time?

Ephemiredes Aside: On June 30 is observed the Día del Ejército (Army Day holiday) in Guatemala, and on July 1 the Día del empleado bancario (Guatemalan Banker’s holiday); which really all it amounts to is that the banks will be closed for two days (as reported through a Antigua News Tweets before).

Theme Day Aside: Tomorrow is Theme day again for the City Daily Photo Community. AntiguaDailyPhoto.Com will be participating once again in Theme day, which is “Reflections” for July 2010.?

Here’s my humble attempt at summarizing some of the architectonic elements of Antigua Guatemala.

How you like it?

Besides signs, I also have a fascination for fountains. I am glad in La Antigua Guatemala there is an abundance of both.

Can you guess where is this fountain located?

Early on I had been bewitched by the abstract possibilities found in every nook and cranny of this enchanting and vibrant sleepy little town. By day 100 with entries like Antigua Colors, I began collecting the bit and pieces of what will become my Antigua Abstracta photo exhibit. A few other samples captured along the way are found in New Aesthetic Values of an Old Town, Upside Down Arches, Shadow Casting Lamp, Dome Roof Details, and most photos in the tagged with Textura, just to list a few images.

I hope to have all the images, the venue and the Antigua Abstracta exhibit ready before the end of the year!

Of course you don’t have to wait until my next photo exhibition to acquired high quality prints to decorate your or your loved one’s home or office walls since you can purchase them at any time, like right now!

As a graphic designer I can never ceased to be amazed by the intricate brightly colored textiles worn by the Maya people of Guatemala. I hope to always remain astonished.

Café Santa María is quite possibly the most popular comedor in Antigua Guatemala nowadays. I eat there at least twice a week and often I come across acquaintances and friends from all walks of life. La Antigua’s Geeksquad even have met there a couple of times. By the way, the reason so many people from business owners to office clerks eat there often is because the food is very, very good; not to mention that the most expensive dish will set you back Q25.

We are men of maize!. As I have mentioned before, it is impossible to think the Guatemalan, Mexican and Mesoamerican diet without maize. From the Popul Vuh (Popol Wuj in modern spelling), the Mayan equivalent of the Bible, which states that humans were literally created from maize, to Miguel Ángel Asturias‘ novel Hombres de maíz (Men of Maize) which is one of the best novels to understand Mesoamerica and its people. Guatemala and Mexico share the birth place of maize, which was and is the most important crop in human history. The richest diversity of maize can be found in Mesoamerica! (… continue reading).

What do think of the decoration, does it work for you?

The Bagel Barn is a popular venue in La Antigua Guatemala for getting a bagel sandwich, great coffee and checking your email. There are electric plugs all along the walls so you can even get some juice for your laptop. These are also good reasons to have “power breakfast” or lunch meetings at the Bagel Barn.

The original Bagel Barn is located a few steps from Central Park, almost on the corner of Portal de Las Panaderas. A new second Bagel Barn was recently opened one block west, on the same street, from the original Bagel Barn. Below I am sharing a 20-second clip to get an overview of the place.

Have you visited The Bagel Barn while visiting Antigua Guatemala?
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“Chunches y Chunchitos” is what a call a creative Guatemalan name for a business. What do you think they sell inside and do you know what those words mean?

The world over there’s an innate necessity for freedom of expression and to transcend. This particular pressing need has been an integral part of Humanity from the beginning of time, even before we were civilized. In every culture one finds the indispensable exigency to let others know that we were here, that we existed.

The Maya were among the most prominent story tellers. The Maya ‘wrote’ just about everything. I am sure that if the ancient Maya scribblers had access to Twitter and Facebook, they would have had busy timelimes; heck they would have used aggregators to fill their lifestream with every imaginable media.

What, you don’t believe me? Well, just take a look at how the modern Maya weavers fill up a blanket with every conceivable story.

What stories do you ‘read’ in the textile fragment above?

Guatemalan are living a new sense of freedom, not the kind that was expected by the signage of the Peace Accords of 1996. Rather, it is a gastronomic freedom. Some of the Guatemalan expats noticed that something had changed since their departure when they saw Pepitoria, chile, salt and lime-lemon juice granizadas (shaved ice).

Some Guatemalans even commented about it, like Manolo: “This post-modern new millennium Guatemala presented in LAGDP sometimes throws me for a loop… what the heck are ‘salty granizadas’?” or Edgar: “Don’t know if my train is going to fast, but I’ve never seen those salty ‘granizadas’. I’m sure that kind of ‘granizada’ surfaced in the 90′s.”

Even though Guatemalans are known for being extremely conservative it’s only obvious that they are now abandoning the safe harbors and adventuring into extravagant paths. Can you believe it? There is now fresh mango chunks with salt, pepitoria and lime-lemon cupsicles*? Well, mango popsicles seemed rather traditionalist after I was made aware of mora (blackberry) with salt, pepitoria and lime-lemon, as well as mora and pineapple with salt, pepita and lemon juice cupsicles. Let it be known you heard it first in AntiguaDailyPhoto.

I wonder what’s next for Guatemala now that Guatemalans have abandoned their conventional ways? Revolution?

*Cupsicle is a word coined by Manolo in Facebook while referring to the Guatemalan version of popsicle.

I am a firm believer that if Alfred Hitchcock had lived in Guatemala his nightmares would have been in Technicolor. Certainly, Hitchcock would have used colorful tropical birds in the film The Birds.

What do you think?

Wow, time flies by; I just realized I have not shared a wallpaper with you since the Earth Day Wallpaper From Antigua Guatemala on April 22.

Let’s fix that right away. I took this photo earlier this morning driven by the Stephanie’s comment on Blink And The World Will Change:

Thanks for using the maximum zoom on this photo! This is the most detailed photo I’ve ever seen of Volcan de Fuego. Usually the photos are more distant so you appreciate the form (and the sky) but don’t get a rich sense of the color and textures. I think this is my favorite of the volcano pictures.

So, today’s photo serves two purposes, I show you a extreme close-up Volcán de Agua’s crater and share with you another wallpaper for your computer. Download the 1280×960 Crater of Volcán de Agua wallpaper here.

Of course you can download other wallpapers by browsing the Wallpaper category. Let me know which ones you’ve downloaded.

Volcán de Agua Teleférico aside: Not too long ago I read in the newspapers that there’s a definite plan to built a Teleférico (tramway) from Santa María de Jesús to the crater of Volcán de Agua. If I remember correctly, the funds for such a tourist project will come from Taiwan.

Here’s a follow up image to Rain Drops, which because of the extreme close-up was unclear that you were looking at a chili. Today’s image also shows you the benefits that come with the rainy season, an abundance of green and the fruits of Earth.

Have you ever wonder why Guatemala is so exuberant green?

In Guatemala we could and should write the Manifesto against Convenience. Why you ask? Well, can you believe that we still observe holidays and celebrations on the date they were created. Mother’s Day on May 10, Father’s Day on June 17, Santiago de los Caballeros on July 25 (Saint James), et cetera. In Guatemala holidays and festivities are not celebrated on the weekend unless that’s date a holiday falls.

Today, for instance, in Guatemala we celebrate Día del padre, Father’s Day. So I decided to share with you three photos of a series of a father and her daughter having a tender lunch. The little girl refused to take the byte unless her dad gave it to her on the mouth. These three photos are in reverse order, so the first frame is the thumbnail on the right, next the thumbnail of the left and finally the photograph above as they break into smiles and happy moments. There other photos with both of them smiling, but I love the mirada juguetona, playful look of the little girl.

Also, I am also sharing with you a video of the song “Viejo, mi querido viejo” by Piero, which is played very often today in Guatemala. If you’re walking around in Guatemala, it’s quite likely that you will overhear it.

I would love to hear your comments and feedback regarding today’s entry. When is Father’s Day celebrated where you live?

What better way to capture the beauty of the rainy season than with rain drops?