AntiguaDailyPhoto.Com

Here’s one of the new directions that Guatemalan textiles are taking. You can still identify the pieces as made with Mayan textiles from Guatemala, but the patterns and colors as well as the new designs of purses and backpacks are made for people in North America and Europe.

What do you think of these new colors and designs?

Rich colors, patterns and textures are what one gets when buying a piece of Guatemalan textiles. A good example of this statement is the purse shown above, don’t you agree?

Back on August I shared with you the presentation of Caldo de Gallina Criolla from Sabe Rico Restaurant in Antigua Guatemala. Criollo or criolla is the Guatemalan Spanish word often meaning native, garden grown or free range. As I said before, criollo in colonial times was the word used to label the offspring of Spaniards that were born in America (remember America means the entire Continent not just the U.S.). Nowadays, in Guatemala we use the word criollo/criolla for things that grow in an orchard or garden and often for free range chickens. In the case what Caldo de gallina criolla means is stock or stew made with a free range hen grown in the patio, garden or orchard. The gallinas criollas are usually smaller than mass-grown farm chicken and the meat is darker and much more delicious. Since in the previous photo of Caldo de Gallina Criolla some of the ingredients were not visible, I decided to share this other photo which shows some of the vegetables that are often part of the dish: Perulero (white chayote or white Sechium edule), carrots, corn of the cob, and squash.

Here’s the recipe found at Revista Amiga. Can anybody help with the translation?

Caldo de gallina criolla

Rinde 6 porciones
Ingredientes
2 litros de agua hirviendo
1 gallina de 3 libras
2 chiles pimiento
2 cebollas
5 tomates
5 papas
1 zanahoria
1 güisquil
1 cucharadita de aceite
1 manojo de hierbabuena
1 manojo de cebollín
sal al gusto
polvo de consomé al gusto

Preparación
En una olla grande cueza la gallina en el agua hirviendo, sazónela con sal y consomé al gusto, añada el tomate y la cebolla picados.

Corte las verduras en pequeños trozos y saltéelas en una sartén con el aceite. Añádalos al caldo y cueza por 45 minutos. Pique la hierbabuena y el cebollín, incorpórelos al caldo, retire la preparación del fuego y sirva.

Everyone needs to take a break every once in a while, I am taking mine right now; best wishes for this new week and please take it slowly.

One of the most often seen stamps around the main plaza of Antigua Guatemala is the groups of tourists and ambulant sellers trying to make a living by offering their wares to the visitors.

The installation crew for the Christmas lights is hard at work to have all 600 series installed before December 3 and that’s when the all the trees and plants at Parque Central will be lit at night. To see how the main plaza looks like with all the lights on, follow the white rabbit to Tree Branches on Fire and Lit branches at Parque Central. The Christmas lights were taken down on February 20 this year, so that gives you an idea how long the Christmas season is in Antigua Guatemala.

Now this is what the dry season looks like in Antigua Guatemala; sunshine, deep blue skies, beautiful light, cold winds and almost now clouds. As always, follow the white rabbit to see more photos and read about Palacio de los Capitanes Generales of Santiago de Guatemala.

Thanksgiving is yet another holiday from the U.S. that is celebrated in Antigua Guatemala, especially by the local expat residents living in town. Because of this, often you find restaurants that cater to those who do not want to go through the ordeal of cooking the turkey and Thanksgiving dinner. Other expats just celebrate the Thanksgiving in Antigua Guatemala with family and friends. So, if you’re in La Antigua Guatemala now and want to have a Thanksgiving dinner, just look for one of the many restaurants that have just what you’re looking for.

This breakfast is served daily at Sabe Rico, one of my favorite spots to have breakfast.

What do you think are the things that make this omelet breakfast into a Guatemalan style omelet breakfast?

There’s been live Andean music at the Plaza Mayor for several months thanks to this band who a few times a week set up a live show of classic Latin American songs and covers of popular music played with the distinctive Andean music style. Live music at the park is always a hit and everyone enjoys it. I am glad to see more free culture manifestations at the Main Plaza. Remember that every Friday at 4 p.m. you can enjoy the Municipal Band recital.

Everywhere, the times they are a-changin’

Libertad, Expresión, Conciencia the wall declares. Liberty, Freedom of Expression and Conscience could be the rough translation of this message on the wall.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no tellin’ who
That it’s namin’.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There’s a battle outside
And it is ragin’.
It’ll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’.
.
.
.
The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin’.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin’.

—Bob Dylan

(more…)

Public laundry washbasins (sometimes river and lake shores) serve as the gathering place for news, gossip and community building through the interactions that take place there. In many places in Guatemala public washbasins could be considered the first news broadcasting sites or rural social media networks, similar to Facebook or Twitter for people with computers in mayor cities.

A búcaro fountain is half fountain normally embedded in a wall, normally near an inside patio, but it can be anywhere. I’ve photographed búcaro fountains for a while now and there are plenty of designs in the archives of Antigua Guatemala. Here’s a short list of some of the búcaro fountains found in the archives:

1. Casa Antigüeña: The Búcaro
2. Colonial Búcaro Fountain
3. Corner Búcaro Fountain
4. What in the World is a Búcaro?
5. The búcaro inside the Burger King restaurant

Guatemala on the news Aside: The Big Picture of The Boston Globe published a photographic essay entitled Dangerous work: “The Mine” in Guatemala City where Associated Press photographer Rodrigo Abd documented how every day, dozens of residents salvage a living by scouring the massive dump for scrap metal. Facing the threat of mudslides, collapses, and disease, they can potentially earn twice the daily minimum wage. Also, closer to home, The world famous Carrera de las Charolas of La Antigua Guatemala appeared in the Framework section of Los Angeles Times, where each week Los Angeles Times compiles the very best in visual journalism.

I swear I could do a series just on unusual windows found in Antigua Guatemala. As a matter of fact, when I began almost 6 years ago, I created a Doors & Windows category because I knew that the distinctive and remarkable inventory of doors and windows found in La Antigua Guatemala was going to be a recurring subject. Well, there are 92 entries on the category as of now. Follow the white rabbit through all the doors and windows found in the archives of AntiguaDailyPhoto to get a general idea of what antigüeños like to do with the wholes on the walls.

Often the perimeter walls for residential homes have carefully guided bougainvillea trees flowering all year long along to the top. In a way, bougainvillea and other such trees served as a safety fence to keep the amigos de lo ajeno at bay. Of course, at the same time, the luscious green vegetation and flowers are a delight on the eyes.