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X-ray of a Guatemalan House

This is the shot of a Guatemalan house at the very early stages of construction. I know this is not what you …

Impromptu Guatemalan Family Portrait BY RUDY GIRON

Impromptu Guatemalan Family Portrait

I am happy to be trusted to capture such personal and family moments such as this get together at end of the year. This is a family who inspires by the work, ethics and their entrepreneurial spirit.

Guatemalan smiles make me happy

Honestly, how could you go wrong with a visit to Guatemala if you’re greeted with smiling faces almost everywhere you go. Heck, …

Guatemalan Flower Growers

As mentioned before, if you’re looking for flower and plant nurseries, then head over to San Miguel Dueñas where it seems as …

Guatemalan Baroque Entrance by Rudy Giron - www.rudygiron.com

Guatemalan Baroque Entrance

Now, be honest, don’t you wish this was the entrance to your home? I know I do. I normally like very minimalist …

Entrance to the Popenoe House

Entrance to the Popenoe House, originally uploaded by rudygiron. This is the entrance to the Popenoe House, a colonial mansion restored by …

Guatemalan Beers

These are the widest available Guatemalan Beers. In the picture you can see the 1 liter container for Gallo, Victoria and Brahva. There are five other brands which belong to Gallo house (Cervecerí­a Centroamericana) as well as Victoria. Beer is the preferred alcoholic drink for Guatemala and quite understandable since it is a tropical country. My favorite Guatemalan beer is Moza [sp], a bock type recipe.

Having Lunch by The Garden

As more houses of La Antigua Guatemala are turned into business, the old architectonic spaces are converted for new uses. Here for …

Theme Day: Men at Work

Architecture arose from man’s necessity to shelter from the environment. First, he used the caves where he left registered scenes from his daily life, to then build, with the materials found in nature, his home. As humankind organized socially and the jobs became specialties, the first masons appeared and transformed the natural materials such stone and wood, and invented others like adobes and bricks from clay. (fragment from La mano de obra en la arquitectura from JM Magaña in Recrearte Magazine, page 8, available in Spanish as a PDF download)

Blue-green Door on Yellow House from Antigua Guatemala

It’s Refacción Time!

The Guatemalan labor code allows for two short breaks of about 15 minutes (in addition to the lunch break); one in the …

PHOTO STOCK: First Posada Navideña of 2020

First Posada Navideña of 2020

Let the nine days of posadas navideñas begin. Since this morning, December 15th, there have been sightings of Joseph and Mary’s quest …

Burning of the Devil 2017 in Antigua Guatemala

No Sympathy for the Devil

All year long he hides under the bed or in the junk piled up in the corner, casting misfortune or worse on …

© Zero violence, I repeat, only love, happiness and peace while changing the country forever. The cleaning crowds have arrived! by Rudy Giron

Sweeping Changes in Guatemala

Zero violence! Only love, happiness and peace while Guatemalans are changing the country forever with their manifestations and rejection of corruption at …

Maximón and Mishito

Here’s your Guatemalan Spanish word of the day: Mishito or kitty or gatito in plain Spanish. Now, the effigy next to the …

Enchanted by El Sombrerón

El Sombrerón appears at dusk, dragging along a group of mules carrying coal, with whom he travels around the city and its …

Door or Window

What do you think this is, a window or a door? In Guatemalan Spanish with call these wood logs “lepa” (lehpah me …

Bright and rich colours

I don’t know what prompts people in Guatemala to paint their houses with rich and bright colours, but all I can say …

Posada Enactment for the Elders

Beginning on December 15, there are sightings of Joseph and Mary’s quest for shelter around the streets of La Antigua Guatemala. María …

Window Gardens

In other places of the world, windows are just windows. In La Antigua Guatemala windows are shop displays, gardens, pet spots, plant …

Nine Days of Posadas

We interrupt our regularly scheduled December comfort foods series to bring you the following special bulletin. Since yesterday night, December 15, there …

Remittances from Los Angeles

“Walijoq caewaj!” she yelled over and over in Quiche. Wake up, my love. Wake up, my love. This is the story of …

Perpetuating A Nation

Guatemalans are not known for being patriotic; yeah Guatever! Nevertheless, we do have our patriotic symbols like El Quetzal, our most beautiful …

Remittances Architecture

Immigrants remittances are shaping the landscape of Mesoamerica with houses and constructions built upon the dreams and hard work of people in …

Antigua Guatemala Is Not The Real World

I DO hope you understand my editorial line and that you become a fan and follower of the AntiguaDailyPhoto updates in Facebook and Twitter to keep on top of the additional information and news I share with you.

Stop Agatha, Stop!

Guatemalans urgently need a break! First we experience a short but strong jolt cause by an earthquake. Right after Pacaya volcano began …

Day Care

Market day in La Antigua Guatemala is much more than just getting your weekly produce or enjoying a photo moment of local …

Red Lantern District

Not a farol left over from last year’s posadas. Nor indeed a house of ill repute, except perhaps with regards to the …

Who owns the water in Guatemala?

All Guatemalans, of course, just like the air. Water belongs to the Guatemalan people and it’s managed by the government; national and …

Casa Antigüeña: The Corridor

Casas antigüeñas normally have at least one corridor or hallway, usually next to the garden and fountain. Omnipresent are the terra cotta …

Gas Tanks are Ugly Too

This is what Guatemalans think of when you utter Tanques de gas (gas tanks); it doesn’t cross their mind the fuel tank …

La Casa de las Mixtas Sign

I really like the naí¯f aspects of this sign. I like how the composition is trying very hard to include all the …

Fuel Home Delivery in La Antigua Guatemala

Other colonial measurements still in use in present-day Guatemala are: Una mano (one hand or five of anything), un manojo (a bunch), una libra (a pound; this one may hurt many of you, but for sure, the civilized world now uses the kilo), una picopada (a truckload), una fila de frances (a row of french rolls), una arroba (@ or 25 pounds) un quintal (100 pounds), una cuerda (a cord equals 1/6 of city block), una medida (a measurement of whatever fits inside a small can or basket), una penca de banano (that’s a banana cluster), et-cetera or basically that’s what I can remember right now. I am sure the Guatemalans visitors will share other colonial measurements being used in Guatemala. There was a recent article about colonial measurement in Prensa Libre’s Revista Domingo under the title of Costumbres que pesan {ñ}.

The Ecological Way to Celebrate the Burning of the Devil in Guatemala

For those who would rather break a piñata than playing around with fire, I present to you the Lucky 7 Burning of the Devil Piñata for you to fill it with all your frustration and negative vibes and virtually burn it or break it with your mouse, trackball or tablet until your let it all out. Happy Burning of the Devil everyone!

Public Water Distribution System

Central America and Guatemala especially have an abundance of water resources, many are groundwater. La Antigua Guatemala is located in a valley irrigated with over six months of a rainy season per year. La Antigua Guatemala is surrounded by mountains and volcanoes that collect even more water. Much of this collected rain ends up as groundwater.

Window view of Mountains around La Antigua Guatemala

As beautiful, cosmopolitan, antique and modern as it is La Antigua Guatemala, many people choose to live in one of the surrounding villages that belong to the municipio (county) of La Antigua Guatemala. There are many reasons for this decision which range from the economics, ‘real guatemalan experience’, or simply to live in a more natural and greener environment.

Guateflora: Falsa Uva (False Grape)

The hoja de falsa uva (false grape) or Parthenocisus inserta as it is known scientifically is a trepadora (climbing) plant. In the trepadoras category the most often used are the hiedra (ivy), uña de gato (cat’s claw), falsa uva (false grape), collar de la reina (queen’s collar), and of course the ever-present bugambilea (bougainvillea). The trepadoras (climbing) category in the Guateflora book has 34 different plants, so I have homework to do. 😉

Guateflora: Falsa Maní­a (False Peanut)

Falsa maní­a or Maní­ forrajero (false peanut) as it is known in Guatemala the Arachis pintoi is a cubresuelos (ground-creeping) plant used often in the garden of La Antigua Guatemala. José, our gardener, told me that you can also use it a trepadora (climbing) plant if you guide it. I really like this evergreen plant which flowers all-year-round a tiny yellow flower. According to the Guateflora book, it can grow anywhere and handles well people walking over it.

Guateflora: Hiedras (Hedera/Ivies)

Hiedras (Ivies/Hederas helix & H. canariensis) are very popular as well as all kinds of trepadoras (climbing) or cubresuelos (ground-creeping) siempreverdes (evergreen) plants in La Antigua Guatemala. Hiedras and trepadoras are found in many antigüeño homes covering the gardens’ walls.

Guateflora: Cactus Pot

Believe it or not, the land around La Antigua Guatemala was a very ‘fertile’ arid zone before the introduction of the coffee bush as a crop in 1875. I know fertile and arid sound like two mutually exclusive words, but they were not in Guatemala before 18th century where the Nopal and Maguey cactuses were grown in plantations. I’ve even seen photographs of the nopal plantations around La Antigua Guatemala in the CIRMA Fototeca (The Photo Archives at The Center for Mesoamerican Research).

Guateflora: Colas de Quetzal

You know you are in a Guatemalan home the moment you see the Colas de Quetzal (nephorlepsis spp.) or Quetzal’s tails (ferns) hanging in the corridors. The Colas de Quetzal bracken has to be one of the favorite ornamental plants used in the Guatemalan home. Some of these ferns or brackens are native to Guatemala, but they are considered cosmopolitan because they can grow anywhere. Colas de Quetzal can grown in hanging baskets, pots or in the ground, but they need some shadow to maintain the evergreen colors. The above photo of Colas de Quetzal was taken at Vivero La Escalonia (5a av. sur final), a very popular nursery in La Antigua Guatemala. Vivero La Escalonia is a great place to have breakfast or lunch.

Guateflora: Close-up View of Gerberas

Gerberas (gerbera jamesonii) are a very popular flowers in the gardens of La Antigua Guatemala. Gerberas are found in yellow, white, red (like the picture above), orange, purple and pink. Gerberas grow in temperate-cold climate and give their beautiful flowers throughout the year. This particular shot was taken at Vivero La Escalonia in the south part of La Antigua. (source for technical information: Guate Flora)

Jumping over the cables

Here is a vertical shot of a biker doing a jump in the atrium of the Jocotenango church. Jocotenago is one of the communities very near La Antigua Guatemala. Jocotenango is so close to La Antigua that you might walk and cross over the municipal borders without realizing it. Jocotenango and Ciudad Vieja are the two municipios (counties) where most of the antigüeños moved after they sold their houses in La Antigua Guatemala. Some antigüeños sold their house under pressure from buyers and because the incredible prices buyers were willing to pay. Ciudad Vieja and Jocotenango is where most of the workers of La Antigua Guatemala businesses live. Jocotenango and Ciudad Vieja are ‘REAL’ Guatemalan communities, unlike La Antigua Guatemala. Soon I will post an entry with the following title: La Antigua Guatemala is not Guatemala (which I’ve been saving for a long while now). Stay tune!

Theme Day: The Color Red

Once again, La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo is participating in the theme day of the Daily Photo community. This time the theme is about the color red. Here you can see the Compañí­a de Jusús building under care of the Cooperación Española which is huge red building; one full block to be specific. This building has had many uses through history, like the home of Bernal Dí­az del Castillo, home to the Jesuits of Central America in colonial times, thus its name, and more recently it houses a public library, culture center under the administration of Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional. You can see the big entrance of the building, the interior gardens and arches and one the side wall of the ruins. I decided to photograph this building because it’s the biggest red thing in La Antigua Guatemala, but I was lucky to have a red motorcycle and a red jeep enter the viewfinder at the moment I snapped the shot; how lucky, indeed.

Café Y tu Piña También plus WIFI

Boy oh boy, bagels, English muffins, exotic pastries, all the cookies in the rainbow, the best coffee and Wi-Fi internet access can almost make you forget you are in a Spanish colonial town embedded between coffee plantations, flower farms and volcanoes in the central mountain range of this tiny banana baby-exporting republic known as Guatemala.

Electrified Barb Wire

This shot could be anywhere in the world, except for the fact of the blue in the sky can only be Guatemala; …