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 …
This is the shot of a Guatemalan house at the very early stages of construction. I know this is not what you …
The Guatemalan Casa Presidencial in Antigua Guatemala also goes by the name of Casa de las Sirenas. This is where the president of Guatemala stays when he’s in town or welcoming foreign dignitaries.
The Presidential White House in Antigua Guatemala is also known as Casa Presidencial, Casa de las Sirenas or Casa Chamorro. This white …
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.
Honestly, how could you go wrong with a visit to Guatemala if you’re greeted with smiling faces almost everywhere you go. Heck, …
As many of you already know, Guatemala produces premium coffee, among the top three in the world. Even so, hardly ever we …
Inspired by the pop-up restaurant movement of Europe and North America, chief chef Rodrigo Aguilar of Por Q’ Comemos has popped up …
La Casa Presidencial or the Presidential White House in Antigua Guatemala is also known as Casa de las Sirenas or Casa Chamorro. …
Here’s your Spanish word of the day: Dulcería or candy store. La Dulcería de Doña María Gordillo is quite possibly the most …
As mentioned before, if you’re looking for flower and plant nurseries, then head over to San Miguel Dueñas where it seems as …
Now, be honest, don’t you wish this was the entrance to your home? I know I do. I normally like very minimalist …
Guatemalan gastronomy is so rich with stews. If the stews are watery we call them caldos and if the stews are thick …
Question: If La casa de Los Abuelitos has already a red lantern signaling that they sell tamales, then why on earth would …
First, Blame the trabalenguas, tongue twister, title on emromesco, who said that water will be the oil of the 21st century. Second, …
We all live in a yellow house Yellow house, yellow house We all live in a yellow house Yellow house, yellow house …
Buying a house in Antigua is a proposition beyond the economic means of most Guatemalans, sometimes, even so for foreigners. On June …
Entrance to the Popenoe House, originally uploaded by rudygiron. This is the entrance to the Popenoe House, a colonial mansion restored by …
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.
As more houses of La Antigua Guatemala are turned into business, the old architectonic spaces are converted for new uses. Here for …
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)
Started with the night of December 15, there have been sightings of Joseph and Mary’s quest for shelter around the streets of …
The Guatemalan labor code allows for two short breaks of about 15 minutes (in addition to the lunch break); one in the …
Let the nine days of posadas navideñas begin. Since this morning, December 15th, there have been sightings of Joseph and Mary’s quest …
Needless to say 2020 is an atypical year, thus no burning of the devil celebration will be held in Antigua Guatemala as …
Here’s your illustrated Guatemalan Spanish word of the day: Fachadas for façades.
This week will have a mini series on Nacimientos, Nativity scenes, a Guatemalan tradition that goes hand in hand with Posadas, the enactment of the search for shelter of Joseph and Mary right before Christmas.
One of the benefits of the Guatemalan informal economy is the ambulant vendors. You can get all kind of things from fresh …
All year long he hides under the bed or in the junk piled up in the corner, casting misfortune or worse on …
Guatemalan poet Rafael Landívar, a Jesuit, was suffering in exile in Italy when he wrote Rusticatio mexicana, a Latin poem that owes …
Did you guys know that 75% of the economy in Guatemala is informal, meaning the majority of the people do not hold …
We are so fortunate in Antigua Guatemala to have so many dedicated and passionate baristas who are committed to serve the best …
Zero violence! Only love, happiness and peace while Guatemalans are changing the country forever with their manifestations and rejection of corruption at …
People gather around Barrio La Conception, Antigua Guatemala, on December 7 at 6pm for La Quema del Diablo, the burning the devil …
Often times I have wonder why do we have so many non-governmental organisations, NGOs, in and around Antigua Guatemala. Also, I have …
Here’s your Guatemalan Spanish word of the day: Mishito or kitty or gatito in plain Spanish. Now, the effigy next to the …
A walk through many of the villages around Antigua Guatemala reveals so much about how Guatemalans live. For instance, there are many …
El Sombrerón appears at dusk, dragging along a group of mules carrying coal, with whom he travels around the city and its …
Café Barista is the Guatemalan coffee house chain equivalent to what Starbucks is in the U.S. more or less. I don’t visit …
Seven hundred species of orchids out of 1,000 are actually native to Guatemala. I found these fragments in an article about orchids …
What do you think this is, a window or a door? In Guatemalan Spanish with call these wood logs “lepa” (lehpah me …
I don’t know what prompts people in Guatemala to paint their houses with rich and bright colours, but all I can say …
First of all, I should mention that this picture was very difficult to capture since cameras can only expose the sky or …
Often I walk by this garden, previously shown in It’s Always Ice Cream time In Guatemala, so I was happy to see …
Here is your Spanish word of the day: Alameda, a tree-lined avenue or boulevard. La Antigua Guatemala has three official alamedas, Alameda …
Beginning on December 15, there are sightings of Joseph and Mary’s quest for shelter around the streets of La Antigua Guatemala. María …
It seems like most churches and buildings in La Antigua Guatemala have a sign similar to the one above. Another such sign …
In other places of the world, windows are just windows. In La Antigua Guatemala windows are shop displays, gardens, pet spots, plant …
This sign can be found in the hallway of the SAT building in La Antigua Guatemala. By the way, SAT is the …
XI Festival Internacional De Cultura Paiz opened with a energy-charged reunion concert by the two most representative bands from Central America: the …
We interrupt our regularly scheduled December comfort foods series to bring you the following special bulletin. Since yesterday night, December 15, there …
La quema del diablo (Burning of the Devil) used to be this tradition, little known outside of Guatemala. I say “used to …
On October 20, Guatemala celebrates its Día de la Revolución (Revolution’s Day) and everybody gets the day off as it is a …
“Walijoq caewaj!” she yelled over and over in Quiche. Wake up, my love. Wake up, my love. This is the story of …
Guatemalans are not known for being patriotic; yeah Guatever! Nevertheless, we do have our patriotic symbols like El Quetzal, our most beautiful …
Immigrants remittances are shaping the landscape of Mesoamerica with houses and constructions built upon the dreams and hard work of people in …
A few weeks ago I introduced you to the recycling truck of La Antigua Guatemala and hi-lighted the fact that it runs …
In Hollywood movies whenever they want to portrait or build the character as a safe person, either a house girlfriend or a …
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Guatemalans urgently need a break! First we experience a short but strong jolt cause by an earthquake. Right after Pacaya volcano began …
Yes, believe it or not there is a Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe church in La Antigua Guatemala. Interesting enough, though, for the …
At 3:30 in the morning and by the light of the full moon as the rooster crowed a couple times, my husband …
All year long he hides under the bed or in the junk piled up in the corner, casting misfortune or worse on …
Market day in La Antigua Guatemala is much more than just getting your weekly produce or enjoying a photo moment of local …
Rust is yet another desirable aspect of antique decoration elements for colonial houses. Sometimes the artisans and blacksmith artists speed up the …
Not a farol left over from last year’s posadas. Nor indeed a house of ill repute, except perhaps with regards to the …
All Guatemalans, of course, just like the air. Water belongs to the Guatemalan people and it’s managed by the government; national and …
Casas antigüeñas normally have at least one corridor or hallway, usually next to the garden and fountain. Omnipresent are the terra cotta …
Oh February, what a magnificent month to visit La Antigua Guatemala. First, you get to enjoy the Día del Cariño y Amistad …
This is what Guatemalans think of when you utter Tanques de gas (gas tanks); it doesn’t cross their mind the fuel tank …
I really like the naí¯f aspects of this sign. I like how the composition is trying very hard to include all the …
A couple of weeks ago I showed the Beer and Hamburger Combo from Flan Antigüeño and I mentioned how Guatemalans have a …
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}.
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!
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.
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.
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. 😉
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.
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.
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).
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.
We continue our Guateflora series with the omnipresent coffee bush or tree, which has manage to leave the coffee plantation to become a hedge. The coffee bush is one the most often seen plants around La Antigua Guatemala, but not often I’ve seen it used as hedge. The above photograph was taken at the Compañía de Jesús building, with the ruins in the background.
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)
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!
It is official: The California avocado if from La Antigua Guatemala. I had mentioned a couple of times the antigüeños are known as Panzas Verdes (green bellies) because of all the avocados they eat (see trivia 2) and that one Wilson Popenoe took the antigüeño avocado to California (see trivia 3).
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.
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.
Believe it or not, the McDonald’s restaurant in La Antigua Guatemala is very nice place to meet for coffee with friends and …
This shot could be anywhere in the world, except for the fact of the blue in the sky can only be Guatemala; …
Let it be known that I am not breaking the rules with yet another photo with cats. Even though our little Tito is in the picture (now you have seen all three of our cats: Lolita, Camilo and Tito), really what I want to show you is the pumice-stone blocks which are used to build houses in Guatemala. Also, I want to show you the broken glass, chaye in Guatemalan Spanish, which is put on top walls as protection against burglaries.
Just yesterday I told you about the paint jobs that many houses and buildings undergo for the Holy Week Celebrations. Also, every …
Many houses and business buildings get a new paint job right before the Holy Week. The streets of La Antigua Guatemala get …
Do I love yellow or what? To appreciate an old colonial town like La Antigua Guatemala you need a new set of …
All year long he hides under the bed or in the junk piled up in the corner, casting misfortune or worse on …
Dulcería is the Spanish word for candy store and La Dulcería de Doña María Gordillo is probably the most famous candy store …
According to the entry on Guatemala on Wikipedia, 40% of the population of Guatemala is Amerindian. I believe the figure to be …
If you have paid any attention to doors that have appeared on this site, you might have asked yourself, are Guatemalans giants? …