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 …
Guatemalan Christmas Decorations: Las Posadas
On December 23rd the quest for lodging or the act of pedir posada ends and marks the beginning of preparations for Christmas …
Posadas in La Antigua Guatemala
Catholics in the American Continent celebrate many of the same religious events and traditions on the same days, more or less, but …
Posada Procession for the Elderly
Started with the night of December 15, there have been sightings of Joseph and Mary’s quest for shelter around the streets of …
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 …
Traditional “Posada Navideña” of the Brotherhood of Jesús Nazareno of La Merced Church
Posadas navideñas are small processions enacting the search for shelter of Joseph and Mary right before the birth of baby Jesus. Here …
Nativity Scene at Capilla de Belén in Antigua Guatemala
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.
Christmas season festivities around Antigua Guatemala
As I have mentioned many times before, the dry season is the best time to visit Guatemala. During the dry season we …
2016 Slideshow of the Burning of the Devil in Antigua Guatemala
A few thousand people get together at Barrio de la Concepción in Antigua Guatemala at 6pm on December 7 for the burning …
Delivering Christmas Pantry Baskets in San Pedro Las Huertas
You can sense the Christmas spirit already in and around La Antigua Guatemala, alright. From the processions, the convites, the town fairs, …
Burning of the Devil in Antigua Guatemala
People gather around Barrio La Conception, Antigua Guatemala, on December 7 at 6pm for La Quema del Diablo, the burning the devil …
Antigua Artisan Triptych: The Potter
Here’s your Spanish word of the day: Alfarero or potter. Today I am also sharing the second triptych of the series. Today’s …
Posada Nights in Antigua Guatemala
Since the night of December 15, there have been sightings of Joseph and Mary’s quest for shelter around the streets of La …
Guatemalan Nacimiento Enactment
With the Feast for the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception on December 8, antigüeños begin putting up their Nacimientos (Nativity Scenes); a …
Burn The Devil
On December 7 at 6pm the burning the devil and the bad spirits in a cleansing ceremony through the purifying power of …
Guatemalan Maya Nacimientos
As I have shared with you before, during early December, in Guatemala people begin putting up their Nacimientos (Nativity Scenes); a tradition …
Antigua Guatemala Tourists
This has to be the high season for tourism during the dry season; everywhere you walk, there are tourist groups. Of course, …
Guatemalan Nativity Scene for Christmas Eve
Guatemalans begin putting up their Nacimientos (Nativity Scenes) around December 15; a tradition that was brought to Guatemala by Santo Hermano Pedro …
Typical Guatemalan Nativity Scene
This is also the season of posadas (shelter quest) and nacimientos (nativity scenes) in Latin America, Guatemala and more specifically Antigua Guatemala. …
Visit Antigua Guatemala during the Dry season
I never get tired of urging you to visit Guatemala during the dry season. The weather is the best, the light is …
The Burning of the 13 Baktun Devil in Antigua Guatemala
La Antigua Guatemala is a very small town, heck Guatemala, the country, is just slightly bigger than Antigua Guatemala when it comes …
Guatemalan Nacimiento for Christmas Eve in Antigua
Here’s a simple Nacimiento made from corn husks to celebrate Navidad. As I have described before, with the Feast for the Virgin …
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 …
Enjoying the Winter Solstice in Antigua Guatemala
I came across this list of Five Reasons to Spend Christmas in Antigua Guatemala, which basically mentioned the weather as top reason …
Burning of the Devil in Antigua Guatemala
La Antigua Guatemala remains as one of the few places where you can meet with hundreds of people willing to Burn the …
Guatemalan Nacimientos or Nativity Scenes
During early December, in Guatemala people begin putting up their Nacimientos (Nativity Scenes); a tradition that was brought to Guatemala by Santo …
First Steps
I love the possibilities of street photography in La Antigua Guatemala. Almost every day you can go out and come back with …
Recycling Sewing Machines
I have talked about the recycling done in La Antigua Guatemala before with Haves and Have-Nots, Public Enemy Number 1, Guatemalan-style Salt …
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 …
Antigua’s Style Lamp Silhouette
I just love the dry season that goes from late October to late April in Guatemala, also known in Guatemala as Summer …
Guatemalan Nacimiento or Nativity Scene
The official date for the commencement of the Christmas season in Guatemala is December 8th, although many malls and commercial centers, imitating …
The Disappearance of the Burning of the Devil Tradition in Guatemala
Okay, let me break the bad news to you guys. The Burning of the Devil tradition in Guatemala is disappearing. Even though, …
Nacimiento Shrine Niche at Capilla de Belén
One important aspect of this particular Nacimiento is the fact that Santo Hermano Pedro de Betancourt managed to get himself in the picture of the Nativity shrine. For those who are not well verse in Catholic imagery, myself included, normally the Nativity scene shows Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus along with a few animals. No, Santo Hermano Pedro could not be present there since he was born about 1600 years later, give or take a few moons. Rather, the inclusion of his image, on the right, is to celebrate and to remember that is was Santo Hermano Pedro de Betancourt who introduced the Nacimiento and Posadas to the American Continent, to La Antigua Guatemala if you want to be precise, and from this old town, this celebration was taken to the rest of the continent.
First Christmas Signs of 2007
Poinsettias or Flor de Pascua are in full bloom in The Land of the Eternal Spring for the Christmas season. Commercial decorations are beginning to show up in shops and restaurants. Soon enough we will have the Burning of the Devil celebrations, Nacimientos, Posadas and everything else that comes with the Christmas season. Soon, even the trees will dress for the holidays.
Bed and Breakfasts in La Antigua Guatemala
The irony of life in La Antigua Guatemala, a tiny colonial town with hundreds of bed & breakfasts, luxury hotels, cozy posadas, 5-star hotels, and thousands of rooms for every kind of budget. Yet, the number of homeless people without a roof increases every year. Certainly, life can be tough in La Antigua Guatemala.