Street music calls for everyone. It is not privileged or costly. Any passers-by is invited to enjoy it fully. So these two persons response was to dance to it.
text and photo by Pinar Istek
I think this piece of architecture is absolutely gorgeous. Especially with those sellers and colorful textile products from Mercado De Artesanos El Carmen in front of it, it looks more lively. Next time i visit La Antigua Guatemala, I will try to get some more background information about this building.
text and photo by Pinar Istek
XelaDailyPhoto Aside: We have good news for you. Since Pinar is living in Xela (short for Xelajú or Quetzaltenango; pronounce like sheella) she has decided to launch the XelaDailyPhoto on November 1st to complement what AntiguaDailyPhoto is being doing for years and bring you a much richer and rounder picture of Guatemala. Pinar will delight us with daily post cards and stories from our sister republic of Xelajú. We wish her good luck and will provide the necessary support to make it a more enjoyable photographic tour through Los Altos.
When I shot this photo in front of Antigua Guatemala’s Municipality building, I remembered Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Behind Gare St. Lazare photo and it made me think of his Decisive Moment concept. I guess we photographers unconsciously imitate the masters; well, at least try it…
text and photo by Pinar Istek
During one of the afternoon mass services I happened to be at the Cathedral. The visual fortune that Catholic church offers to its visitors is incredible. I am always impressed by it. However, as a Muslim person, I have to admit the fact that there are many things that I don’t really understand about Christianity; for instance, the bread and wine practice in the mass service…
text and photo by Pinar Istek
Ice cream vendors like the guy in the picture above are not only typical stamp of La Antigua Guatemala. As matter of fact, they are pretty much everywhere I visited in Guatemala; including here in Xela, where I now live; also in Huehuetenango, in Lake Atitlán, in Guatemala City, everywhere… really. On this one particular afternoon I saw this guy in front of the Central Park in Antigua Guatemala, and I started to think about my childhood. I am not from Guatemala, I am from a small southern town in Turkey. Ice cream is, however, a universal thing, that can take you all the way back in your memories, it doesn’t matter where you are in the world. He reminded me of those childhood days, when I would buy cheap and colorful ice cream in the streets when I was a little kid. I kinda miss them…
text and photo by Pinar Istek
About Guest Contributor: Born and raised in Turkey, Pinar Istek is getting her masters in photojournalism at Missouri School of Journalism. In May 2010, after she arrived in Huehuetenango, she decided to extend her stay in Guatemala to one year. Currently based in Xela, Pinar is working at a hostel, teaching English, freelancing for several publications and looking for short stories from Guatemala. You can browse Pinar Istek portfolio at her picture blog.
I better start saving... You advertise the country so well, ad I hope the Tourism Ministry pays you well! I have never been to your continent, but I know many Norwegians who are going there again and again. —Gunn
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