La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo

It seems like ordinary ants do not like the idea of a giant sompopo queen ant moving into the neighborhood.

Even though the Guatemalan winged sompopo ant appears every year in May, on average most Guatemalans know very little about them (myself included). So, I decided to ask around to the people who have a little knowledge about the sompopos; their answers are very enlightening and myth busters.

Are you ready to drop your jaw and say, “ah… I did not know that”?
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Enough about pondering the big questions!

Sompopos are now here and thus we are now “officially” in the rainy season.

Sompopos arrived on Thursday 22nd, May 2008 which was also the celebration of Corpus Christi in La Antigua Guatemala. In Guatemala, May 22nd is also Día del arbol (Tree Day) which could be a very good excuse to watch The Fountain; a film by Darren Aronofsky.
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Life is tough for the homeless in La Antigua Guatemala, but it helps to have a friend to cope with adversity.

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. —Mahatma Ghandi

Believe it or not, I read recently in an article in the New York Times (printed edition, so no link) that the latest fashion statement in the U.S. was to adopt Latin American street dogs, commonly known here as “los chuchos”. Well, maybe this should be the type of Guatemalan adoptions that should make the headlines. There is an abundance of chuchos or street dogs available for adoption in La Antigua Guatemala and throughout Guatemala.

So if you want to be in fashion this upcoming season, head down to Guatemala for your own chucho. You can start at Animal Welfare Association Rescue/Education (www.animalaware.org) or at Asociación de Amigos de los Animales (www.amigosdelosanimales.org.gt) for details on how to adopt your own personal chucho friend. You will never regret this fashion tip!

It is amazing how an image can trigger memories. It is usual for a song to bring back memories and images to mind, but today it is a photograph that brought the melodic, nostalgic and angry voice of Alí Primera, lead singer of Los Guaraguao [ES] and their world famous song Las casas de cartón back to the present.

The reason the photo above brought memories back from an old forbidden song in Latin America was the lyrics of Las casas de cartón (the cardboard houses) which had something about dog schools where the canine were given education so they don’t bite the newspapers… but I rather leave you with part of the lyrics and the song below it.

Usted no lo va a creer, (You won’t believe this,)
pero hay escuelas de perros (but there are dog schools)
y les dan educación (and education is given to them)
pa’ que no muerdan los diarios (so they don’t bite the newspapers)
pero el patrón (but the boss)
hace años, muchos años (it’s been years, many years)
que está mordiendo al obrero. (that is biting the worker)
Source: Las casas de cartón where you can read all the lyrics.

If you know this song, what kind of memories does it bring to you? what can you share with us?

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.

This is Rex, our office supervisor. He was overseeing the proofreaders’ work on the last leg of the November production of Recrearte and Revue Magazines. He’s the nicest supervisor I ever had.

P.S. This photo was taken by my wife, a cat lover like myself.

La Naranja Pelada restaurant either falls under the category of tacky or kitsch; you decide! Besides all the specimens on the walls don’t go with us. To have stuffed animals in the brink of extinction like the caimán (cayman) shown above is enough for us to go elsewhere. The reasons I have to show all the recent photos of La Naranaja Pelada have to do with documenting a place with a little fame because of the ceviches they serve there. Seviches are a very important Guatemalan dish and very popular snack/meal around La Antigua Guatemala. I also found La Naranaja Pelada to be very tacky and kitsch. There is still one more shot about La Naranaja Pelada and then we will wave our goodbyes.

What is your opinion about La Naranaja Pelada, based solely on the photos and copy you seen so far?

Guy’s description of the restaurant fit it to the t: “…wood-panelled and decorated with specimens of local ‘game’ such as snakes, turtles and armadilloes.” La Naranja Pelada restaurant falls into the tacky category of restaurants or bars that have an exotic, underground sort of, appeal for intellectuals and ordinary people alike. Another example of this is the bar El Olvido in Guatemala City. I dislike most of what I saw inside La Naranja Pelada (peeled orange), but especially the animal decoration on the walls and bar. Also the full-size ‘Marlboro Man’ poster is of poor taste in my book. This weekend We rented the film Thank You for Smoking directed by Jason Reitman and there was a chapter about the Marlboro Man who was dying from all the years of smoking. Talk about synchronicity.

Just about now, many of you may be asking where I am going with this mini-series, right? Well, be patient. I am almost there… to be continued.

I can still hear the rumors of the doves’ chat while at their meeting in a late afternoon at Iglesia de La Merced in La Antigua Guatemala. Since La Merced Church is one of the landmarks for La Antigua is visited often by tourists and chosen by many Guatemalan and foreigners as their wedding chapel. I dedicate this entry to my good friend Manolo who has a special history with this church.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Okay, I don’t have much to say today. Or, rather there’s plenty to say, but not enough time to write it up. So, we take a break and pleasure in a soothing image of dog enjoying the late afternoon rain.

Best wishes for the upcoming weekend, everyone!

The Spanish-style terra cotta roof tiles and Volcán de Agua are omnipresent throughout La Antigua Guatemala. I believe this is the second time I present a photograph which includes the rooftop, Volcán de Agua and a bird. The focus was different this time around though. I wanted to show the aging patterns and the textures formed by the Spanish-style terra cotta roof tiles. This rooftop belongs to the Compañía de Jesús building.

Elsewhere in La Antigua Guatemala, there is all kinds of Independence activities, similar to what I showed you last year. Today and tomorrow will be filled with patriotic sounds coming from the many students school bands and their parades, as well as the many Independence marathons which carry the patriotic fire in their torches back to their communities and villages. I will try to get at least some different shots of the activities, if work allows it. In the meantime, you can get a feel for the festive and noisy atmosphere we live now in La Antigua Guatemala by checking the entries below.

Related Guatemalan Independence Day activities:

• Independence Day: Flags are everywhere
• Independence Day: Come on baby, light my fire
• Independence Day: Run Lola, Run
• Independence Day: What about the Peace Accords of 1996
• Independence Day: Slideshow

This is another shot taken from our garden which shows the harmonious relationship that flora and fauna can have. There are about four or five photos from our garden, a mini-series if we may call it that way, including one that shows some of edible weeds and/or herbs that our very popular in Guatemala. But, first we have to take a break, on September 1st, to be part of the Theme day of Daily Photo Community. The theme for tomorrow is street light or street signs and I have a great capture, with rain and all, from La Antigua Guatemala that show both of them.

See you mañana!

Imagine that instead of having a regular glass window, you could have a fish tank window to see your back yard. That is exactly what they sell here. I like how it almost feels like that fish are swimming in the air around the búcaro (new word for you).

It is nice to have a mellow picture to initiate the week; don’t you think so?