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The callejones (alleys) found in many of the villages of La Antigua Guatemala are really narrow, passageways really created, I imagine, as a result of splitting of land through the process of inherence. These alleys are really no wider than six feet at the most. I’ve been photographing many of them found in San Pedro Las Huertas. Each callejón has something unique about it and I will do my best to capture its essence.

What kind of stories do you imagine when you see a callejón like the one pictured above?

La Antigua Guatemala remains as one of the few places where you can meet with hundreds of people willing to Burn the Devil and the bad spirits in a cleansing ceremony through the purifying power of fire. The idea of the La quema del diablo celebration was to get rid of the devil, the bad spirits, the bad vibes and anything negative that may interfere with the celebrations of Nacimientos (Nativity Scenes), Posadas (Quest for Shelter [Español/English verses]) and Christmas celebration which begin officially with the Feast for the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th.

Photos by Leonel [nelo] Mijangos – EnAntigua.com

This is just one of the ways we recycle magazines in Guatemala and, as always, it has to be colorful. I found these boxes and baskets to be very sturdy. As I have declared, in Guatemala we recycle just about everything without really having recycling programs.

Here are some of recycled things I have highlighted in AntiguaDailyPhoto:

1. Burnt oil
2. Chicken buses
3. Charcoal broilers
4. Paca clothes
5. Recycled sewing machines

Check out the scrap metal recycling photographic essay by Rodrigo Abd at The Boston Big Picture to get an idea about how recycling works most of the time in Guatemala.

Back on August I shared with you the presentation of Caldo de Gallina Criolla from Sabe Rico Restaurant in Antigua Guatemala. Criollo or criolla is the Guatemalan Spanish word often meaning native, garden grown or free range. As I said before, criollo in colonial times was the word used to label the offspring of Spaniards that were born in America (remember America means the entire Continent not just the U.S.). Nowadays, in Guatemala we use the word criollo/criolla for things that grow in an orchard or garden and often for free range chickens. In the case what Caldo de gallina criolla means is stock or stew made with a free range hen grown in the patio, garden or orchard. The gallinas criollas are usually smaller than mass-grown farm chicken and the meat is darker and much more delicious. Since in the previous photo of Caldo de Gallina Criolla some of the ingredients were not visible, I decided to share this other photo which shows some of the vegetables that are often part of the dish: Perulero (white chayote or white Sechium edule), carrots, corn of the cob, and squash.

Here’s the recipe found at Revista Amiga. Can anybody help with the translation?

Caldo de gallina criolla

Rinde 6 porciones
Ingredientes
2 litros de agua hirviendo
1 gallina de 3 libras
2 chiles pimiento
2 cebollas
5 tomates
5 papas
1 zanahoria
1 güisquil
1 cucharadita de aceite
1 manojo de hierbabuena
1 manojo de cebollín
sal al gusto
polvo de consomé al gusto

Preparación
En una olla grande cueza la gallina en el agua hirviendo, sazónela con sal y consomé al gusto, añada el tomate y la cebolla picados.

Corte las verduras en pequeños trozos y saltéelas en una sartén con el aceite. Añádalos al caldo y cueza por 45 minutos. Pique la hierbabuena y el cebollín, incorpórelos al caldo, retire la preparación del fuego y sirva.

One of the most often seen stamps around the main plaza of Antigua Guatemala is the groups of tourists and ambulant sellers trying to make a living by offering their wares to the visitors.

The installation crew for the Christmas lights is hard at work to have all 600 series installed before December 3 and that’s when the all the trees and plants at Parque Central will be lit at night. To see how the main plaza looks like with all the lights on, follow the white rabbit to Tree Branches on Fire and Lit branches at Parque Central. The Christmas lights were taken down on February 20 this year, so that gives you an idea how long the Christmas season is in Antigua Guatemala.

La Antigua Guatemala is quite possibly the most photogenic town in Guatemala and it comes as no surprise to find photographers, sometimes entire groups, to be walking around the colonial time capturing enduring memories and vistas to share with family and friends. In the picture above, we see two such photographers comparing their shots.

On November 11, 2011 (11.11.11 for short) the Feria Nacional de Comercio Justo y Solidario Guatemala 2011 opened its kiosk on the arched hallway of Palacio de los Capitanes Generales to promote exchanges for a better world the brochure declares. The national fair trade fair will remain open until Sunday at 3pm, so if you’re in Antigua Guatemala stop by to get chance to talk to and buy directly from the artisans and small producers of honey, coffee, handicrafts, textiles, recycled crafts, shampoos, teas, cereals, etc.

I took other photos of some of the fair stands, so, stay tune for additional coverage.

Every once in a while we all need a break. La Antigua Guatemala will be having such a break in a few hours since there will be a programmed power outage from 8am to 1pm on Wednesday 19 because the electric company will be doing some testing and maintenance of the power grid around Antigua Guatemala. So, don’t worry if for a few hours there are no updates in Twitter, Facebook and other social network from people living in Antigua Guatemala. I also will be disconnecting from the matrix as of now…

Even Google celebrated Guatemala’s Independence 2011 with a Doodle.

Also, President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent their congratulatory remarks to the people of Guatemala:

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Guatemala on the 190th anniversary of your independence this September 15.

As Guatemalans the world over celebrate this special day and honor the heroes of Guatemala’s independence, we stand with you in celebration. Americans have long enjoyed the beauty of Guatemala – from the ancient ruins of Tikal to the stunning volcanoes that surround Lake Atitlan – as well as the warmth and hospitality of the Guatemalan people. Your rich culture, diversity of languages, and traditions steeped in history are a special part of our region.

During my visit last June for the Central American security conference, President Colom and I renewed our commitment to building strong democratic institutions, promoting the rule of law, and expanding economic growth and opportunity to our nations’ citizens.

On this historic day, I send best wishes to all Guatemalans – in Guatemala, the United States, and around the globe. We look forward to deepening the ties between our two countries as we work to build a safer, more prosperous and democratic future for our peoples.

In La Antigua Guatemala, it was students parades all day as usual.

A couple of weeks ago as I checked in at the Plaza Mayor (Main Square) with Foursquare, I mentioned that everyone was missing the relaxing murmur of the Mermaids fountain. At the time I made the commentary in Foursquare and Facebook I didn’t know that the water pump was broken. Luckily, Elizabeth Bell from Antigua Tours read the Foursquare comment in Facebook and shared that the reason was that the water pump was broken. A few days after that, I happened to walk by the Mermaids fountain when they were repairing the pump. I quickly pulled my omnipresent camera to take a few shots and document what I saw. These are some of the photos I took.

One thing I really love about photography is the fact that only through the camera I get a chance to REALLY observe my surroundings and the day-to-day stuff that otherwise would go unnoticed. I have must’ve published at least a dozen photos about the Mermaids fountain and this was the first time I noticed where the pump was and the electrical wiring that controls it.

I can’t wait for September 11 to arrive and not because it’s my birthday, but because that’s when Guatemala will hold general elections for President, Vice President, Congress and Mayors through out all Guatemalan Municipalities. This means that after that we can finally get rid of all the political propaganda causing all kinds of visual pollution and traffic chaos.

Check out Political groups in the streets in GuatemalaDailyPhoto.com to see how political parties rally around Guatemala City causing all kinds pollution (visual, audio and traffic). Also, Quetzaltenango and other cities political parties are using public transit vehicles to spread their political propaganda as shown in Savvy Election Advertising in XelaDailyPhoto.com a few weeks ago.

What are your feeling regarding political propaganda?

Today’s entry is a follow up to Camouflaging Cellular Towers where I mentioned how fortunate we are in La Antigua Guatemala where efforts are being made to reduce the visual pollution found elsewhere in Guatemala.

Here’s what posted before:

Sometimes we don’t realized how lucky we are for living La Antigua Guatemala until we take a little trip beyond the municipal boundaries and we are assaulted by all kinds of visual pollution. Yes, outside the Antigua Guatemala municipal borders capitalism is violent. Billboards everywhere, ugly banners on doorways and windows, huge advertising painted on walls, cellular towers along the roads, et cetera.

So, as we drive back to La Antigua and we see all the efforts that are made to reduce the visual pollution within the municipal boundaries, we are thankful, or at least we should.

Simple things like painting cellular towers, adding fake branches, disguising them as colonial street lighting poles, et cetera, goes a long way to reducing the visual ugliness inherent in the telecommunication era. We are not completely free of visual noise, but we are getting closer, poco a poco.

What efforts are being made in your municipal district to reduce visual pollution?

Here’s another panoramic vista taken from Cerro de la Cruz, which shows 3a avenida norte and the handicrafts market of El Carmen in the middle of the photo. I hope you like it, let me know your thoughts.

The Plaza del Apóstol Santiago is located a few hundred meters from the Cerro de la Cruz mirador (look out point). It is easy to miss it if you don’t know it is there. In the middle of the plaza you’ll find the monument to Saint James Apostle.

On July 25 La Antigua Guatemala celebrates the Saint James Apostle Day with all kinds of festivities.

Why is Saint James the patron saint of La Antigua Guatemala? Well, the previous name for Antigua Guatemala was La Muy Noble y Muy Leal Ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala, or The Very Noble and Very Loyal City of Saint James of the Knights of Guatemala.

Santiago was a very popular name for the conquistadors to use as they rechristen the new lands of the American continent. If you check the entry for Santiago in Wikipedia, you will there are over 60 cities and towns throught the world that carry that name and that is a very short list since you could probably find about 60 towns with the Santiago name, just in Guatemala. But why was Santiago such a popular name for the Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors?

The remains of Saint James the Greater are said to be buried in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia (Spain). Saint James is the patron saint of Spain and is related to the reconquista in the role of moor-slayer. His burial town, Santiago de Compostela, is considered the third most holy town of Catholicism (after Jerusalem and Rome). The pilgrimage to the grave of the Saint has become the most popular pilgrimage for Western European Catholics from the early middle ages onwards; making him one of the patron saints of pilgrimage. (source Wikipedia)

The Saint James Trivia Side Note:

The name “James” in English comes from “Iacobus” (Jacob) in Latin. In eastern Spain, Jacobus became “Jacome” or “Jaime”; in Catalunya, it became Jaume, in western Iberia it became “Sant’Iago”, which developed into Tiago in Portugal and Galicia; Tiago developed into Diego, which is also the Spanish name of Saint Didacus of Alcalá. James’s emblem was the scallop shell (or “cockle shell”), and pilgrims to his shrine often wore that symbol on their hats or clothes. The French for a scallop is coquille St. Jacques, which means “cockle (or mollusk) of St James”. The German word for a scallop is Jakobsmuschel, which means “mussel (or clam) of St James”; the Dutch word is Jacobsschelp, meaning “shell of St James”. (source Wikipedia)