AntiguaDailyPhoto.Com

Like I said yesterday, “my never ending quest of bringing you the contrast of the ‘Old’ Guatemala versus the ‘New’ Guatemala…”

Also, I believe I mentioned before that living in La Antigua Guatemala is not like time traveling to the past, but rather, it’s more like collapsing the time-distance among different time periods so that they co-exist all at once. Am I making any sense?

When I grow up, I want to have a kitchen like that; wouldn’t you?

What’s the relationship between Guatemalan filmmaker Diego Combi, Carlos Fuentes’ Constancia and Other Stories for Virgins and Clint Eastwood’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil?

The answer is one word. The first person that comes up with the right answer will receive one of the following LAGDP’s Christmas cards via regular snail-mail with postage stamps from Guatemala. The game is on!

I have shown you before the Tanque de la Unión public washbasins, but I don’t think I ever showed you what they look like in a typical laundry day in Antigua Guatemala.

Below you can find two different takes on the same Tanque de la Unión from Upside Down Arches and Arches Reflected.

Without the letter “A”

Without you we won’t even have sadness
To lament.
Without you, no longing till death
Or even weeping
For there is no weeping
And love?
Love will disappear.
And love?
No one will remember to remember.
And love?
If it’s lost, no one will be moved to move by a glance.
And love?
Empty word no one will make
Will make love
Will make love
Will make love

(From a children’s stage-play by Elifas Andreato called Sem Você não “A”, in which the letter “A” runs away from the alphabet. -Zé)

The night of Friday, November 6, was the successful inauguration of the first exhibit of the Club Fotográfico de Antigua. There were a large number people interested in seeing the photographic work of the club members which in only 4 months have amassed a large quantity of imagery.

There are close to 80 images hanging from the cloister walls of Convento Las Capachuchinas showing emotive portraits of elderly people and working children, macro shots of flowers, captivating images of happiness and freedom, and, of course, literal and allegorical pictures of ruins and churches.

The evening’s spectacular and eclectic soundtrack was spun by virtuoso DJ BradElectro, who also lent his dancing shadow for today’s entry.

If you’re or will be in La Antigua Guatemala for the next three weeks, don’t miss the chance to stop by Convento Las Capuchinas ruins to check out and support an local charity through the purchase the photographs hanging at the cloister.

As every first of the month, AntiguaDailyPhoto is joining City Daily Photo community in the orchestrated global effort to show you “contrast” as a theme day.

My dear friend Manolo Romero said this recently in his guest post Weekend en (La Antigua) Guatemala, “Guatemala is a land of contrasts, and in that sense, La Antigua is where these contrasts are more visible.” He augmented with, “The capital of the kingdom, full of criollismo and paternalism. With reminders of the power of a class that felt trapped between their European ancestors (that treated them like second class citizens) and the local natives, who were trying to protect their identity from the violent conquest and subsequent colonization.”

I believe his writing was superb and perfect match for my contribution about contrast where Mayan women are framed within the arches of Spanish colonial-style church entryway. The Mayan women show us resistance through culture; culture through textiles; textiles as heritage; heritage as identity; identity as resistance. Two worlds, two cosmovisions, one contrast. The living Maya people set against the Spanish architecture backdrop. The rainbow of their clothes against the yellow and white stucco.

I could go on, and on about all the different kinds of contrasts I perceive in the photograph above, but I rather hear from you, my esteemed visitor, what contrasting aspects can you draw out from this quotidian image from La Antigua Guatemala.

Thanks for visiting and please take some time to visit to the other participating cities around the planet. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

Getting everything ready for Independence Day Celebrations. This torch will light the Independence fire torches from all over Guatemala. These Independence torches will be carried in marathons so that Fire of Independence arrives to all the corners of Guatemala on time before September 15.

La Antigua Guatemala, LAG, draws a large part of its identity from its grid rows of picture-perfect edifices that line the calles and avenidas. Even the briefest of blurbs about LAG do not fail to mention the city’s charming colonial architecture. But, it’s not just the ornate doors, sculpted entryways and varied splashes of color on the outside that make such architecture so inviting. It’s also what lies beyond the anterior walls: lush courtyards of exotic flowers and plants that creep around a central fountain and crawl along the walls and surrounding balconies. One ADP reader, Hilda, described such architectural flair as her ideal: “This is how I’ve always envisioned my dream house! A courtyard in the middle of rooms with open corridors. Lovely!”

Hilda, I must divulge that we share the same dream. And, the exciting thing is, this enticing style is not only abundant in LAG, it’s a part of what defines the city. Personally, I am absolutely enthralled with the idea that you can be at home, in your home, and still be surrounded by plants bursting forth with various hues of the color of life. I am enchanted with the idea that you can look up and see an open sky saturated with the color of freedom. And should the sky darken from the gray clouds of a mounting storm, I am eager to to find a perch at the edge of the courtyard and watch heavy drops splatter upon the flowers and plants. I am eager to breathe in the comforting smell of fresh rain. I am eager to listen to the sky rumble and watch the lightening streak in flashes quicker than I can blink.

By the way, Rudy: there are two balconies framed within an arch. Has that been done yet?

text and photo by Laura McNamara

Same as yesterday’s photo, we repeat the repetition theme, but even more so today. Can you tell me what elements repeat in the photograph above? Some are very obvious but other not so much, can you name all the different repetitions? And for a bonus, can you share with us the name of this landmark building that is undergoing restoration right now?

In my quest to bring to you ‘new’ vistas of the same ‘old’ places around La Antigua Guatemala, I present to you a photograph of the time tunnel located at Palacio del los Capitanes, right across from Central Park. Like the original time tunnel, if you dare to enter this time tunnel, each time you click Palacio de los Capitanes, you will travel in time to a different vista of Palacio de los Capitanes, translated roughly as Captains’ Palace. Make sure you have your boleto en mano (paid fare ticket on hand), otherwise you may run the risk of being trapped in an endless loop of time inside Palacio de los Capitanes in La Antigua Guatemala.

If 10 people care to know the glory details of how to get a photograph with time distortion, like the image above, please raise your voice in the comment area, and I will update this entry with the basic instructions.

This is crap!

The four basic principles of graphic design are: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity. It was Robin Williams, the graphic designer and teacher, who came up with the memorable acronym to help people remember these basic principles.

I believe this photo embodies the basic principles of contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity (crap); don’t you agree?

Sometimes in your way to work, you just have to stop, take a deep breath and sip from your cup of coffee from La Antigua Guatemala and enjoy the scenery around el Tanque de la Unión. Sometimes you just have to take all the wonderful light and color on the dry season in La Antigua Guatemala.

Wouldn’t you?

PHOTO DELIVERY UPDATE: If you order is in by next Tuesday night (Dec. 16), you can still receive your photos by December 24th.

I was lucky to get some pictures of the representation of the Leaders of Guatemala’s Independence Movement (actually, to be fair, I should say Central America’s Independence).

There were about twelve or so young people dressed up like in colonial times, just about Guatemala’s Independence date of 1821, who represented the Próceres de la Independencia (leaders of the independence movement) who were being filmed by some local television channel.

Have a happy Guatemala’s Independence Day everyone!

Let me know what do you think of this photo; should I have done it in sepia?

If you have been following La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo (LAGDP) for at least a year, you would know that the patron’s day celebrations fall on 25th of July for La Antigua Guatemala, also known as Santiago de Guatemala (Saint James of Guatemala), short for its original name La Muy Noble y Muy Leal Ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala. If you haven’t, what are you waiting for, go read last year’s gigantic entry on Saint James Celebration, Santiago de Guatemala and the zillion variations on Santiago/James name in the different languages and time periods.

Now, in the picture above, there are two flags waving over the Municipalidad (City Hall) building, can you find the background information on each flag in the archives of LAGDP; I will send the Tecolotes photo as a post card to the first person that comes with both answers. Let the games begin!

An interesting find in La Antigua Guatemala, a town full of arches at every turn; but how often one comes across an arched door and doorway in arched building?

After more than 30 arches photographed in LAGDP, I ask: what are your feelings about arches, anyway/anyhow?