AntiguaDailyPhoto.Com

There are days in La Antigua Guatemala that are almost perfect, even during the rainy season. However, most days of the rainy season are dull and grey, photographically speaking. Still, one must try to get the best of what’s available.

Me too! I wish I knew what’s new in Guatemala. Can you help me?

I have decided that instead of complaining about the horrible light and photographic conditions of the rainy season I am going to take it as a challenge to capture its beauty and strength as well as its effects.

I know I can if I set myself to do it since already I have had some success capturing the rain. Surely you remember Contemplating the heavy rain, Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Central Park, One Way to the Decisive Moment, Rain Drops over a Nopal Pad or First Official Rain of 2009; right?

What do you think, am I up to the challenge of withdrawing beautiful imagery from the rainy season?

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How can simple instruments and uncomplicated and repetitive sounds create a profound, hauntingly, bewitching and fascinating musical experience? How can Guatemalans explain to other people the spiritual fibers that are touched by the fragile and high-pitched notes of the chirimilla flute and the heartbeat thumps emanating from the drums? How can two unpretentious and complementing sounds transport us through a mystical trip to pre-Columbian times? How?

Editorial Line Aside: I often tell Manolo and others that La Antigua Guatemala is not Guatemala. I claim such a counter-information based of the fact that La Antigua Guatemala is not the real world and as such it can not be Guatemala. Except, of course, for some isolated instances like La Antigua Guatemala sí es Guatemala.

Let me explain.

For instance, the entire country of Guatemala can be crumbling into pieces while in La Antigua Guatemala every thing is peaceful and calm. Such was the case of last week when Guatemala City was being buried by black volcanic sand thrown by Volcán de Pacaya, which is just a few kilometers from Antigua Guatemala and further away from Guatemala City, yet none of the black sand fell over Antigua Guatemala. The same could be said about the events of this week where San Miguel Escobar and Ciudad Vieja are being rescued from under tons of mud and debris caused by the lahar that came down from Volcán de Agua as a result of tropical storm Agatha, yet, once again, La Antigua Guatemala escaped pretty much unscratched, except for a few mudslides in certain villages. Many people from La Antigua are going every day to Ciudad Vieja and San Miguel Escobar to lend a hand with the mud clean up, but visitors to Antigua Guatemala will never know because around town we are experiencing sunshine and tranquility.

Why do I tell you this stuff? Well, I am sharing with you these news because I need to clarify my editorial line, which is, in a nutshell, to cover events when they are happening and before anybody covers them or when nobody else is covering them. Once something I have covered becomes the domain of the mainstream media, I try to cover something else that’s also happening at the same time or something else entirely different. Most of the time I try to be an alternative source of information, not a repeater.

Because I am also restricted by the ONE entry per DAY design of AntiguaDailyPhoto, I try to post additional relevant information through Twitter and Facebook updates. I recommend you follow those as well. The Twitter and Facebook updates show up on the left sidebar as well as in the following links: Twitter.com/AntiguaDP and Facebook.com/AntiguaDailyPhoto.

Furthermore, from the get go I try to provide you with the tools and feeds for you to continue getting the news and images, if you choose to do so. That’s why big popular sites like GlobalVoicesOnline and BoingBoing sometimes quote and share parts of AntiguaDailyPhoto posts.

This is from the GlobalVoicesOnline article Guatemala: State of Emergency Due to Tropical Storm Agatha:

Rudy Girón of the blog AntiguaDailyPhoto.com writes that Guatemala urgently needs a break from disasters:

Of course the tropical storm Agatha is the worst of all evils because it hit hard the entire country with a heavy downpour which caused floods and land slides in many places, including La Antigua Guatemala. Many people have lost their houses and many more have been evacuated and are now living in temporary shelters. A flood of tweets and Facebooks updates keep inundating the timelines with the hash tags #Pacaya, #AgathaGT,#CenizasGT, #ApagonGT, etc. You can look at all the photos from tropical storm Agatha that people are uploading at http://is.gd/cvbam andhttp://is.gd/cvbak. Don’t you agree that we need a break from Nature’s catastrophes?

And BoingBoing’s quote from Guatemala: First, volcanic eruption; then, devastating tropical storm.

Reading and photos, and a guide to Twitter accounts and hashtags: Antigua Daily Photo, “Stop, Agatha, Stop!”

I DO hope you understand my editorial line and that you become a fan and follower of the AntiguaDailyPhoto updates in Facebook and Twitter to keep on top of the additional information and news I share with you.

San Juan del Obispo (Francisco Marroquin) has one of the most beautiful churches along with a bishop’s palace. For now I am only showing you the façade of the the main entrance to the church. I will go back to the church and palace once they are open and make a miniseries with images from the inside of this religious complex.

Have you visited San Juan del Obispo yet?

It’s incredible that even the small, tiny villages with little over 500 people have churches. Although the temples are smaller and simpler, they still are built with arches and bells. I wonder what this church is going to look like in a hundred years from now; what do you envision?

Some of the former colonial churches are now used as venues for events like graduations, weddings, quinceañeras, etc. Such is the case of Iglesia San José El Viejo ruins which you may remember were used as the stage for the Violoncello recital by Yan Levionnois in the Free Culture entry back August 30, 2009.

Yes, believe it or not there is a Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe church in La Antigua Guatemala. Interesting enough, though, for the Our Lady of Guadalupe celebrations on December 12, Iglesia de La Merced is the main venue where everyone goes and take their children dressed in native Guatemalan garments. Also, the Retablo, Reredo for Our Lady of Guadalupe is housed within the San Francisco El Grande church, the official location of Virgen de Guadalupe. To be honest, I don’t know for what purposes they use this church; does anybody know?

Santo Hermano Pedro de San José de Betancourt introduced the Nativity scenes and rituals to the American continent so it is only fitting that he’s portrayed inside the Nacimiento in the Capilla de Belén, located right across from the house where he lived.

I have been accused by some close friends of never showing the inside of churches in AntiguaDailyPhoto. Okay, they might be partially right, so I will make an honest effort to go inside churches to bring you new images from within the temples. However, we will go slow, for now it will be the atriums. For instance, today’s photo is a vista from the inside looking out of El Calvario Church.

What do you think, are you interested in seeing the inside of churches and ruins?

I have developed a deep respect for animals. I consider them fellow living creatures with certain rights that should not be violated any more than those of humans. —Jimmy Stewart, actor

Win a custom-made post card from one of the photos from AntiguaDailyPhoto by providing the correct name and exact location of the colonial church ruins shown in AntiguaDailyPhoto today. Only the first person who gives both correct answers in the comment area of AntiguaDailyPhoto wins. Good luck to all the participants.

The game is on!

Definitely, blue skies are us during the dry season. During the rainy season, the sky line remains white and gray most of the time. No wonder I love the dry season with its clear skies, wonderful light, cool climate and colorful celebrations.

You have to visit Antigua Guatemala at least once during the dry season to enjoy blue skies like the above.

Okay guys, today’s game is very simple: find as many kinds of contrasts as you can in this image of the San Pedro Las Huertas cathedral. I already gave you the color contrast.

The person with the most contrasts listed wins today’s photo as a post card. Good luck to all participants!

What’s inside this passageway?

1. The largest fountain in Central America
2. Ruins of a monastery
3. Mayan arches used in colonial architecture
4. Access to the rooftop of La Merced Church
5. All of the above
6. None of the above

Please, help us determined what’s inside the passageway by sharing your answers in the comments area.

Like many firsts of the month, AntiguaDailyPhoto is participating in the theme day of the City Daily Photo community around the world. To see how others in the City Daily Photo community have interpreted today’s theme please click here to view thumbnails for all participants around the planet.