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In Guatemala everything has to be colorful. Life is good! Enough said.

Guatemala is a colorful country. What, you don’t believe me? Well, Why not check out the Color palette category to see for yourself. For instance, take a look at today’s photo, these are hand-painted traditional Guatemalan balls and they are so colorful. In other parts of the world they are happy with a one or two-colored balls; in Guatemala nothing less than the rainbow will do.

Could you live in a country with rich and intense colors?

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!

As in previous years, La Antigua Guatemala begins wearing violet or purple decorations over doors, windows and balconies. Heck, even the jacaranda trees wear violet during Cuaresma.

Also, in previous years we have discussed the significance of the color purple (or violet) which is very prominent during Lent and Holy Week. The first person who can come up with the correct answer, the title of the post and the date it was publish will win a Semana Santa post card made from one of the photos previously shown at AntiguaDailyPhoto. Remember the answer is in the archives. Good luck to all participants!

Have I told you how much I love the dry season in Guatemala (November through April)? Well, I do for so many reasons, like the dry season is also the cooler, even chilly, time of the year. The quality of light is superb and thus the sunsets are incredible almost every day. Because all the winds blowing from the big white north, the skies are clear and the volcanoes are bare naked (without the fluffy clouds). And Volcán de Fuego begins its relentless activity sending smoke signals several times through the day. I believe this picture encapsulates quiet well the reasons why I love the dry season.

So, what are you waiting for, pack your luggage and come to La Antigua Guatemala before the rains come again!
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I am completely ruined. After having spent so much time around rich, intense colors, textures, idiosyncrasies, how could I ever live again in places with muted colors, muted lifestyles, where everything is the same old, same old.

How could I? How could you?

I will let you guys do the caption for this photo by digging through the archives of AntiguaDailyPhoto. Here are the hints: Churrasco and Convivio.

Guatemalan Film Trailers Aside: Once again, we continue showing trailers of Guatemalan films and short films. This is the trailer for Puro mula, the first film by Best Picture System. Puro mula was recently film between August and September 2009 in Guatemala City. “I hope you like the trailer, and if you do, give us money to finish it” the caption reads.

Pascuas (Guatemala) and Flor de Noche Buena (Mexico) are how poinsettias are known in Spanish. Poinsettias are native to Guatemala and Mexico and in general can be found in the wild or in gardens as undocumented aliens.

Pascuas are in full bloom in The Land of the Eternal Spring from late October through March. The most common color is red, but now you can find yellow, white, pink and mixed at your local nursery and shops. Pascuas are an integral part of the Guatemalan decoration for the Christmas season and beyond. They are also given as present quite often.

The crimson of poinsettias is now an integral part of the Guatemalan Christmas rainbow. Pascuas are often found in businesses and homes along with pine needle as Christmas decorations. According to industry statistics, Guatemala is the top grower of poinsettias in the world. Guatemala produces 60 million poinsettias which represents 80% of the production in the world (source: Prensa Libre).

In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, the plant is called Cuetlaxochitl meaning “skin flower.” The Aztecs used the plant to produce red dye and as an antipyretic medication.

The plants’ association with Christmas began in 16th century Mexico, where legend tells of a young girl who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus’ birthday. The tale goes that the child was inspired by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Crimson “blossoms” sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful poinsettias. From the 17th century, Franciscan friars in Mexico included the plants in their Christmas celebrations. (Source: Wikipedia)

The Christmas season in Guatemala brings along a complete feast to the senses; especially aromas, colors and flavors. Which sense do you prefer I focus on for the upcoming entries?

Colorful Guatemala, I tell you!

It is quite common for businesses to decorate with colorful Guatemalan kites during October and November. Above, you can see the Guatemalan kite decorations at the entrance of Doña Luisa Xicotencatl. Below, the stairway to the second floor.

Also, don’t forget that the first exposition of the Antigua Photo Club is coming up. If you’re in town, don’t miss this rare opportunity to purchase high quality prints of the captivating images from the photo club members, including of course, photographs from yours truly, at discounted prices. All funds raised will be donated to a charity.

Invitation for the first expo of the Club Fotográfico de Antigua

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.

When was the last time you visited the Color palette category? Well, I know I fed it exactly one month ago. Talking about feeding and eating, well, todays color palette goes very well with Guatemalan caldos, surely you know what caldos are, right?

Now that we are on the subject of caldos and Guatemalan cuisine; I have some questions for you. Here we go:

• What is your favorite Guatemalan caldo?
• What is your favorite caldo from anywhere?
• When was the last time you had caldo and what kind was it?
• What’s the difference between caldos and soups?
• Can you cook a caldo all by yourself, which one?

If we get at least fifteen replies, I will answer all those questions myself as well; even though it may be considered over-sharing.

Colorful Guatemala, I tell you, colorful Guatemala!

Si ni los mismos guatemaltecos logramos entender la complejidad cultural en la que vivimos… —Ale de Desde Kinshasa

Not even us Guatemalans can really comprehend the cultural complexity in which we live… —Ale from Desde Kinshasa

Oh Guatemala can be a challenge for people who come from places with muted colors, and muted lifestyles where everything is the same old, same old. Too many colors, too many textures, too many idiosyncrasies, too many situations subtle and complex enough to throw off most conservative minds from their comfort zone. But sure enough, with their limited understanding and ignorance of the complexities of Guatemala, they publish misinformation on the web as absolute truths. That was one of the main reason I began this web site over three years ago; I was sick and tired of reading misinformation and ignorance regarding all things Guatemalan.

Still, often I come across aberrations such as: Volcán de Agua is active and can be climbed to see lava and eruptions, while thinking of Volcán de Pacaya; of course, misspellings of name of places (Spanish only has 5 sounds for the 5 vowels, yet many foreigners always use the wrong vowels); or that izote is the flower of the yucca tree; misinterpretations of Guatemalan idioms, words, customs, traditions, celebration, diet, et-cetera.

Some people have stated that Guatemalans only eat rice, beans and tortillas, without checking the facts; for instance, I have over 125 entries on Guatemalan cuisine and I am sure I have not even covered 25% of the extensive and rich Guatemalan food heritage. One single trip a town’s market would prove them wrong; after all, for whom are all those hundreds of fresh vegetables, fruits and spices? Other people, without doing research first, will cast as truth that a diet based on the milpa crops is deficient. Let’s see what the scientific findings are:

Maize is grown in what is called a milpa. The term means “maize field,” but refers to something considerably more complex. A milpa a field, usually but not always recently cleared, in which farmers plant a dozen crops at once, including maize, avocados, multiples varieties of squash and bean, melon, tomatoes, chilies, sweet potato, jicama (a tuber), amaranth (a grain-like plant) and mucuma (a tropical legume)… Milpa crops are nutritionally and environmentally complementary… Milpa is one of the most successful human inventions ever created. [ed. Just a fragment on the chapter about maize). Source: 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus.

Oh, I could go on and on about the misinformation I come across through my Google alerts about Guatemala and its people. One can understand that some of this crap is published by naive tourists, pseudo-travel writers or even ill-informed expats. Boy, don’t even get me stated with the expats! Of course, I am making broad generalizations which are ALWAYS dangerous according to my good epistolary Guatemalan friend Ale from Congo Days, but there is enough foul information out there on the web published as “truths”. Keep that in mind whenever you discover new blogs and websites through Google.

Otros vendrán para descubrir que es más complejo, tal vez más bello y más trágico, que lo que se habían imaginado y habían escuchado. —comentario de Ale de Congo Days in AntiguaDailyPhoto

Others will come to discover that is more complex, perhaps even more beautiful and more tragic than what they had imagined or heard. —comment by Ale from Congo Days in AntiguaDailyPhoto

Can you share with us your thoughts about misinformation and ill-informed posts you have come across?

Colorful Guatemala, I tell you, colorful Guatemala!

Here’s another addition to the color palette category. Also, this is second version of the Show Me The Moon from Antigua Guatemala.

Photo Tip: One of the tips that I received from Ricardo Mata, Guatemalan photographer with over 50 years of experience and assistant to Ansel Adams at one point in his life, was always take the same photo in landscape and portrait orientation; you will never know when you will need one or the other. I try to follow this advice as often as possible.

It’s been a while since I last updated the color palette category. What do you think of the new colors?

The sonajas or maracas take on a different name in Guatemala, they are called chinchines; an onomatopoeia (onomatopeya in Spanish). Generally, Guatemalan chinchines are found painted black with incisions made to expose the natural color with patterns similar to what you may find in textiles, but more recently chinchines can be found of all colors.

¡Viva el arcoiris!

If you have followed, for at least a while, the previous 995 daily pages, you might have come to realized that Guatemalans don’t like mellow neutral colors like beige or gray. On the contrary, the color palette found in all things Guatemalan is an intense and rich rainbow, with so many complementary and contrasting hues that anyone with a little background in plastic arts may find impossible to combine in a single piece. But leave it the Amerindian indigenous people of Guatemala to show you how.

Oh how I wish I could do the same!