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Welcome to Antigua Guatemala's number one multimedia resource in English for everything about La Antigua and the Guatemalan culture and traditions with a brand new web page every day!
As every year, on September 14, people from all over the Guatemala begin a marathon to go to another part of the country to get the flame for the Independence Torch back in their communities. There are many places the have a torch where other people from other towns can light their torch to bring back to their own communities. Of course, there are favorite destinations to get the Independence Flame and La Antigua Guatemala is one of them. All the different torches in different locations throughout Guatemala and their respective marathons build a web of people running in all different directions at the same time. It is traffic nightmare and it is better to stay home on that date, unless you are running for your community to fetch the light for your torch.
I was at Centro Histórico (Downtown) Guatemala City last night, past midnight with some friends and colleagues doing a tour through all the photo exhibit inaugurations when we saw people still running with the torches.
As in previous years, I have prepared a slide show of the things I saw around the torch set at the Municipalidad building. This time I also recorded a video clip of the beginning of some of the marathons.
I hope you enjoy them and let me know your thoughts.
I don’t know if it was my imagination, but I saw a lot more people in this election than in the elections four years ago.
A finger marked with indelible ink is the proof you have voted in the Guatemalan General Elections. Above a marked finger in front of one of the voting centers in La Antigua Guatemala where elections progressed in a calm and quiet family atmosphere. It almost felt like a civic party.
The voting process was very similar to the General Elections of 2007, except for the fact that most people voted with the new counterfeit-proof new national identification card known as DPI and a few variations in the procedure. People were pointed to their voting centers by slips the were mailed a few weeks ago with the voting information or by visiting one of citizens’ registration booths made available by the Tribunal Supremo Electoral (Electoral Supreme Tribunal). At the voting centers, people were oriented by the posters with table numbers and voting registration number (número de empadronamiento in Spanish). Once the voters had the right table, they walked to the queue and waited for their voting turn. At their turn, they approached the table where they had to show their DPI or cédulas (old identification booklet). Their voting registration number was checked against the voting lists provided by Tribunal Supremo Electoral. If all checked correctly, voters were given five ballots: One for municipal mayorships, another for regional congress seats, another national congress seats, one more for Central American parliament and the last one for president and vice-president. With the five ballots and a crayon, voters walked to the voting booth and marked their election and walked back to the voting table to deposit their ballots in the urnas (ballot transparent bags). After that, DPI or cédula IDs were given back and their index finger marked with indelible ink. Basically, this was the voting process in Guatemala for 2011.
Children were also given the opportunity to simulate the election process by voting for president and vice-president. The children’s election process mimicked the adult voting process with similar ballot and erasable purple ink. Children between 5 and 17 years of age could participate. Children voting centers were located at different locations throughout La Antigua Guatemala.
I prepared a Flickr Slideshow of the Guatemalan Elections 2011 with keyframes showing the election process described above.
Please, let me know what you think of it and if you believe I have done my job at giving you a feeling for the election process in La Antigua Guatemala. I will be waiting for your feedback.
One more thing; I also grabbed a Storify chronicle of the elections prepared by selecting from the vast amounts of Twitter updates using one of the following hash tags: #EleccionesGT and #eVoto. Enjoy! (more…)
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)
As I said last year, in Guatemala we could and should write the Manifesto against Convenience. Why you ask? Well, can you believe that we still observe holidays and celebrations on the date they were created. Mother’s Day on May 10, Father’s Day on June 17, Santiago de los Caballeros on July 25 (Saint James), et cetera. In Guatemala holidays and festivities are not celebrated on the weekend unless that’s date a holiday falls.
Today, for instance, in Guatemala we celebrate Día del padre, Father’s Day. The photo above was taken for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, on December 12, a day when many fathers celebrate with their sons and daughters by attending mass service.
When is Father’s Day celebrated where you live?
Also, I am also sharing with you a video of the song “Viejo, mi querido viejo” by Piero, which is played very often today in Guatemala. If you’re walking around in Guatemala, it’s quite likely that you will overhear it.
I especially wish a Happy Mother’s Day to my own madre. As Luna McCarthy mentioned in XelaDailyPhoto this morning: Mother’s Day always falls on May 10 in Guatemala, as opposed to many countries where it falls on the 2nd Sunday of May.
Today is also a holiday for mothers in Guatemala, so moms get the day off from work. There are numerous traffic reports in Twitter about how light the traffic is today in Guatemala City. Some even wonder if all the traffic is actually generated by the working mommies. Follow the hash tag #traficoGT to read all the reports.
Mother’s Day observed in AntiguaDailyPhoto in previous years:
In 2010, I cherished memories of my mom and I eating POPS ice cream when I was a kid. Although, in general, I don’t like sweets, I have never passed up the opportunity to eat ice cream; now I know why. I would like send a very special Gracias to my own mother for teaching me how to be a fairly decent human being (most of the time; I think!). I am glad I was able to spend some time with you recently.
In 2008, I showed you an indigenous mother helping her son to overcome his fears in the entry Mother’s Safety Zone.
In 2007 I posted a very long entry showing you three kinds of Guatemalan mothers: the cowgirl mother, the urban rocker mom, and the indigenous mamá in the entry May 10th: Mother’s Day in Guatemala. I also touched the subject of inter-country adoptions which was it was hot topic back then. That’s no longer an issue, but if you want to go back in time to read about those three kinds of moms and the adoption issues, follow the white rabbit.
@AndyStalman: Mas que apagar las luces habría que encender las conciencias! #HoraDelPlaneta
Which I roughly translated to “Instead of turning off the lights we should turn on the consciences.”
I thought, why not do both. I mean it certainly can not hurt to turn off the lights for one hour and perhaps the idea behind these kind awareness campaigns is to turn on the consciences.
So, with these thoughts in mind, I share with you another free wallpaper from Antigua Guatemala to use on your laptop or desktop computer, sort of something to tickle your own thoughts about it. Enjoy! and feel free to share with as many people as you like.
Honest, I am very proud of our progressive little town, better known as La Antigua Guatemala. Take for instance the Día Internacional del Agua or World Water Day campaign that basically ask something direct and concise: Ducharse en vez de bañarse (Shower instead of bathing) to save water.
You can also follow the different campaigns elsewhere in the world by scanning the hash tag #worldwaterday in Twitter.
Here’s the water series I published before to clarify the water situation in Guatemala. As always, follow the white rabbit to the water series to see the photos and read the researched information.
Religiously, like every Ash Wednesday [miércoles de ceniza] before, La Antigua Guatemala get’s dressed up today with Lent decorations. Cuaresma is now officially underway.
What do Lent decorations really mean? In plain English, it means the Processional season 2011 is already here; have you gotten your plane tickets yet?
El Diablo no se quema film aside: Today I received an email from Julio Ro-Ariano, production director for Der Teufel brennt nicht or El Diablo no se quema, a movie filmed in Guatemala in 2010.
Like always, I like to share with you all the new Guatemalan films that are being produced in a prompt and expedite manner; don’t you agree?
The description goes something like this:
Perla, the prostitude, Juan here client and lover, and Verena, the wife, are the protagonists in this story about current-day Guatemala. Coming to movie teathers soon…
In Guatemala, more than in other place in the world, there is a need for caring and protecting women’s rights. My best wishes to all the women of the world on your day and always, as every day should be women’s day.
I believe the best way to explain cascarones, carnaval (carnival) and Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) is to quote some of the AntiguaDailyPhoto readers.
Manolo: Cascarones are literally egg shells. So, as some have said, weeks in advance every egg cooked at home is carefully cracked so that most of the shape of the egg is kept intact and left to dry. Then, before Carnival Tuesday (the day previous Ash Wednesday which is the first day of Lent) the empty egg shells are filled with confetti (mainly very little pieces of tissue paper, but sometimes metallic paper and in olden times flour), and then are sealed with a piece of tissue paper and glue. I guess it depends on each person, but the egg shells are decorated before or after being filled using watercolours or tempera (some sort of finger paint) or even markers. Not quite like Easter Eggs because they mark the beginning of Lent, not the end of it, and they have no actual egg inside.
What do we do with cascarones? Well, young people (i.e. children and/or children at heart) smash them on the heads of unsuspected victims. Since there is usually a costume party involved with Carnival you don’t know who your victimizer is. The confetti gets inside the back of your shirt along with pieces of egg shell and your hair is also a mess (particularly if you have curly hair). Is the last day you are allowed to be a brat before the 40 days of behaving start.
Pues, I have learned something new since last year, “carnival Tuesday” is “Fat Tuesday”/”Mardi Gras”. Carnival comes from “Carne” (flesh/meat) and it is called that way because it is the last day you can eat meat before Lent.
Claudia:
Love carnaval. My mom would start saving eggshells weeks in advance and she would dry them out, we would usually decorate them ourselves in school. I used to get blisters on my fingers from the scissors since we tried to make our confetti as small and tiny as possible, to make it harder to wash out of your hair, of course.
Carmen:
Oh my! I’m getting flashbacks. We used to run after each other at school with these cascarones as ammunition. Of course, with all the commotion, we were also responsible for cleaning up afterward. I got such joy from smashing a cascaron on someone’s head. Heehee. The fun was not the same when someone smashed a cascaron on my head though. I remember some of the teachers got into the action as well.
Javier:
Wow!!!Memories!!!Cascarones haven’t seen those in 26 years. We use to make them ourselves as kids. And smash them on other kids heads. It was great.
Elvia:
I remember when I was a child, my mother, sisters and I would start saving the egg shells around 3 months in advance, we would wash them gently and let them dry. It was so much fun to paint each cascaron and put pica pica inside… I remember one of my best carnavales I was probably 7 and I was dressed as strawberry shortcake, it was just awesome my mother sew the costume for me. The carnival season is a very nice tradition in my country of origin, my linda Guatemala!
The price of flowers goes up exponentially around certain dates like Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day, just to name a few.
A dozen roses is selling for Q60/$7.50 right now, while the normal price at the market goes from Q20/$2.50 to Q35/$4.50 for a dozen roses, depending on the quality and whether one is a regular costumer or not. For instance, a co-worker at the office buys two dozen roses every week for Q35/$4.50; he always gets this special price because he’s regular customer.
Of course, all flowers get a price hike, but certainly roses are the most affected since most people want to give roses for el Día del cariño.
In Guatemala Valentine’s Day has a much wider meaning since Día del cariño, Day of affection or caring, is about celebrating all the different manifestations of love and caring.
What better way to send my best wishes for Día del cariño and Valentine’s Day to all of you than to share a Corazón chino, Chinese heart, flower which are native of the wet tropical mountain forest of Central America and South America regardless of its popular name. The Anturios or Anthurium is the scientific name.
What’s the relationship between Santo Hermano Pedro de Betancourt and Pope John Paul II you might be asking?
Simple. Santo Hermano Pedro de Betancourt was beatified on June 22, 1980, and canonized on July 30, 2002 by Pope John Paul II. At the homily read by John Paul II in Guatemala City, on July 30, 2002 [source: Wikipedia]
The sculptures of Santo Hermano Pedro de Betancourt and Papa Juan Pablo II are only meters from each other which makes one believe the sculptures are commemorating the canonization of Peter of Saint Joseph Betancurt.
Guatemala’s 1976 Earthquake Ephemerides Aside: I was only an infant when Guatemala was struck by the strongest earthquake in about 100 years on February 4, 1976. I have since lived through several earthquakes in California and Mexico, yet the 1976 Guatemala’s quake remains the strongest seismic activity I experienced. The USGS even has it on their Historic Earthquakes page as follows:
The most destructive earthquake since 1917 struck Guatemala on February 4. The magnitude 7.5 quake was centered about 160 km northeast of Guatemala City. The death toll has reached more than 23,000, and thousands have been injured. Damage was extensive. Most adobe type structures in the outlying areas of Guatemala City were completely destroyed, leaving thousands homeless. Transportation was impeded by the many landslides occurring in the area. Food and water supplies were severely reduced. Some of the areas were without electricity and communication for days. The main shock has been followed by thousands of aftershocks, some of the larger ones causing additional loss of life and damage.
The 1976 Guatemala earthquake struck on February 4, 1976 at 03:01:43 local time (09:01:43 UTC-6). It was a 7.5 Mw earthquake, centered in the Motagua Fault, about 160 km northeast of Guatemala City, Guatemala. The quake’s hypocenter was located at a depth of 5 km near the town of Los Amates in the department of Izabal.
Cities throughout the country suffered damage, and most adobe type houses in the outlying areas of Guatemala City were completely destroyed. The earthquake struck during the early morning (at 3:01 am, local time) when most people were asleep. This contributed to the high death toll of 23,000. Approximately 76,000 were injured, and many thousands left homeless. Some of areas went without electricity and communications for days. (… continue reading at Wikipedia)
In my never endless pursuit of bringing your familiar vistas from unfamiliar perspectives I present to you volcanoes Fuego and Acatenango as seen from San Felipe de Jesús.
Día de Reyes or Epiphany Ephemerides: Today is celebrated the Epiphany or better known as Día de Reyes in Latin America. Unlike other Spanish-speaking countries, Guatemala does not make a big deal of the arrival of the Tres Reyes Magos. If you want to read and view photos about the Epiphany, follow the white rabbit.
As I have mentioned before, any “top list” is bound to be subjective and there can be as many top lists as there are people to make them. So with this in mind, I present you: my Top 12 Photos of 2010. I just selected a photo for each month of 2010 and that’s how I arrived at these 12 photos.
I am certain YOU also have a list favorite of photos or entries for 2010. Please, share with us which photos or entries were your top 12 and let us know what was your criteria to arrive at your Top 12 Entries of AntiguaDailyPhoto. Thanks for sharing your top 12 with us.
New Year’s Eve Celebrations in La Antigua Guatemala:
There are many things that make New Year’s Eve similar yet different than Noche Buena. Christmas Eve is celebrated with the family at home or at your parents’ home; New Year’s Eve can be celebrated anywhere: a discotheque, a park, the beach or La Calle del Arco and Parque Central will be the popular venues in La Antigua Guatemala tonight. New Year’s Eve is less religious than Christmas’ Eve and there are many more parties to go to.
There is a particular song which is played at every single party and danced to… El Año Viejo. There’s a fragment of the song below to get you started singing. Further down, I leave you the most famous version of El Año Viejo by Tony Camargo. This song is quite possibly the most-often-played track throughout Latin America on New Year’s Eve.
My best wishes to everyone and please have the happiest New Year Celebration Ever!
Yo no olvido al año viejo (I don’t forget the old year)
Porque me ha dejado cosas muy buenas: (Because it left behind good things for me:)
Me dejó una chiva, (It left me a goat,)
Una burra negra, (a black donkey)
Una yegua blanca (a white female horse)
Y una buena suegra… (And a good mother-in-law…)
At the end of the mass service for the Feast of Out Lady of Guadalupe while I was trying to get out of the atrium my wife, who was just outside the atrium’s barred fence, pointed out how captivating and alluring was the image of the Christ figure being put down from the cross and all the careful hands over its body. I turned around and walked a few steps to a get the photograph above. The imagery of the Christ and all the careful hands bring the body down was a more authentic enactment than the eucharistic celebration we had just attended. Perhaps that is so because I am visual person.
After reviewing the series of photographs, I don’t know why I associated the above image with the video of Losing My Religion from R.E.M.; perhaps you can help me find out why. I will be looking forward to your comments.
P.S. I was told by clergyman that this Christ figure was also used for the canonization of Hermano Pedro de San José Betancurt on July 30, 2002 by Pope John Paul II. (more…)
Felicitaciones! This site is incredible. I don't know how you've kept up the energy for three years, but I am so glad that you have. I help to administer an online discussion group and I know how frustrating it can be to have many people view but few people who post comments. I sense a little discouragement in your reflections today. It's understandable, but I hope it's temporary. I know *many* people whom I have sent to this site who view it and are amazed by it -- they just don't post comments here. Your "most viewed" numbers say a lot about how many people value this site... —Stephanie
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I would like send a very special Gracias to my own mother for teaching me how to be a fairly decent human being (most of the time; I think!). I am glad I was able to spend some time with you recently. 
