La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo

Well, you may be wondering what SAT office means. Behind this placid view of this government building hides one of the reason why Guatemala is so poor; a beggar really if we consider that Guatemala begs money for road repairing, road building, new modern national identification card, fertilizers, schools, libraries and the list goes on and on. The picture above is the local office of the Superintendencia de Administración Tributaria, SAT for short and the equivalent of the IRS.

The SAT is in charge of collecting the taxes and to funnel this money to fund all the government needs. The SAT does such a poor job at collecting taxes and thus the government is not autarkic and needs to beg for international funds. The reasons the SAT does a poor job at funding the government are complex and it would require huge and extensive entries to cover them. Suffice it to say that most Guatemalan earn their money in the informal economy, which does not pay income taxes, like town market vendors, street vendors, convenience stores, et-cetera. Then, we have the many small businesses who do not hand out facturas (invoices) for which they are charging sales tax, yet not passing this collected tax money to the SAT. Finally, we have the big businesses and wealthy Guatemalans who have very creative accounting departments to do every imaginable thing to withhold the taxes due on their accumulated fortunes; how fortunate for them! In the mean time, it is mostly the salaried workers, the independent service providers and the honest businesses who transfer the collected sales taxes and income taxes to the SAT. As you can see, tax evasion is a huge problem in Guatemala. I don’t have with me actual figures, but I am sure that less than 20% of the population pay their income taxes.

Perhaps Edgar or Mauricio can provide the actual figures and even expand on or clarify the subject.

Well, what do you know, even Santa Claus pays a visit to the illuminated Central Park. LAGDP’s Santa Claus lives in Motley, Minnesota and she paid a visit earlier in December as a response to the entry where I requested support for this web site through the Amazon Wish List that I maintain for La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo. Carolyn was kind enough to wear a red fluffy dress and bring the following presents: a mini tripod, a book on Wordpress and a set of rechargeable batteries and charger.

Everyone, please, let’s thank Carolyn from Motley, Minnesota for such kindness and because starting with yesterday’s photograph all the upcoming photos were taking using the mini tripod and the rechargeable batteries. It’s incredible what a little tool like the mini tripod can do for photo opts. I will also improve on the layout and functionality of this web site as soon as I get through reading the book on Wordpress, the software engine behind LAGDP. It is a great feeling to know that you guys support all the work I put on this site through your comments, post cards, gifts from the Amazon Wish List and donations towards the hosting bills.

Thank you all for your continued support!

Post cards request update: I forgot to mention that last week I received a post card from Iceland thanks to Andre, a Norwegian living in Iceland at the moment. I have a soft spot in my heart for actual really real post cards and letters, so please keep ‘em coming! If you don’t know what I am talking about, please do read the entry Postscript.

Actually, it is not only La Antigua Guatemala that is a town full of contrasts, but rather the whole country. Guatemala has a rainbow of contrasts between the wealthy and the poor, the indigenous and the mestizo population, between the mountain high lands and the tropical coastal low lands, between the urban and the rural areas, between the antique and the modern, between dogs with education and homeless chuchos, and so on.

For those who have visited Guatemala, what other types of contrasts can you identify or share with us?

By the way, the first time I posted a photograph of this fountain was in June 2006. Can you tell me the exact date and the name of this building?

Here is a little over-sharing, as Miss Jill would say. This is one of the views from our office window into the garden. Here we can see José, our green-thumb gardener waiting for the heavy rain to pass. By the way, rain is one of the most difficult things to photograph. Here I set shutter’s timing at two seconds, holding the camera over the window crate as a tripod, to try to capture the heavy down pour, yet I was only able to show silky lines. I’ve tried to do the same before in the entry Comtemplating the heavy rain with a little better success. We are about one to two weeks from the end of the rainy season.

What kind of weather are you experiencing where you live?

I have said that I really enjoy being in this building so many times that you might actually believe that I work for the PR department of Agencia Española de Cooperación International in La Antigua Guatemala. I do not, just to get it right out in the open. However, I do check out books sometimes and read magazines from Spain from the Biblioteca (library) from time to time.

Honestly, I just cherish the atmosphere of the building. On the other hand, one thing I really want to do is sit on the bench in the corner, in the other side of the fountain, for lunch and read Un paseo en primavera (ES) by Ronald Flores. I could really get on the shoes of the protagonist, a tourist guide, since I’ve been told by Maggied that I am her personal tour guide. Just wait Maggied, I am preparing your invoice. Interestingly enough, the one thing I did not want to be was a tourist guide, nor I wanted for this site to become a touristic guide; it seems I have failed at both.

For now that is not possible because of the rainfall in the afternoons. I just have to wait until I can sing Requiem for the rain again. Also, I need to get an autographed copy of Un paseo en primavera from Ronald, like my friend Juan Carlos Escobedo.

Imagine that instead of having a regular glass window, you could have a fish tank window to see your back yard. That is exactly what they sell here. I like how it almost feels like that fish are swimming in the air around the búcaro (new word for you).

It is nice to have a mellow picture to initiate the week; don’t you think so?

The Compañía de Jesús Building has to be one of my favorites building in La Antigua Guatemala. It is beautifully restored with so many gorgeous details like arches, wood floors, wood arches and columns, fountain, gardens. The Compañía de Jesús Building is under the care of Cooperación Española NGO, Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional in Spanish, which converted the building into a cultural center and library. On Wednesdays at 7 p.m. they show Spanish films. The library is among the few that allows to check out the materials there. In the atrium of the Compañía de Jesús Church Ruins are presented every month classical, jazz and world music recitals as well as all kind of cultural activities. Almost all the activities are free. How could I not love this building; I get my cultural fix here.

I feel I have not done justice to the beauty of this building through the photos presented thus far. I promise I will make the time to go there one afternoon and really take better photographs. Stay tune!

Theme Side Note: Tomorrow La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo will be participating in the Theme Day of the Daily Photo City community (over 250 cities around the world). The theme chosen for tomorrow is the view from your bedroom (window) of your town or city. Come back mañana to look at what I see each morning from our window and to check out the bedroom window view of other daily photo bloggers around the world.

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / arches / fountain / Compañía de Jesús building

Believe it or not, the McDonald’s restaurant in La Antigua Guatemala is very nice place to meet for coffee with friends and family —I swear I haven’t sold my soul, yet—. In the patio, which runs along the length of the restaurant, there are tables all around the garden and fountain. The floors of the patio have a layer of cobblestones, green islands with flowers and bushes of irregular shape break the space up. If you seat on the north side and you look south, you can see Water Volcano (Volcán de Agua) in the farthest background and the San Jacinto Ruins just at the end of the lot. If you seat in the south, like the girl on the right of the frame, you can see the Spanish red-tile roof tops, fountain, clown and short trees. The whole atmosphere there is serene and if you happen to order a cup of rich Guatemalan java juice from the gourmet coffee bar —watch out Starbucks— and pick up the morning newspaper, you can almost forget that nearby there is the most grotesque thing the Western culture has come up with, as Anna put it, while referring to the scary, ugly, hideous and gross clown.

My apologies to all the regular visitors and commentators for not responding your feedback and inquiries lately. The move to a new house has taken all the available time and besides we are without internet service at home. We will be forced to paid the 50% of the remaining contract of the internet service provided by the local telephone company since they do not provide internet in the area we moved to. Now, we will have to get a new contract with another telephone company which has wireless internet access in the area. The worst thing about these contracts is that they only have them for a minimum of two-year period and if you move before that you have to paid 50% of what is left on the contract. Oh well, enough of my wining. I promise that as soon as we have internet at home, I will come back to answer all the pending comments and questions. Be patient, please!

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / patio / McDonald’s / Garden

Last month I showed you the Burger King’s Fountain in Antigua Guatemala and I said that even fast-food restaurants have nice atmospheres and fountains and gardens. Well, today’s photo is showing the patio and garden at McDonald’s in La Antigua Guatemala. Of course, Ronald is always on guard to make sure nobody steals his fountain. Last time I showed the bright yellow and red-striped clown I was doing a series on transnational around Antigua Guatemala. Back on October 4th, I show this same patio from the other end, with water volcano in the background. Soon I will come back to show you other parts of this wonderful patio and garden.

So, is this what you had in mind when you thought of McDonald’s?

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / Fountain / McDonald’s / Garden

Just two days ago I was showing the original mermaids in the Santiago Museum and I said I did not have a close-up shot of the existing mermaids from the main fountain in Parque Central so you can compare them. The closes thing was the main fountain in Even the Fountains Take a Break. Thanks to Christina from Omaha DP for providing a link to a close up of the mermaids from her last trip to Guatemala. That day I went to take a few shots on my lunch hour so I can do this follow up. Here is an even closer look at the mermaids; there are four of them.

Tomorrow, May 10th, is Mother’s Day in Guatemala. I am sending big hugs and kisses to my own mother now living in Las Vegas; I miss you very much!

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / Mermaids Fountain / Central Park / Parque Central

I wanted to show you the original mermaids and link to the current mermaids at the main fountain in Central Park, but guess what I haven’t done a close-up shot of the mermaids (one more thing to add to my todo list); so, I have to link to the photo Even the Fountains Take a Break, since this is the only shot which shows the mermaids.

Anyhow, the mermaids above can be found at the Museo de Armas or Old Weapons Museum; yes I know, mermaids have nothing to do with weapons, unless you consider the sirens singing dangerous. I believe this is also called the Saint James Museum, Santiago in Spanish.

Fountains come in all shapes, but one thing is common to all of them: they need maintenance. Here you see La Antigua Guatemala’s most famous fountain taking a break for cleaning. For a tour around the world with the many different fountains available at other Daily Photo blogs, just click away: Manila, Santiago de Chile, Paris, San Diego, Stavanger, Dubai, Mexico City, Bordeaux, Mahboula (Kuwait) and Dallas. Nonetheless, I believe Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo has the most photos of fountains.

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / Mermaids Fountain / Central Park / Parque Central

Even fast-food restaurants have a nice atmosphere in Antigua Guatemala. Here you can see the fountain inside the Burger King restaurant. Fountains and gardens are among the most popular element of the Antigüeño architecture and I never get tire of photographing them and I am not the only one who likes fountains. As always, you can browse the fountains & gardens category for more photos. If you get the chance to see all the fountains published so far, come back and let us know which is your favorite.

Tags: Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo / Antigua / Guatemala / Fountain / Inside Burger King / Garden

I can almost hear the crow grackle yelling Bush is coming, Bush is coming! What a nightmare. Poor bird, it is so exhausted that it needs to take a break and drink some water. Just when you think things can not get any worse, Bush decides to visit Guatemala.

Recent entries about Bush’s visit to Guatemala:

• Mayan priest to purge Bush’s evil after he leaves
• Doused in spiritual bleach
• I can’t wait to congratulate him
• President Bush in Guatemala
• T-6
• Even more posts on Bush’s visit, thanks to Google News

Here is a better shot showing how the Guatemalan textiles literally carpet the garden around the fountain (fuente in Spanish) at La Fuente. I had to underexposed the fountain and the people in the background to get a better view of the colors and textures of the textiles in the foreground. As always, if you are interested in zooming in to see the details, all you have to do is click on the photo above to get a larger version. This textile market is only available on the weekends.