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This is not the first time I shared with you a photograph of fountain adorned with flowers. As a matter of fact, this is quite a regular vista around La Antigua Guatemala.

Right now is especially necessary to be near a refreshing fountain since we’re experiencing unusually hot weather conditions. Yesterday, the thermometer reached the 30C/86F degrees mark in the shade and today looks like it is going to be the same. Come on, this sort of thing should not happen at over 1,500 meters/5,000 feet over the sea level.

Follow the white rabbit to look at other photographs of fountains with flowers.

• Flowers and Fountains
• Light is a good reason to visit Antigua
• Exotic Flower Arrangements
• Mermaids Fountain with Flowers
• Exotic flowers and plants for you!

Antigua Guatemala as a City Brand Aside: Today La Antigua will be presented as a City Brand at 5 p.m. with an event full of activities in front of Palacio de los Capitanes at Central Park. Also, there will be a 15-minute photographic presentation with nearly 250 photos from AntiguaDailyPhoto.com projected over a giant screen hanging from Palacio de los Capitanes as part of the event. Everyone is invited!

Come back tomorrow to see the slide show here and other photos taken at the activities. If I get a chance I will try to make a time-lapse video of the event. Stay tune!

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Following the advice provided by RWOrange on Dining in the Garden from a few days ago, I decided to pay a visit to Epicure since it’s been a while since my last visit. Also, what better way to continue the dining in the garden series than having lunch in the lush garden in the back of Epicure. Click the thumbnails below to get an idea of how exuberant the garden really is.

I had Epicure’s al dente pasta with a Camembert creamy sauce. It was simply delicious.

As far as I know, Epicure is the only place in La Antigua Guatemala where one can have British-style fish and chips, including the malt vinegar. Do you know of any other place in Antigua Guatemala where fish and chips is available?

We are so lucky in La Antigua Guatemala that almost every day of the year we can dine in the garden. The weather and temperatures conditions through out the year in Guatemala allow for outside dining. Of course, unless you rent an apartment or house in La Antigua Guatemala, the closest you can come to experience of the dining in the garden is if you visit the cafe at Vivero La Escalonia or Sabe Rico restaurant.

I am sure there are other restaurants with dining areas in the garden; can you share with us any other names?

Cool and peaceful are the afternoons in Central Park nowadays, except for the murmurs of the mermaids and the people enjoying the contact with friends, family and visitors from abroad.

Elsewhere, in the other side of the world, a ferocious tsunami spawned by one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded slammed Japan’s eastern coast Friday. Our best wishes for a prompt recovery.

It’s been a while since AntiguaDailyPhoto participates in the Theme day of the City Daily Photo community; since the theme bright colors on August 1, 2010 to be exact. I could not pass up on this month theme though since they have orchestrated to show the favorite part of town from 123 cities around the world.

My favorite part of town is without a doubt the Plaza Mayor, better known as Parque Central as it is evident by simply browsing the Parks category. Most of the entries in the Park category were taken at the Main Plaza of La Antigua Guatemala. I enjoy spending time at the Plaza Mayor, just sitting on a bench watching the world go by or hearing the murmurs of the fountains. Also, I take pleasure in registering all the different colors from the ever blooming flowers and plants found in Parque Central. Furthermore, I can not find a better place to have my shoes shined while having a delicious ice cream from Sarita or Pops.

Since just a few days ago I shared with you an overview of Parque Central after the rain I knew I had to come up with a totally different perspective for my favorite part of town. I believe I have done a good job, if I may say so.

Can you describe what area of the park is shown above and from where was this picture taken?

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 globe.

Like many fountain’s around Antigua Guatemala, there is always something very soothing about them (oh, and the light was just beautiful), but how many of us do pay attention to them? If you do, can you guess where is this fountain located? I hope this is a tough guess for you.

text and photo by Arturo Godoy.

I love walking around our garden at night. There’s something enchanting about looking at all the different flowers illuminated by spot lights. I like the scents and colors. Also, I like the fact any time of the year, there are always flowers in bloom.

Photo pro tip: Always carry a camera with you so you don’t miss a chance to capture an ephemeral image; even if it’s only your iPhone camera.

This is another perspective to the Flowers and Fountains post from a week ago. In today’s photo I focused tightly and managed to get a better view of the running water.

I should create a Repetition category to hold all the repetition images I have stumbled upon while walking around Antigua Guatemala. You can browse the Repetition tag in the mean time.

Is there anything that you like from today’s photo, what is it?

Incredible the things that can be made with simple things like huge large pot and several dozen fountain spouts. I can’t say exactly what it was, but I felt some kind of photographic lure the first time I was the repetition of these fountain streams.

What do you feel any kind of draw from the image above?

According to Foursquare, I hold more mayorships than anyone in La Antigua Guatemala, including the current elected Mayor, Dr. Vivar.

So, I believe I should be able to change the official slogan of the city from Ciudad de las perpetuas rosas (City of the perpetual roses) to Ciudad de las fuentes (City of fountains); don’t you agree? Just take a look at the Fountains and Gardens category to get a sampling of the many fountains found through out the city.

New Blog and Twitter presence of Municipalidad de La Antigua Guatemala Aside: Finally the Municipalidad de La Antigua Guatemala is sporting new presence in Twitter as well as a new website. If you are in Twitter you can follow @MunideAntigua for all the latest official buzz.

Now, the new web site found at MunicipalidadAntiguaGuatemala.com leaves much to be desired. The new web site is poorly executed, with awkward navigation, horrible animations, partially translated into Spanish menus and a poor structure all around. There is no English version of the website to better serve its foreign community. In my humble opinion, the new web site is almost as bad as the one it replaces.

Of course, the Twitter page has not even been modified to make it look like the official presence of La Antigua Guatemala Municipal government.

I believe that beyond the Twitter presence, the Municipalidad would serve better its citizens if they had a page in Facebook. If the Municipalidad intended to have a social media presence, they are lacking some of basic social media networks.

Furthermore, it’s my professional opinion that the Municipalidad de La Antigua Guatemala was poorly advised regarding its web site, its Twitter account, its new domain, et cetera.

Yes, even the new domain is the wrong choice. Instead of having a FREE or inexpensive .GOB.GT domain they have a U.S. commercial domain. Instead of having something simple as AntiguaGuatemala.gob.gt they have this cumbersome municipalidadantiguaguatemala.com business domain.

Nevertheless, I welcome the new steps the Municipalidad is taken to have a better web presence and communication with its citizens and the world. I just hope next time they hire someone with sufficient experience and knowledge to give them the website and presence that will benefit its citizens the most.

Three simple shots of fountains found inside the patios of Casa Santo Domingo. In the picture above I decided to freeze the water in mid air to show the distinct drops. In the pictures below I went to opposite way and smooth the flow of water to show its movement. I played with running water without getting wet.

Mi Aldea Lancetillo Photo Exhibit Aside: Four members of the Club Fotográfico de Antigua went to Lancetillo to teach teen agers how to use cameras and photograph their reality.

Celebrate the vision of young Guatemala featuring the work of Project Einstein participants. Through six weeks of intensive training in the Zona Reyna, over 70 Q’eqchi’ Maya youth learned the basics of the photography, video and new media to tell the stories of their community, the flyer invitation reads.

The young photographers work is compiled and synthesized in the Mi aldea Lancetillo photo exhibit, which will open tomorrow at 6pm in Convento de Santa Clara, right across from Tanque de La Unión.

The Photo Exhibition will be open until September 17, 2010.

If you’re in Guatemala and can spare an hour, stop by the opening night and meet a few of the kids and members of the Club Fotográfico de Antigua who supported this photo exhibit through donations and logistics.

I share with you one the slide shows they did with the photographs taken by the Guatemalan youths. You can watch the other videos at the special page created by HablaGuate as well read all the background information. Also, you can read the name of all the people and sponsors at the Lancetillo web page. Flyer and video are a courtesy of HablaGuate.

Don’t ask me, but how did the venerable utilitarian pila (water tank) and lavadero (washbasin) became decorations elements or design accents?

In The Venerable Colonial Pila is Now Used as Decoration I introduced you to the washbasins and water tank inside McCafé in La Antigua Guatemala with the following words:

What’s a pila (pee-lah), I hear you ask? simple, the omnipresent pila guatemalteca is basically a water tank and one or two sinks or washbasins for doing dishes and washing the clothes. You have seen a colonial-styled pila before as part of La Casa Antigüeña series and you have also recently seen the public washbasins. So you now know how pilas are basically smaller versions of the public washbasins and water tanks, right?

I bet you never thought a colonial utilitarian washbasin and water tank could be used as decoration for a upscale, hi-tech wireless internet, coffee shop. I think it works and it does especially well, since the water is running all the time between the main two water compartments and adds a wonderful relaxing sound.

In Water Tanks and Colonial Style Social Networks I mentioned that “as in colonial times, these public water tanks and washbasins serve as the places for doing the laundry and for water distribution. Furthermore, public laundry washbasins (sometimes rivers or lake shores) serve as the gathering place for news, gossip and community building through the interactions that take place. Public washbasins could be considered the first news broadcasting sites or social networks such as Facebook or Twitter; computers are not required. In many places in Guatemala this stills holds true.”

In Colonial Washbasins from Guatemala I showed you how the washbasins and water tanks are often the central piece to decorate an inside patio in colonial homes.

Today’s entry showcases the pila and lavaderos right next to Cafetenango restaurant inside Finca Filadelfia. Looking at main photo above I am thinking I should have captured a video clip a few seconds of the running water and resulting sound. I have to keep a thread around my finger to remember to capture more videos, as my dear friend Kara Andrade has rightly recommended to me. Oops, sorry!

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I am sure you were already thinking of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass.

Gotcha!

Well, this is really a literal snapshot or think of it more like a tickler vista so you revisit Whitman’s poetry. I know I will read a few poems of Hojas de Hierba this week; if you do the same, please share with us which poems you read. Deal?

Here’s an interesting idea, cover the patio with transparent laminas plus a pergola framework where one can hang the Colas de Quetzal (nephorlepsis spp.), helechos (ferns) and put other plants in pots around the fountain and one can enjoy of the patio year round, including during the rainy season.

How you like that?

Palo de Izote is the Mesoamerican cousin of the Joshua or Yucca tree. I have a fascination with the Izote tree; I don’t know why, maybe its many branches that look like arms and hands.

Anyhow, I like it and it’s used often in the hedgerows around Antigua Guatemala. Its white flowers are edible and they are considered a delicacy. The izote tree flower is also the national flower for the neighboring country of El Salvador.

So far I have posted several photos of the palo de izote tree, but Palo de Izote Tree is my favorite. I might even include it in my Antigua Abstracta series. I also like today’s version of Palo de Izote.

How about you, which one you like better?