Antigua Guatemala's number one multimedia resource in English for everything about La Antigua and the Guatemalan people, culture and traditions with a brand new web page every day!
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!
In my never ending quest to bring you unique and different perspectives of this enchanting 500-year old colonial town which we know as Antigua Guatemala, I bring you this photograph taken by one of my co-workers at Revue Magazine and fellow photograhy enthusiast César Tián. The photo above could be the facing view of the picture shown in Almost Ready for 2012. Obviously, César knows people in higher places than I do because I have never been to the roof top of the Muni building. I’ve gotta fix that! In the mean time, let’s thank César for sharing this rooftop panoramic vista of Central Park with us. Make sure you click on top of the photo above to look at a larger image.
Not even a week had elapsed since I shared with you the incredible vistas from La Casaca as shown on the post Having Breakfast in Antigua Guatemala when my friend Norman Avila decided to come up to the terrace and make this panoramic vista of Parque Central. We should thank Norman for sharing this unique perspective with us.
Pantempters Steel Orchestra is Belize’s most dynamic and entertaining steel band and they played this past weekend at the stage next to the Cathedral.
The Pantempters Steel Orchestra first begun in 1992 as a university steel band at the University College of Belize, under the directorship of the then Dr. Colville Young (now Governor General of Belize). From a humble beginning with no more than ten members, the band rose in the entertainment circles becoming one of Belize’s premier steel orchestra. Today, Pantempters is one of the largest steel bands in the country performing both locally and internationally with a culturally dynamic repertoire of music including punta, brukdong, soca, reggae, bassa nova, sala, jazz, classical and many more.
Los Bomberos Voluntarios (Voluntary Fire Deparment) were giving demonstration of equipment outside of the Capuchinas Ruins this weekend. It looks like the kids were having a blast with the water hose, although the little boy seemed a bit reluctant to take charge of the water hose all by himself.
By the way, in Guatemala there are two fire departments entities: Bomberos Municipales and Bomberos Voluntarios. Bomberos Municipales receive some of their funding from the municipal government while Bomberos Voluntarios receive their funding through “crowd sourcing”; that’s web talk euphemism for “donations from the people.”
There is a lot of activity around Parque Central even when it’s raining. If you pay attention while having a cup of coffee at Café Barista you can even spot a Belgian car on the street or other unexpected things. This was interesting, as it is every once in a while when unexpected things show up while reviewing your photos. I only noticed the Belgians after going over the photographs, but does anybody know these Belgians?
Guatemala has many traditions that have remained until now and will hopefully remain for centuries to come. One, as you already know are the rich colors found in foods, landscapes, nature, textiles, walls, etc., and even in ideas.
Have you heard of Incaparina? It was invented by a Guatemalan to fight malnutrition. The words that make up the name Incaparina come from “INCAP” and “harina” (flour), as the Guatemalan researcher was working at INCAP. Incaparina still exists, and other nutritional foods have been invented as well, but no one like its Incaparina.
In different ways, even politics are involved in different levels in what I tried to convey above. Yesterday was Guatemala’s Independence Day. Do you know what other countries celebrate their Independence on this same day? Which countries do you know that have other dates to be considered as their “true” Independence Day? When do you think should Guatemala’s true Independence be celebrated?
Anyway, do you consider your home country to be truly independent?
Flying through the air you can see all through the valley at Antigua Canopy Tours which is located at Finca Filadelfia. Seven zip-lines, and the longest being 715 ft on the Cannon tour. The view is breath taking. It is a great way to experience the vast scenery.
As I was walking I could hear the sounds of a drum line. To my surprise it was an all girl school parading through the streets showing off their skills. Honestly they were good! Coming from a former drummer’s perspective I am picky about my drum lines. It was fun to watch and listen as they marched through the streets of Antigua Guatemala.
As this priest walked through the streets of Antigua you could see him praying as he went. It was a refreshing feeling to see a man of faith do this loving action. It is harder and harder to find people who are truly genuine in their faith in our society today.
On sundays there is a restaurant open on the top of the mountain within Finca Filadelfia. The food is delicious, and the majestic view will captivate you for hours. If you haven’t taken the time to visit this restaurant you need to schedule it for this sunday! Your life isn’t complete until you’ve visited this restaurant. All the food is wood fire cooked, and tastes as fresh as if you grew it yourself. The ride up and down is bumpy, but worth it. I wish we could go there everyday, it is that breathtaking.
About Guest Contributor: Zach Olson is a Photographer from the Dallas Texas area. He enjoys shooting all types of photography, capturing a single moment that explains and entire event or emotion.
The Sunday prior to July 25 (Saint James Day) is the date for the Medio Maratón Las Rosas and in 2011 that was today. Once again, my dear friend Nelo provided the background information and photos which I believe were taken with his camera by a friend of his. Anyway, one thing I haven’t mentioned in previous years is that the half marathon Las Rosas is a running party. Looking at the video and photos from last year and the photos from year, I noticed the big smiles and the happy atmosphere all around this event. Just look at the smiling faces below!
According to Nelo, this year the running route was modified because there were complains that the half marathon was not 21 kilometers exactly. Nelo created a GPS track and his result was 20.98 km. As soon as he uploads the GPS track, I will link to it from here. The old man on the first picture below is over 75 years old and even though he runs slow, he always finishes his races. To me that’s the most important goal of a marathon.
photos by Lester Marroquín
The starting line from Medio Maratón Las Rosas 2010
You’d be amazed on everything that might be for sale on the streets of La Antigua Guatemala during Lent. This time while walking on the streets during the Procession of Jesús de San Bartolo, we happened to run into these candles, I think they’d make some great souvenirs for your house, and the price is reasonable. What do you think?
The Santo Domingo del Cerro hosted a Baroque music concert on Palm Sunday, and well, after Nelo’s wonderful work on Processions, perhaps it is just a different post this time.
Going to these kinds of concerts is always an experience, and more so when you know one of the Concertistas. It was Carolina Palomo the one I knew, a good friend and for random reasons I had never ever heard her play. When music was about begin, I closed my eyes and let the music open them. Some minutes later I found myself grabbing my camera and to just shoot. I didn’t want to use flash because the concert was being videotaped, and most importantly the flash could distract the concertistas. Even so, some people were still using flash, so the decision of sacrificing ISO versus flash was not hard to make.
The music was life in every single breath, meaning the performance and the ambience of the place, was almost surreal. Some kilometers away I bet Nelo was taking photographs, and I thought that next time I’d photograph a procession, my ipod would make good company, so perhaps the music could help me get some cool shots like Nelo’s.
After the wonderful concert, we shared some lovely conversations with the musicians and some of their friends. All of them are just amazing and lovely people; they enjoy being part of the Ensamble Antiqua (yes, with a “q”).
How many times have you been in a baroque music concert?
I want to publicly thank my dear friend and colleague Nelo Mijangos for sharing his wonderful Lent and Holy Week photography with us. Also, I want to praise his fabulous new angles and less traditional perspectives for the Holy Week photos.
Norman Ávila, the brains and enthusiastic person behind ClimaYa (Guatemala’s real-time weather reports), sent me these images of Nelo at work hanging from an electric pole. Later on Nelo sent me a photo he took from this vantage point with his iPhone 4. Thanks to Norman Ávila we get the real-time weather reports in AntiguaDailyPhoto, GuatemalaDailyPhoto and XelaDailyPhoto.
If you appreciate the Lent and Holy Week photos shared with us by Nelo, please do let him know in the comments.
Sábado de Gloria is a quieter day with only small processions carried by women known as Las Dolorosas (The Grief or Suffering women) follwing the Vía Dolorosa. Sábado de Gloria is also the day when Judas’ Will (testament) is read, a sort of farcical speech or a neighborhood chisme speech. Kids and teenagers also play at getting each other wet with water balloons. Although I have not seen these two traditions in many years; I wonder if they still exist.
Today we take the opportunity to share various Holy Week vistas from La Antigua Guatemala.
Enjoy your weekend and set your timer for the 5-year anniversary of AntiguaDailyPhoto.com on May 1st. What should we do?
I just wanted to thank you for keeping up this fantastic website! I just discovered it a few days ago, and I already installed it as my homepage! I really love Antigua and thanks to your blog, I can see a little bit of that incredible city everyday! —Valentijn Kuperus, Netherlands
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