La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo

JennyStar DVD Rentals is the Netflix of La Antigua Guatemala. JennyStar DVD Rentals is what happens when you think through a good business model and apply intelligent solutions to what’s missing in your community. La Antigua Guatemala can be one of the smallest cities in the American Continent with only a geographic grid of 10 blocks by 10 blocks (about 1.5 square miles) and less than 30,000 inhabitants, but it has a home-delivered dvd rental with over 2,314 films, from old classics up to the latest releases, most of which can not be found anywhere else in Guatemala.

JennyStar DVD Rentals has a web site from which you can pick your selection and have it delivered, if you choose so, along with a dvd player, pop corn and candies. From the web site you can also reserve movies for a later pick up. JennyStar DVD Rentals is located on Alameda Santa Lucía norte #12 (7832-0813).

On top all the great features of their DVD rental service, JennyStar DVD Rentals is an NGO (Non Government Organization) which aside from giving employment to Jenny and her staff (Enrique and Helen), donates all profits to support disable and poor children in villages around La Antigua Guatemala. Thus, by renting a DVD, you are yourself donating toward this worthy cause. See this is an example of Sí se puede (Yes we can) at a local level.

So if you find yourself in La Antigua Guatemala and need a dvd player to watch El Norte or No Country for Old Men, please give JennyStar DVD Rentals a call at 7832-0813.

Disclaimer Side Note: I am receiving no money or benefits for this review of JennyStar DVD Rentals, but I do hope that once they find out about it, they will give me at least a couple of dvd rentals for free (just kidding!).

The YO-YO: retratos y autoretratos (portraits and self-portraits) takes its playful name in the fact that in Spanish the YO means I. So yo-yo means I and I which was the premise for this photographic exhibit where participants were asked to show their other I side.

The YO-YO: retratos y autoretratos exhibit has a wide array of portraits and self-portraits of many key players in the Guatemalan culture scene. Participants were asked to submit a portrait or self-portrait as they envisioned themselves or another facet of their personality they would like to show.

In the picture above, you can see my wife taking a snapshot of our good friend Daniel Chang, a professional photographer. Both of them had portraits in the YO-YO: retratos y autoretratos exhibit.

Okay, I promise this is the last shot of La Antigua Guatemala’s Central Park at night for a while. I just thought I needed to show all the angles and besides and I also wanted to show what is possible when you are walking around and the lighting conditions don’t allow for photographs to be taken without a tripod. See, thanks to the mini tripod LAGDP received from Santa Claus, a tripod is always present for those photo opts that do require a little more than a steady hand (and boy, because of all the coffee drinking I do, a steady hand is one thing I lost long time agoooooo).

But, before I move away from the night photo series, let me know your opinion of it; did you enjoy it?

I figured you would like to see the illuminated angels a little closer, so I took a few more shots. This one has a couple making up (you guys are voyeurs!) by the fountain and this next one you could use it as a post card since it is only the two angels slightly out of focus. I hope you enjoy them both!

Even smaller parks, like the one in front of the Escuela de Cristo Church, get their light dress for the Christmas season in La Antigua Guatemala. Yet the best and most expensive lighting is reserved for the Parque Central (Central Park) as you have seen in the previous days’ photos.

With the help of a little tripod and an out of focus shot, you can turn even the most banal and commercial Christmas tree into an awesome Christmas card. I hope you like it even though it is not to easily distinguishable as a Christmas tree.

Feliz Navidad and Merry Christmas to all the visitors to La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo!

Since this is an unusual Christmas tree, it needs an unusual Christmas carol. And since LD and Manolo love salsa music and salsa dancing, I leave here a very unusual Christmas salsa song entitled El Tren de la Navidad by Feliz del Rosario. Right below it you can find the Discotheque version of Feliz Navidad (remix). Have a Happy-Christmas-Salsa-Dancing night everyone!

El Tren de la Navidad by Feliz del Rosario

Discotheque version of Feliz Navidad (remix)

Come back tomorrow and share with us you experienced this Christmas and what are the rituals for this day in your neck of the woods.

Christmas’ Eve or Noche Buena in La Antigua Guatemala is celebrated by staying up all night burning firecrackers and fireworks, eating tamales or turkey and drinking real fruit punch or hot real chocolate, visiting family, friends and neighbors for the respective abrazo de Noche Buena and buenos deseos (Christmas Eve hugs and best wishes); many even go to midnight mass. At midnight the presents under the Christmas tree, around the nacimiento (nativity scene), are opened and everyone laughs and hugs indiscriminately everyone around. These celebrations rate the highest on the nostalgic memory scale; everyone who is living abroad wishes to be in Guatemala for this season and for this night in particular.

A todos los chapines en el extranjero, y en especial a mi familia, les envío mis más sinceros abrazos de Noche Buena y mis mejores deseos. Les prometo que por ustedes, este día no haré dieta alguna. ¡Qué tengan unas felices fiestas!

Best wishes and Noche Buena hugs to all the visitors to La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo.

La Antigua Guatemala’s Central Park gets a light dress for the Christmas season. If you remember some of the photos from last year, like Tree branches of Fire or Lit Branches at Central Park, you would know that taking photos of the illuminated park is quite difficult since the resulting photos hardly capture the magical atmosphere of the trees with thousands of Christmas lights. I promised I have tried my best. This year, I have a few more takes on this gorgeous light dress for the La Antigua Guatemala’s Parque Central.

By the way, I was lucky enough to have one of my photographs be the December 2007 cover for Revue Magazine. Oops! it is December 22nd, I just telling you about it even though this issue of the magazine has been on the streets and online since December 1st. Oops!

Today’s night photo is to follow up my entry of Dramatic Illumination of Ruins and Historic Buildings with a better example. Back in June 3rd, I mentioned that many ruins and historic buildings in La Antigua Guatemala get a light bath a key places with spot light as to emphasize and to add drama to building that might not look impressive during the day. You now can see what a big difference a tripod can make when taking photos at night.

In the photo above, you can see the San Agustín ruins in the foreground, the Moon in the background and Venus between the two.

Please, let me know what do you think of this night shot and for those who have been here, tell me if you remember seeing this building?