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Mother’s Day always falls on May 10 in Guatemala. Thus, today is a holiday for mothers in Guatemala and many mamás get the day off from work.

I’d 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; maybe?!). I am glad I was able to spend some time with you recently. Let me share with you the Guatemalan classic marimba Un vals para mi madre (A waltz for my mother) and wish you a very happy Guatemalan Mother’s Day!

I read somewhere that the relationships among siblings are the longest of all. In this case, these two brothers are building a very strong relationship from the start. I like how the older brother wraps his arm around his little brother in a sort of protection way.

This is just another daily life stamp from Antigua Guatemala, I hope you enjoy it.

By the way, next Tuesday AntiguaDailyPhoto will be celebrating its 6th year anniversary of bringing you everyday life images, stories, art and news from Antigua Guatemala.

Here’s a follow up to Run Lolo Run published over five years ago. Once again, there’s kid running with both feet on the air. Also, once again the kid is framed, but this time the perspective is different. Visit the original Run Lolo Run and compare it with todays photo and tell us which one you like better.

Often I have spoken about the wonderful feel-good vibe that one can sense and be part of while hanging out at the Plaza Mayor, better known simply as Parque Central, Antigua Guatemala’s Main Plaza, but I have not been able to seize the sensation in a picture until today.

If you have been to Parque Central and sat on one of the benches or just hanged there, please, share with us what vibes, feelings or sensetions have you perceived.

I read somewhere, can’t remember where now, that luck is just where preparation meets an opportunity. Well, if that’s the case, I was lucky to capture this little girl as she was walking to get an ice cream cone. I was with the camera ready on my hand and thought the heladero, ice cream vendor, would be an outstanding stamp of the daily life around Antigua Guatemala, so I began to make the composition and to my surprise this little girl showed up and made the photo even better; ten times better.

I feel lucky to have been prepared when the opportunity appeared, don’t you agree?

How many people can you fit inside a bus?

The chicken bus Guinness World Record of how many people you can fit in a bus was broken today at Jocotenango, Sacatepéquez, Guatemala with 221 people inside the chicken bus, two chickens and lots of Gallos (beer). The previous record of 209 people was held by Poland.

The activity was organized by the Municipality of Jocotenango, a community just outside Antigua Guatemala. The very young mayor of Jocotenango declared to be very happy because Guatemala had obtained its first Guinness World Record and because it was his humble town of Jocotenango who broke the previous record of the most people inside a bus. The first activity was to fill the chicken bus with as many children as possible; 100 showed up and each kid was given a participation diploma. Later, the adults entered the bus until there was no room to walk in, then, some people decided to enter the bus through the windows since there was still space inside the bus because some people had climbed to luggage racks inside the bus. At this point the previous Guatemalan record of 180 people were passed as the counting showed 190 people were inside the bus. This was not good enough for the world record of 209 people. A second try was organized, but this time in a orderly manner 10 by 10 people entered the chicken bus making sure to leave no free space available. After 210 people were inside everybody became excited because the previous record had been broken, but there was still space for another 11 people.

El joven alcalde de Jocotenango, Sacatepéquez declaró estar muy contento de que Guatemala tuviera su primera marca Guinness y que fuera el pueblo de Jocotenango el que haya roto el récord de más gente en un autobús. Primero subieron los niños quienes llegaron hasta la cifra de 100 dentro de la camioneta; cada niño recibió un diploma de participación a la salida de la camioneta. Luego subieron las personas adultas, poco a poco, hasta que ya no se podía ingresar al bus. Fue entonces que algunos empezaron a subir por las ventas y otros a acomodarse en las parrillas interiores del equipaje para hacer más espacio. Aún así sólo cupieron 190 personas, que era suficiente para romper la marca de 180 personas que existe en Guatemala, pero no la marca mundial de 209 que posía Polonia. En el segundo conteo, ingresaron de 10 en 10 hasta llegar a 210 personas dentro del autobús con lo que se rompió el récord Guinness, pero aún había espacio por lo que ingresaron otras 11 personas y así se llego a la cifra de 221 personas dentro de la camioneta «chicken bus». El alcalde manifestó sentirse satisfecho del logro alcanzado por el pueblo de Jocotenango y por todos aquellos que participaron en el evento. También ofreció que las puertas de Jocotenango estaban abiertas para todos los extranjeros.

Here’s a slide show which gives you a general idea of the breaking of the previous Guinness Record.

Of course this page would not be complete without a contribution from my dear friend Nelo Mijangos who has prepared a time lapse video of the loading and unloading of the chicken bus. Enjoy!

Once again, you write the caption in a similar manner than yesterday’s Thinking Boy. What’s the little girl deliberating about?

Okay today you write the caption. What’s the little boy thinking about?

… now you see me, now you don’t…

At the closing of the 31st of December, we’ll be saying our goodbyes to 2011 and I want to take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful people who have left comments or sent feedback. I want to send a big THANK YOU to all of you who supported my efforts. A very special THANK YOU to all the guest contributors who made AntiguaDailyPhoto a richer, polyphonic resource for all things Guatemala.

We close the year 2011 with 2099 pages, 11,005 comments and 2,869,115 visits (at the time of writing).

Please, let us know what were your favorite entries, your favorite series, or your favorite photos of the year. THANKS!

I took over one hundred photos for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, but by and large the portrait of this tender Guatemalan Guadalupano is my favorite. Follow the white rabbit to look at the photographic slide show of Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Today’s theme for The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12 in Antigua Guatemala will be photographic backdrops and photo stages. In the slide show below you can find find examples of the Guatemalan kitsch at its best.

As I have shared with you in previous years, in La Antigua Guatemala, religious celebrations draw together all kinds of heterogeneous people and the Feast of Our Lady of Virgen de Guadalupe is no exception. On December 12 celebrations of La Virgen de Guadalupe, Our Lady of Guadalupe, you can find gringa moms, indigenous mamás, ladino madres and white mamás all taking their children dressed with indigenous clothes to visit the altar of La Virgen Morena.

I am not sure whether now there are more people celebrating Halloween in La Antigua Guatemala or if I am just more aware of the alienation of Guatemalans in general. Although it is kind of difficult to use the word alienation for a town like Antigua Guatemala where most people are not locals. Perhaps, that’s why unconsciously I only photographed Guatemalans kids; who knows really. Anyway, it is what it is or as we say in Guatemala, lo hecho, hecho.

Here’s another day trip away from regular school day. Boy, when I was a kid anything to get me away from a regular school day, especially if it was for a theater play, concerto, or philharmonic recital, even visits to museums were good. So I guess a visit to a church is just as good when you’re a kid, even if it isn’t politically correct for the adults.

Just like the separation of State and Church is not an issue in Antigua Guatemala, taking students from a public school to visit a church for mass service is not an issue either.

To be honest, it’s quite difficult to separate religious rituals and festivities from culture in Guatemala. Often times the boundaries that separate religion and culture, traditions and identity are very fuzzy, out of focus really (pun intended). I believe even atheists participate in some religious rituals and feasts like Cuaresma (Lent), Semana Santa (Holy Week) and Navidad/Noche Buena (Christmas/Christmas Eve). In fact, I remember reading the chronicle of an atheist and leftist poet and author who had became a cucurucho (float bearer) for Lent along with some of this friends.

What do you think about taking students from a public school to mass service inside a church?

The kites on the skyline mark the end of the rainy season, the beginning of the cold and dry weather and the arrival of the winds from the great white north. The kites also mark the approaching Día de los Muertos celebrations and that is time for the world famous fiambre from Guatemala.

By the way, in Guatemala we use the word Barrilete for kite while Papalote is used in other parts of Latin America.