AntiguaDailyPhoto.Com

Everyone needs to take a break every once in a while, I am taking mine right now; best wishes for this new week and please take it slowly.

I have said it often and I even declared it as irrefutable fact: the best place to have ice cream in Antigua Guatemala has to be the Plaza Mayor (main plaza), better known as Parque Central. So, it comes as no surprise that there are seven ice cream shops within one block from parque central; maybe more. Still, if you don’t believe me ask these three happy-ice-cream-eating nuns.

One more thing, remember that the ice cream in Guatemala is unbelievably delicious because it is the real McCoy.

If you don’t know the Guatemalan artists Ricardo Arjona and Gaby Moreno this is your chance to catch them both doing a duet arrangement. They are the most famous and popular Guatemalan artists abroad. (more…)

Can anybody help me understand why a country with a +55% population of indigenous Maya hires European-looking models to dress as Maya indigenous women?

Please help me comprehend what’s wrong with our indigenous women that Guatemala’s Tourism Board hires light-skin ladinas and white women to represent our women?

I need help understanding what’s wrong with the other 45% of the population? Don’t mestizos, ladinos, blacks and whites fit the “Guatemalan profile”?

Please, do not get the wrong idea, not all Guatemalan women wear the colorful Mayan textiles and the Guatemalan society is so much more complex than this cartoonish image which is being promoted by the Tourism board. If you don’t believe, take a trip through the Guatemalan Women category to see the full rainbow of possibilities.

The basket business could easily be another series about the ambulant food vendors who make a living selling all kinds food from a canasta (basket). These canastas can be used to carry and/or sell all sorts of things like tortillas, atoles (thick drinks), panes (bread), dobladas, tostadas, beef stews, fruits and vegetables, flowers, or tamales like in the picture above.

What other things have you seen in these baskets?

Parque Central, as we informally call the Plaza Mayor (Main Plaza), is among the favorite photo session locations in La Antigua Guatemala. Heck, there are a half a dozen photographers who make their living there as shown in Pueblo Chico, Chisme Grande and Photographing the Photographers. Wedding photographers also like to use Parque Central as backdrop for their photo session as shown in Antigua Guatemala as Wedding Destination. Of course, Quinceañera photo shoots are also quite popular in Parque Central.

That’s right, it’s already May, which marks the commencement of the rainy season, thus the umbrella time. We haven’t seen the Sompopos de mayo yet, but they are not as punctual as they used to be. We’re a bit late as well since we should’ve made the rainy season announcement last week, like Hugo Muralles did in GuatemalaDailyPhoto.com with a photo of a drenched flower still holding onto some rain drops.

Do you know what Sompopos are? If not read our Myths and Facts about the Guatemalan Sompopo and follow the white rabbit to all the photos and posts regarding Sompopos.

Happy Guatemalan Mother’s Day!

I especially wish a Happy Mother’s Day to my own madre. As Luna McCarthy mentioned in XelaDailyPhoto this morning: Mother’s Day always falls on May 10 in Guatemala, as opposed to many countries where it falls on the 2nd Sunday of May.

Today is also a holiday for mothers in Guatemala, so moms get the day off from work. There are numerous traffic reports in Twitter about how light the traffic is today in Guatemala City. Some even wonder if all the traffic is actually generated by the working mommies. Follow the hash tag #traficoGT to read all the reports.

Mother’s Day observed in AntiguaDailyPhoto in previous years:

In 2010, I cherished memories of my mom and I eating POPS ice cream when I was a kid. Although, in general, I don’t like sweets, I have never passed up the opportunity to eat ice cream; now I know why. I would 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; I think!). I am glad I was able to spend some time with you recently.

In 2009 we had a contest to win a signed 4×6 post card with Guatemalan stamps to the first person that could correctly tell what Mayan language the Mayan mothers speak.

In 2008, I showed you an indigenous mother helping her son to overcome his fears in the entry Mother’s Safety Zone.

In 2007 I posted a very long entry showing you three kinds of Guatemalan mothers: the cowgirl mother, the urban rocker mom, and the indigenous mamá in the entry May 10th: Mother’s Day in Guatemala. I also touched the subject of inter-country adoptions which was it was hot topic back then. That’s no longer an issue, but if you want to go back in time to read about those three kinds of moms and the adoption issues, follow the white rabbit.

I wonder what what is she thinking, I wonder what are the Guatemalan women thinking about on this International Women’s Day?

In Guatemala, more than in other place in the world, there is a need for caring and protecting women’s rights. My best wishes to all the women of the world on your day and always, as every day should be women’s day.

I believe I’ve been talking way too much. It is your turn to talk now. AntiguaDailyPhoto is fun if we both talk. So, I am all ears; what’s up?

When I shot this photo in front of Antigua Guatemala’s Municipality building, I remembered Henri Cartier-Bresson’s Behind Gare St. Lazare photo and it made me think of his Decisive Moment concept. I guess we photographers unconsciously imitate the masters; well, at least try it…

text and photo by Pinar Istek

I don’t recall if I have told you that Guatemala’s school year begins in January and end in October; have I mentioned it? Anyway, since the school year ends in October, this month you can see a lot of graduations and all the paraphernalia associated with graduations.

Another interesting fact about Guatemala’s educational system is the fact that after 12 years of school, 14 if we include párvulos (pre-school), graduates receive a vocational or junior career diploma such as primary school teacher, junior accountant, et cetera.

What other junior career diplomas are given after 12 years of education?

Today I took a photo tour with other members of Club Fotográfico de Antigua inside Finca Filadelfia. The idea behind the tour was to capture new coffee images for a photo exhibit event as part of Festival en Finca Filadelfia con sabor a café on September 25.

The whole tour was an eye opener to say the least and I learned a lot about coffee as well as I had a great time with fellow photographers and club members. This image was captured as two coffee pickers were leaving after having performed the harvesting of coffee berries for our benefit.

Guatemala landslides aside: Elsewhere in Guatemala, landslides kill dozens as a result of the heavy rains. Once again, Guatemala suffers the effects of torrential rains. A massive landslide buried a crowd trying to dig out a bus from deep mud on Sunday, killing at least 22 people, with dozens more feared dead, as torrential rains battered Guatemala. Somehow, it seems that Guatemala has received much more rains than what it’s capable of absorbing and the entire country is falling apart. The news headlines about Guatemala will increase in the next few days as the emergency workers continue to dig out all the victims. “More than 30 separate landslides cut the Inter-American Highway, one of Guatemala’s main roads, within a single 30-mile (50-km) stretch…” Read Router’s Guatemala landslides kill dozens, toll seen rising to get an overview of the natural disasters.

In the previous century it was common knowledge that one could identify the provenance of the Maya people in Guatemala, especially women, by their corte and güipil (skirt and blouse). Pan-Mayanism is changing this at such fast rate that in just a few years the Maya will mix and match textiles from all over the Mayan world and it will be impossible to apply the outdated and expired canons. In La Antigua Guatemala this mixing and matching is already true. Of course, textiles and Maya weaving is only one aspect of Pan-Mayanism, the most obvious perhaps, but only one facet of this movement.

Looking for other aspects of Pan-Mayanism I found the entitled Pan-Maya Ideology and Bilingual Education in Yucatan [PDF file] which shows how this movement is all over the Mayab (Mayan world). Below I share with you an excerpt of the above essay to

Pan-Maya ideology is the conscious construction of a local identity in the Maya area with connections to other Maya groups in Chiapas, Guatemala, Belize, and the United States. Pan-Maya ideology is much more associated with the highlands, especially the highlands of Guatemala…

Pan-Maya ideology is a relatively new political direction for revitalizing Maya identity in the world of the Maya…

I also found a reference to “Becoming Maya in San Francisco: The Redefinition of a Pan-Maya Identity among Guatemalan Refugees,” American Anthropological Association, San Francisco, published in December 1992, but I was not able to find the document (at leat for now).

Perhaps I need a follow up article to expand in the subject, what do you say, does pan-Mayanism interests you?

As a graphic designer I can never ceased to be amazed by the intricate brightly colored textiles worn by the Maya people of Guatemala. I hope to always remain astonished.

A few years back LD ranted about all the people she came across wearing earbuds while riding the public transit buses in Toronto after having spent a few years in Guatemala where the practice was rare, if not, nonexistent in the chicken bus rides. I remember her rant because at the time I hadn’t noticed it.

Now, however, very often I see people wearing earphones or the omnipresent “white earbuds” of the iPhones and iPods. This evident increase in earbuds usage has different reasons other than to shut the world out; which is a valid reason on my book.

The more obvious reason for the increase of headphones is the music players, iPods and the generic clones, are so much cheaper now in Guatemala. Entry level portable music players can be had for as little as $25 to $50 for the iPod generic clones.

Another reason for the increase in earphone usage is actually cellphones, many of which now come with hands-free earbuds, as in the picture above, for the making and receiving calls as well as for listening to the radio. That’s right, many cheap mobile phones now come with AM/FM radio and Guatemalans love listening to the radio.

Since we are now talking about mobile phones, I like the opportunity to share with you some great hindsights about cellphones and their transformative power in Guatemala written by our guest author Kara Andrade for Americas Quarterly and Ashoka. Below I will quote some thoughts that I consider relevant, but I suggest you read the entire articles.

Cell phones are ubiquitous and becoming more widely adopted each day in a country where there more cellphones than citizens…

The reality of Guatemala’s Telecom advantage is starting to influence the way people, organizations and government institutions get and provide information. News organizations like Emisoras Unidas, Radio Sonora, El Periódico, and others provide breaking news via text or SMS alerts and ask listeners to contribute news, comments and traffic reports that are often read out on-air.

Technology in the shape of cellphones that are cheap, accessible and ubiquitous is becoming transformative for Guatemala. While cellphones are not the only tool in Guatemala’s development, their role is vital in the country’s gradual process of democratization… (source: Above the clouds, five bars — and more)

The fact that Android is free and open source and now available in places like Guatemala is important because many people in developing countries use mobile [phones] as their primary or only source for Web access…

In Guatemala, long after the asphalt and pavement ends, cell phone networks extend deep into the mountains, and coverage is almost universally accessible. Much to the surprise of its Central American neighbors, Guatemala’s telecom sector is in the top four in Latin America…

The municipality of Guatemala City sends out traffic alerts throughout the day to Twitter and users also contribute development about protests, blockades and construction…

Access is not just for the wealthy or for those with good credit. Anyone can buy a cell phone [internet access] in Guatemala by texting 805 “wap”. Under Tigo’s plan, $.60 per day allows for unlimited access browsing the Internet. That’s cheaper than texting. (source: Androids Land in Guatemala)

I have mentioned some of these facts before, however, it is a pleasure to read them in a well rounded article written by a Guatemalan professional journalist like Kara Andrade.