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Visiting the El Carmen ruins folkart market is among the top things people do on the weekends and holidays in La Antigua Guatemala.

Here’s a little secret. One of things on my to do list is to capture through time-lapse photography the contrast between the stark, almost monochromatic muted colors of the El Carmen ruins and cobblestone streets and the colorful handicrafts sold at the market.

Can you imagine watching the time-lapse video beginning with just the ruins and cobbled streets as backdrop and then how the color is added as each new vendor sets up shop and displays the colorful Guatemalan handicrafts?

On January 4, 2010, in the comments posted under Digital life in Antigua Guatemala, Braaad wondered aloud:

“I can’t wait till smartphones are cost-effective enough to saturate the entire country, i.e. the average Jose will be able to browse, watch vids, get email…PAY BILLS ONLINE, ahem.

Can you imagine LAG without all the lines to pay utilities at the bank? That’s some Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
I give it 2 years to become a reality.

Within the same entry SJBJ commented:

one of the sharpest memories I have of Guatemala is our first trip there, in 2007. We were in Chichi and there was an elderly woman there, in traditional dress, could have been 100 years ago. EXCEPT, she was speaking (in a native language) into a cell phone. Really took us aback, the contrast between traditional and modern.

Well Braaad, it’s already happening and I forgot to mention that to you back then. Sorry!

I was enjoying a Guanabana ice cream from Sarita and having my shoes shined while I took today’s picture. Next to me were two young Maya men from the Quiché Department talking in the K’iche’ language and doing something with their phones which I did not understand. I asked them what they were doing and they kindly and slowly explained to me that they were swapping videos and music via bluetooth. Hah? I uttered and they spoke slowly and with terms a neophyte like myself could understand.

I asked where they had gotten the videos and music in the first place. “Oh, from various sources,” they said. “Sometimes we swap among friends, like right now. Other times we download from the internet or get them from cyber-cafes.” The two men kept flying through the telephone keyboards without missing a keystroke while explaining all those hi-tech things to me. It was like the scene from Martin Scorsese’s The Departed – where the infiltrated Collin Sullivan (Matt Damon) sends a warning text message while keying it blindly because the telephone was in his pants packet.

Both of the young Maya men, under the age of 25, are from San Antonio Ilotenango, Quiché and are entrepreneurs. The hand on the left belongs to the owner of several ice cream carts through La Antigua Guatemala. The other hand belongs to a shoe shiner with several boxes around the Main Plaza.

That day I learned that the Maya are not sitting down waiting for “us” to bring them the technology and the knowledge of “how to use it.” That day I learned to be hopeful of the New Guatemala that peeks from just around the corner of the near future. That day I was reassured that Internet access in every corner of Guatemala will become a realty sooner than I expected; that edge and 3G mobile smart phones with Internet access are being used by a wider range of people than I expected; that Open School computer workshops are benefiting a lot of people who are usually off our attention radar.

It’s like what George Whitesides said in his recent TED talk, A lab the size of a postage stamp about the cellphones: “I don’t know if the idea of one computer, one child makes any sense anymore; here’s the computer of the future… The screen is already there and the device is pretty ubiquitous.”

That day I left the park with my shoes shined, my appetite satisfied, my heart full and a big smile on my face. Life is good!

The Maya represent a culture that demonstrates how tradition and technology can thrive together. This Maya woman, dressed in the traditional Mayan falda – or skirt – fills the tank of her scooter at a local gas station: Guatemala truly is the “Land of Contrasts.” I love what it symbolizes… progression without losing the rich attributes of the past.

text and photo by Laura McNamara

I am completely ruined. After having spent so much time around rich, intense colors, textures, idiosyncrasies, how could I ever live again in places with muted colors, muted lifestyles, where everything is the same old, same old.

How could I? How could you?

Oh, I don’t think I will ever get tired for the abundant fresh produce available in el mercado of La Antigua Guatemala from the regular permanent stands or the ambulant produce sellers. Either way, you’re guaranteed fresh and colorful vegetables and fruits everyday. Life is good!

Women. They are the subject of these pictures. Why? The gruesome brutality hasn’t stopped. In fact, it has barely dipped. The Latin American Herald Tribune reports that 708 women were violently murdered in Guatemala in 2009. That figure is down compared to the 773 reported violent deaths in 2008, but not by much. There is simply no justice:

According to activist Norma Cruz, who heads the Survivors Foundation that provides help for abused women in Guatemala, no plans exist to guarantee women’s safety. In a statement to reporters, Cruz said that more security agents are needed in areas considered extremely dangerous for women. The activist regretted that even though police and prosecutors nab the aggressors, the courts tend to free them with such substitute measures as letting them out on bail. Guatemala is second in the world in murders of women after Russia, which posts more than 10,000 crimes against women, according to the Human Rights Prosecutor’s Office. Source: Latin American Herald Tribune

Second in the world in murders of women. Jarring. Disheartening. I briefly touched upon this issue in an article I wrote for Revue Magazine. Las Gravileas is a school for low-income women that not only teaches women a wealth of technical skills and business skills, but one that also stresses the importance and value a women plays in her family and community. So, unlike traditional media where only the disappointing statistics are reported, I would like to point readers to a positive response. I would like to offer an opportunity for becoming a part of the solution. Read about Las Gravileas, and, if you dare, become a part of the solution by donating or, better yet, getting involved. (Contact me for more information… if you dare.)

The Guardians of Las Gravileas

A project where women serve their sisters…

The center’s name is symbolic. In a country where coffee represents approximately 10 percent of the gross domestic income, the gravilea tree provides a critical, protective canopy for the shade-loving plant. Just as the gravilea tree provides this fundamental necessity for the cultivation of coffee, so, too, is Las Gravileas meant to offer a protective, nurturing environment for women of every background and ethnicity.

“It’s a name that represents receiving, taking care of, and supporting the growth of a woman,” Project Manager Dalila de Montoya says. The keys to achieving this ideal environment, she adds, are education and training.

Las Gravileas is defined as a center for the promotion and technical training of artisan women. The project offers a large assortment of instruction, ranging from textiles, piñata making and ceramic molding and painting to cooking and baking, basic literacy, business studies and more… continue reading the entire article at Revue Magazine.

Also remember to visit the Survivors Foundation“>Survivors Foundation website. Norma Cruz has just been named Person of the Year 2009 by the Guatemalan national newspaper the Prensa Libre. Contacting her or her organization would also be a great start to becoming a part of the solution.

The women in these pictures are from Santa Caterina Polopó and San Antonio Polopó at Lake Atitán – just a few hours drive from La Antigua Guatemala. Instead of thinking of statistics, think of them and the thousands like them. Beautiful Maya women. Maya mothers, sisters, daughters… whose lives are being violently taken at alarming rates. And for what? A lack of education in their communities. A lack of interest by anyone else.

I leave you with a poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller – hoping it will help instill you to go beyond reading the facts and statics, hoping it will urge you to act.

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.

text and photos by Laura McNamara

How do you get people infected with good stuff? I mean, it is difficult for foreigners to visit Guatemala, and, sometimes, that’s even true for Guatemalans living overseas. Taking on a lesson from our friend Iván Castro, we can only do it by getting everyone infected with good stuff.

So, here is one of my attempts at infecting you

How many countries have so many volcanoes, so many mountains, so many cultures, so much diversity, and in all, so much greatness? (don’t ask about negative stuff, eh) Very few countries, and Guatemala is one of them…

Antigua is surrounded by volcanoes that give sunsets a subtle, beautiful touch. And, just walking around on Sunday; you can find even more good stuff. On Friday’s afternoons (4 p.m.), there are also free concerts by the Central Park. Music is also in and around Antigua. Art in general.

Paraphrasing a bit Colombia’s tourism slogan “The Only Risk Is Wanting to Stay”, the chances are that if you come to La Antigua Guatemala, you’ll want to stay and live here; I know I did! ;O)

text and photos by Arturo Godoy

I have shown you before the Tanque de la Unión public washbasins, but I don’t think I ever showed you what they look like in a typical laundry day in Antigua Guatemala.

Below you can find two different takes on the same Tanque de la Unión from Upside Down Arches and Arches Reflected.

A few days ago Susanita was asking herself about rambutan and loquats tropical fruits.

Rambutan, or licha as it is known in Guatemala, is a red, plum-sized tropical fruit with soft spines and a slightly acidic taste. Lichas are now a staple of the mercados in Guatemala. Lichas (rambutan) are new comers and that’s why some Guatemalans living abroad might not be familiar with them.

Loquats, on the other hand, has been a staple of the Guatemalan fruit repertoire for as long as I can remember. “What the hell are you talking about?” Guatemalans maybe asking just about now. That’s right, loquats are nisperos or misperos, depends who you ask. As always, follow the white rabbit to see nisperos and read the background information.

Okay, I have solved the mysteries of rambutan and loquats tropical fruits. Now, which one do you prefer?

If there were an unofficial anthem for Guatemala, that would be El Grito. Most Guatemalan grow hearing El Grito and even dancing the “son” in school events.

Here’s a question for the Guatemalans living abroad, when was the last time you heard El Grito and what kind thoughts crossed your mind?

Here’s yet another dose of Sobrevivencia… A Guatemalan Mayan rock band. This time Sobrevivencia performs a rock version of El Grito. Enjoy!