La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo

Last year I showed you one of the Surf Shops in La Antigua Guatemala and talked about surfing in Guatemala in general. Here’s the the quote from the August 28th, 2007 entry:

Actually, you can get straight down to the Pacific Ocean in about 45 to 60 minutes (depends on your safety level while driving) through one of the most beautiful stretches of road in Guatemala, known simply as Carretera 14 (road #14) and then the highway in Escuintla. Two prime beaches for surfing are Monterrico and Sipacate, both of them about two hours from La Antigua Guatemala.

It looks like more surfers are finding out about these prime surfing jewels in the Guatemalan Pacific Coast.

Surf’s up dudes!

Often, around La Antigua Guatemala, you see long lines of tourist in uniforms; sometimes is just a t-shirt, sometimes is the everything. You wonder what organization they belong to or what are they here for. In this case, I wish I had asked their reasons to wear the same t-shirt. Darn!

This is the kind of smile you see often on people’s faces who visit La Antigua Guatemala. The weather gods do help, I guess.

This is the façade of Café No Sé in La Antigua Guatemala, headquarters of the John Rexer’s 1a avenida sur empire. His efforts to take control over the whole 1a avenida sur (1st Avenue South) are a little more humble than Pinky and The Brain Gutiérrez who want the whole world to convert to their tender, juicy and crunchy recipe of fried chicken.

Now onto other subjects, did you know that last Wednesday, February 6th, was Ash Wednesday, the official beginning of Lent or Cuaresma as it’s known in La Antigua Guatemala.

Are you ready for 40 days of religious and cultural celebrations prior to the Holy Week?

One by one all the houses in La Antigua Guatemala are becoming business like cafes, spanish schools, offices, travel agencies, folk-art stores, et-cetera. Above you see the corridor at Café No Sé, which was converted into a dining area by placing a few tables and chairs.

Once again Manolo, in his effort to become the pebble in my shoe, points out that I am such a voyeur… Can you believe that! Manolo made such comment about the capture of a group of women tourists taking a sunbath in a public place, La Fuente Restaurant to be precise, while having lunch or a snack break.

I do not think I am crossing the line since I am capturing everyday life scene as I come across them; sometimes influenced by your comments and suggestions. Nevertheless, it is a good idea to check that I am not crossing the line of capturing private moments, so I found this great discussion about Street photography or voyeurism at photo.net, one my original favorite site (boy, we are talking all the way back to the mid 1990s). Anyway, I leave a teaser quote by Barry Fisher who said this:

…Often the object is moving anyways. I have no simple answer as to when or not to. If I really think someone is going to object or they’ve actually indicated they don’t want to be photographed, I will usually honor that but then, for me, its a balancing test of many factors. I suppose it has more to do of how you identify with personal space. If you believe or are in a frame of mind that “we are all here in public sharing space and time, and I’m going to capture the wonder of it all” then I suppose you won’t think of it as being voyeuristic. But if you feel like you are capturing people’s private moments even stealing them, like we all must at sometimes, then you are a voyeur at that moment. Do you have a problem accepting that you may be a voyeur? —Barry Fisher at Photo.net

We are talking about voyeurism as in the act of observing people without the sexual gratification which is normally associated with the word; just to clarify it. I believe that I do tend to be a voyeur or obsessive observer when it comes to capture the most natural street life scenes. My goal is to capture the intriguing split-second scene. I do not like posed photographs, especially posed street photos because once the subject is aware of the lens the natural feel is lost; the window that I open for you into the daily life of La Antigua Guatemala is broken.

Yet, sometimes I ask permission before actually clicking the shutter and once the permit is granted I wait until the subject goes back to the natural state; less defensive mood. Such was the case for this shot of Jacque (Jack in English he said) drawing this colorful chicken bus in front of Hotel Aurora.

Is this voyeuristic enough for you (Manolo)? Or is it just an honest shot of what you may encounter yourself while strolling around the streets of La Antigua Guatemala? What is it?

Yes Manolo, the weather gods are on LAG side. Above you see a group of tourists having the Sun for lunch and enjoying it too. Yes the temperate weather gods have been given La Antigua Guatemala temperatures between 68 and 74 degrees Fahrenheit in the harshest Winter month. Oh boy, life is wonderful in La Antigua Guatemala…

Don’t you wish you could be in La Antigua Guatemala having a bath of this wonderful sunshine?

Street photography is my thing because I like to capture people, their interactions, their clashes, their feelings, their thoughts (yeah right!), et-cetera. I also like to capture color and texture. If I am lucky I can get all of that in one photograph. —rg

I guess that many tourists like the opportunity to eat rich ice cream in the winter season in the open in La Antigua Guatemala’s streets. Last year I showed you two tourists taking a break in the late afternoon to eat ice cream in Enjoy it while it lasts!

Would you like to go out for ice cream just about now? I wish I could take my little sister Jamie for some ice cream because she turned 21 today.

The photographer was capturing fleeting emotions, split-second gestures, temporary smiles or pensive introspections, passing pedestrians, et-cetera. Stealing souls, pues!

Watching the Watchers Watch is what we call in Spanish a trabalenguas or tongue twister.

What kind of stories do you see in this picture?

Okay, here we go again. We are going to discuss a sensitive issue again.

Yes, Spanish Classes in La Antigua Guatemala is a very touchy subject, you know. The next post will definitely raise a few voices and hurt some feelings. I just hope to come out slightly bruised from this affair. But before we open the book on this unpredictable topic, we should take a coffee break.

Come back tomorrow to learn about the zillion Spanish schools available in La Antigua Guatemala.

The tree of knowledge was an apple tree and Newton took a bite from a fallen apple. The rest is history they say, but history is being rewritten as we speak.

Adam and Eve also had a bite or two with the apple in their so call paradise; probably somewhere in Kazakhstan, a former Soviet Republic in Central Asia, bordering China. Kazakhstan is also the home country of Borat, who has had many apples for sure.

Paris also had some trouble because of the apple he gave to Aphrodite, offending Hera and Athene; thus the Apple of Discord (c 1400).

No other fruit, well maybe except for chile and maize, has changed history in so many ways.

We could go on and on about apples throughout history, but since this is not history site, we move forward to the future, all the way to 1984, not George Orwell’s novel, which he wrote in 1948 (I believe he was dyslexic at the moment he typed the title of his novel). Anyhow, we are talking about the 1984 television commercial launched by Apple Inc. in 1984, to promote a tiny computer under the name of Macintosh, another kind of apple. This is what Wikipedia has on the now world famous advertisement:

The ad showed an unnamed heroine (played by Anya Major) wearing red shorts, red running shoes, and a white tank top with a Picasso-style picture of Apple’s Macintosh computer, running through an Orwellian world to throw a sledgehammer at a TV image of Big Brother — an implied representation of IBM — played by David Graham[1]. This was followed by an on-screen message and accompanying voice over by actor Edward Grover: “On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like 1984.” At the end, the Apple “rainbow bitten apple” logo is shown on a black background.

Okay Rudy, where the heck are you going with this entry, you ask just about now?

Oh nowhere really, just a little explanation for the plausible origins of the little white apple with a bite taken out of it.

Postdata. There are many Apple computers in La Antigua Guatemala and the apple orchard just keeps on expanding with new iPods, iPhones, and iPod Touch fruits. Soon Guatemala will go from the derogatory alias of “Banana Republic” to an Apple Republic. Maybe not. I often forget this is a third-world country. I must’ve had one too many apples today!

This is what happens when you watch three of Darren Aronofsky films in a row: Pi, Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain. The last one with so many references to Guatemala, that is not even funny. You should see it.

From the tables of Cafe Micho’s, right across yesterday’s fountain, in the corridor facing south of the Jaulón building, you can meet with friends and family for coffee or beers, or simply enjoy a sandwich from one the best bistros/pubs in town. The tables all face to the central patio, with the fountain slightly off-center. You can enter this beautifully restored building from the east and south entrances; from the south entrance you enter the Jaulón building through and arched doorway.

Cafe Micho’s is a great place to have a dark Moza beer (a bock type brew and my favorite beer from Guatemala), while taking a breaking from all this walking around town.

Touring around Guatemala can be tough during the rainy season, but it can be done… nothing a good raincoat and an umbrella can not solve. But, if you absolutely want the best weather, the best photographic light, the best Volcán de Fuego show, then you have to come in the November through February months.

Even backpackers have to add an umbrella to their arsenal while traveling in Guatemala during the rainy season.