AntiguaDailyPhoto.Com

Throughout the archives of AntiguaDailyPhoto.com you can find many of the plants and flowers available in and around the Antigua Guatemala gardens. In fact, I even created the Guateflora category to host some of the findings.

This week we will feed the Guateflora and Wallpaper categories with flowers commonly found in the jardín antigüeño, the Antiguan garden. Some, if not all, all the pictures of flowers in this week mini series can also work as computer wallpapers, so if you find something you like, please make sure you download it now.

Today’s flower goes by the common name of Nazareno, Nazarene, which is interesting purple or violet-colored flower with two shades in each of its shapes. The scientific name for the Nazareno flower is Petrea voubilis, a native plant of Guatemala, which grows in temperate weather, just like the weather in La Antigua Guatemala, with low irrigation and blossoms all year long if kept under the sun. Source: Guate Flora: Plantas ornamentales más utilizadas en jardí nes guatemaltecos (Guate Flora: Ornamental Plants Most Often Used in Guatemalan Gardens).

First wallpaper download for 2009 from La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo (LAGDP). You can browse the wallpaper category to get the other 23 Guatemalan wallpapers for your computer available from LAGDP.

Just two weeks ago I shared with you a photo red and yellow pascuas (poinsettias) and I mentioned that poinsettias were native to Guatemala and Mesoamerica. A few days after that, I came across an article in Prensa Libre entitled: Pascuas que cambian de colores (Poinsettias of different colors) in which I learned that, according to industry statistics, Guatemala is the top grower of poinsettias in the world. Guatemala produces 60 million poinsettias which represents 80% of the production in the world. How about that?

Other interesting reads about Poinsettias in Spanish/Google-translated.

• Pascuas y pinabetes, negocios de fin de año / Poinsettias and Pine trees, an end-of-the-year business
• Estrella de Nochebuena; pascua florece con la Navidad / Star of Christmas Eve, Poinsettias blossom with Christmas
• Pascuas que cambian de colores / Poinsettias of different colors

“I miss playing tenta, el botecito, escondite, kick-ball, cincos, trompos and all the good old games kids play…” —MO

It was only last week that Claudia and MO brought back those sweet memories from their childhood in Guatemala and as a good fellow I have to fulfill with images, let’s hope, that ease the nostalgic process, a bit, at least. In the quote above, MO made reference to some games that need very little or nothing other than creativity to keep a bunch of kids entertained for hours. Tenta (touch and go), escondite (hide and seek, especially if you hide with the girl/boy you like), trompos (spinning tops) and cincos (marbles) were and are games that required so little economic investment that all are able to play and have lots of fun.

Ah, sometimes you have to marvel at how much fun these marbles Guatemalan games are for such little money. For instance a bag of 50 small marbles cost a mere Q5; the same price for 25 large marbles. Oh boy, I am going to make a whole bunch kids happy tomorrow when I give away the cincos. I also have something for the big kids with computers as a download of the Guatemalan Cincos Wallpaper at 1200×900 pixels. Enjoy it!

Since I took these shots of cincos, canicas, marbles, glass balls, or whatever you want to call them and the monthly theme of the City Daily Photo web sites for December 1st is circles or spheres, I decided to participate since cincos are glass spheres after all. There are 187 participants in this theme from cities around the world, which can circle around in a few hundred click if you click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

On an entirely different medium, you can watch how cincos, canicas or marbles are made.

Even the grounds gave us good signs! The rest is history… and hope of a better future.

This time, I will share with you the Volcán de Fuego: Sí­ se pudo! Wallpaper at 1920×1440; enough for a 24″ monitor… enjoy it and be happy!

Ignacio Ochoa has published a recent article about the history of kite making in Santiago Sacatepéquez under the name of Messenges in the Wind. Below the first paragraph of this wonderful article:

On November 1 and 2, a powerful force stirs in all the towns of Guatemala. Traditional markets are filled with flowers of sempa (orange marigolds), chrysanthemums, wild daisies and the smell of copal—a pre-Columbian incense made from pine resin. People clean family graves and adorn them with cut-out tissue paper called papel picado, wreaths of fresh flowers and candles. They also honor the dead with festive foods such as candied fruits, tamales and fiambre (a cold meat and vegetable dish prepared only at this time of year). These days mark the celebration of El dí­a de los difuntos or the Day of the Dead, a very important festival throughout Guatemala, especially in the predominantly indigenous town of Santiago Sacatépequez, where it is the occasion for a unique kite-flying ritual of the Kakchiquel people, integrating the Catholic feast of All Saints with pre-Columbian Mayan practices of remembering the dead. The kites are made as a way to communicate with the dead, symbolically attracting the spirits to earth at this special time of the year, when family members, living and dead, are reunited. (continue reading… )

If you would like to have the following giant kite flying image as a wallpaper for you desktop or laptop computer, as always, just download the following photo (1200×900). You can click to thumbnail below to get a larger preview. Enjoy!

September has been one of the rainiest month thus far, but you would not know it by looking at the recent daily photos, right? Well, around Guatemala’s Independence Day on September 15th, we were lucky to have a few dry days or with very little rain. Today’s capture was taken at the heart of La Antigua Guatemala’s Central Park: The Mermaids Fountain (La fuente de las sirenas). I was lucky to see that I could catch the weather conditions through the sunshine reflected on the running water of the fountain; don’t you think?

If you’re missing a little sunshine in your life, like we are know, you can always download the image above and use it as desktop wallpaper (available up to 1200×900).

First of all, click the play button below. It’s the sound track for this entry.

It’s been a while since I presented you with a Guatemalan cuisine sampler, right? To be exact, it was February 19th, 2007 (go check it out).

We will have a little fun with this Guatemalan food sampler photo. ONE: Tell us how many of these dishes you have had. TWO: Name as many of the dishes above as you can recognize. THREE: Share with us the recipes for any of the dishes above. Simple, eh?

I am such a nice guy I am going to make this image available as a desktop wallpaper (1200×900) download for those sadomasochists Guatemalans living abroad or those brave enough to put it up on their computers.

Antojitos Soundtrack Aside: Antojitos (cravings) is the second track from a compilation of Guatemalan electronic music known as Democracia Sonora (click the link to download it). Last time I shared with you a track from this compilation was for the Chicken Bus and Driver’s Assistant entry with Zacatenango; a track with samplings of the many different call outs from the chicken buses. Antojitos, by Gabriel Quezada, is song with a similar approach of samplings of Guatemalan street food call outs. I hope you like it and download this wonderful and unique collection of Guatemalan electronic-genre music.

Here is gift for those of you who like to collect the desktop wallpapers for your computer (18 so far). From here you can download the Guatemalan Flag wallpaper to help you get in the mood for the Guatemalan Independence Day celebrations. Don’t ever say I don’t give you presents!

Okay Rudy, I don’t get it, why did title this entry Libre al viento tu hermosa bandera…? What’s the meaning?

Well, I am glad you asked. Below you will find the Spanish and English lyrics for the National Anthem of Guatemala, courtesy of Wikipedia (follow this link if you want to listen to National Anthem of Guatemala). Free into the wind, your beautiful flag is the translation for Libre al viento tu hermosa bandera.

Himno Nacional de Guatemala en español e inglés (más abajo)

¡Guatemala feliz…! que tus aras
no profanen jamás el verdugo;
ni haya esclavos que laman el yugo
ni tiranos que escupan tu faz.

Si mañana tu suelo sagrado
lo amenaza invasión extranjera,
libre al viento tu hermosa bandera
a vencer o a morir llamará.
CHORUS:
Libre al viento tu hermosa bandera
a vencer o a morir llamará;
que tu pueblo con ánima fiera
antes muerto que esclavo será.
De tus viejas y duras cadenas
tu forjaste con mano iracunda
el arado que el suelo fecunda
y la espada que salva el honor.
Nuestros padres lucharon un dí­a
encendidos en patrio ardimiento
y lograron sin choque sangriento
colocarte en un trono de amor.
CHORUS:
Y lograron sin choque sangriento
colocarte en un trono de amor,
que de Patria, en enérgico acento,
dieron vida al ideal redentor.
Es tu enseña pedazo de cielo
en que prende una nube su albura,
y ¡ay de aquel que con ciega locura,
sus colores pretenda manchar!
Pues tus hijos valientes y altivos,
que veneran la paz cual presea,
nunca esquivan la ruda pelea
si defienden su tierra y su hogar.
CHORUS:
Nunca esquivan la ruda pelea
si defienden su tierra y su hogar,
que es tan solo el honor su alma idea
y el altar de la Patria su altar.
Recostada en el Ande soberbio,
de dos mares al ruido sonoro,
bajo el ala de grana y de oro
te adormeces del bello quetzal.
Ave indiana que vive en tu escudo,
paladión que protege tu suelo;
¡ojalá que remonte su vuelo,
más que el cóndor y el águila real!
CHORUS:
¡Ojalá que remonte su vuelo,
más que el cóndor y el águila real,
y en sus alas levante hasta el cielo,
Guatemala, tu nombre inmortal!

Guatemala’s National Anthem in English

Happy Guatemala, may your altar
Never be trampled by the tormentor
Nor should slaves lick the yoke
Nor should tyrants spit in your face
If tomorrow your sacred soil
Is threatened by foreign invasion
Free into the wind, your beautiful flag
To victory or death it will call
CHORUS
Free into the wind, your beautiful flag
To victory or death it will call
Since your people, with fiery soul
Will die before becoming slaves
From your old and hard chains
You forged, with an ire-driven hand,
The plow that fertilizes the soil
And the sword that saves honor.
Our fathers fought one day,
Lit up in patriotic burning
And they were able, without bloody clash,
To place you on a throne of love.
And they were able, without bloody clash,
To place you on a throne of love,
That our Nation, in energetic assent,
Gave life to the ideal redeemer.
Your emblem shows a piece of the sky
In which a cloud gets its whiteness
Wretched is he who dares in madness
stain your colors
Well, your brave and proud sons
who admire the peace within
will never avoid the rough battles
if they are to defend their land and their home.
CHORUS
They will never avoid the rough battles
if they are to defend their land and their home
that honor is the idea that reigns their souls
and the altar of the mother country their altar
Lying in the magnificent Ande
with two oceans at hearing distance
under the wing of seeds and gold
you become entranced from the beautiful quetzal
Native bird that lives in your seal
protector that protects your soil
hopefully he will fly high
more than the condor and the royal eagle!
CHORUS
Hopefully he will fly high
more than the condor and the royal eagle
and in his wings, raise up to the sky:
Guatemala, your immortal name!

Source: Wikipedia.org

Not only in walls can you find textures in La Antigua Guatemala; sometimes even wooden beams can provide moth-eaten textures. If you remember the humble Wood Texture from a Beam, you will know how much pleasure a mundane wooden beam can produce. Today’s photo as downloadable wallpaper (1200×900 pixels) was taken by looking up at the top beam from the doorway at La Tienda de Doña Gavi.

I hope that you have enjoyed and downloaded the last three wallpapers for your computer desktop/laptop. Can you tell how many photos have been served as wallpapers?

I could spend a good hour photographing all aspects of La Tienda de Doña Gavi and perhaps bring you a series… but I won’t; I promise I will only post two more wallpapers. Today’s wallpaper, like yesterday’s, is take from the broken up wall at Doña Gavi Store. You can download the 1200×900 wallpaper from here.

If you read the entry Natural Paint Texture, you can find out the reasons for the textured-walls you see often around Antigua.

What’s up Rudy, what’s with all the yellows and reds in your photos lately?

At the closing of the inauguration parade for the Beijing 2008 Olympics, the behemoth Chinese delegation wore a yellow-and-red uniform and by the time all of them entered the stadium, they had encircled all other delegations with the colors of passion and fortune. So there, have a little passion and fortune in your life (or in your computer, at least)!

THANKS FOR YOUR DONATIONS: I want to thank publicly Alan and MO for donating towards the hosting bills of LAGDP. Also, I want to thank MO, Salvador and Susan for having purchased prints as their way of supporting my efforts to maintain this web site. Furthermore, I would like to thank John and Catherine for their continued support through the Amazon Wish List. My gratitude to all of you who have donated books and such.

If you would like to help me and contribute towards all the work that goes behind keeping up this web site alive, please, purchase prints or you can opt for another way through the menu Support My Efforts below the search form on the sidebar.

Also, don’t forget that your comments and feedback are the main encouragement to continue with the daily photo of La Antigua Guatemala.

I will be posting a very special series this coming week as my way of showing my gratitude for all your support.

THANKS!

In September 2007, I brought to you the façade and sign of La Tienda de Doña Gavi, remember?

Today I bring to you a yellow-red wallpaper for your computer desktop, which you can download from here at 1200×900 pixels. I hope you like it and use it for at least a day.

There you go again thinking I am going to give you the recipe for Guatemalanness… wrong.

But, I can do share what with you what makes Guatemalans hot. It’s this little spermatozoid-shaped-like chili pepper known in Guatemala as chiltepe. In the entry for June 7th, 2006 you can see a chiltepe stand in Antigua’s market (some of you might remember it). In the first Shrimp Ceviche photo that I published, you can see the chiltepe pepper in action.

The photo above was taken in our garden/orchard and since it’s a horizontal shot, I say to myself why not it share it as a wallpaper. So, for those brave enough to have a red hot chili pepper chiltepe wallpaper on your computer, click here to download it at 1200×900 pixels.

Disclaimer: I will not be held responsible if the chiltepe wallpaper makes you hot.

Where did all the commenters go? Come on people, this is a fun place if you add your opinions and comments. All comments are welcome and expected!

Do you really want a long name, here’s one: “Parroquia San Pedro Apostol, San Juan Bautista of San Pedro Las Huertas, La Antigua Guatemala”

If you remember at least one of the photos of the former San Pedro Apostol Church, you may say, “wait it a minute, this is not the same church, is it?”

Well, it is after over 600,000 Quetzales (US$80,000) have been spent in restoration works and a new paint job. You could say that’s not much, really, for the amazing new facelift and restoration. Well, you know how atmospheric temperature is now given in two forms: what the thermometer reads and in parenthesis (what is feels like). Okay, US$80,000 feels like half a million bucks in Guatemala; that’s how you explain the complete transformation.

This amount does not include the spot lights system and the paint job which was donated by the Novella Foundation (one of the 20 wealthy families of Guatemala). This amount does not include the thousands of man-hours donated by the San Pedro Las Huertas neighbors.

You guys are so lucky, and don’t even know it. Well, that is whoever comes to see this photo tonight. See, this image is quite possibly the one of first photos taken of this church now that it’s been restored to its former glory. This church opened its doors in 1672. As a matter of fact, they were still painting the terra cotta floor tiles tonight, running against time, since tomorrow morning they will have a big procession, mass service and at 11a.m. and right after the inauguration of the new Parroquia San Pedro Apostol, San Juan Bautista of San Pedro Las Huertas, La Antigua Guatemala. You are also lucky because I am making available this photo as a computer wallpaper for your workstation at 1600×1200 pixels.

Next week, it’s going to be the San Pedro Las Huertas Town Fair.

Today, however, was a-wonderful-first-day of the Summer season and even though we’ve been having lots of rains and floods lately, today was a gorgeous dry day with the most amazing light. To me, the quality of days is measured by the quality of light; what can I say. With this nice weather, I felt like taking a walk to the park for un atolito. I am so glad I did and that I took my camera with me.

With the atol de habas in my hand, I walk a few steps towards a gathering of men, all standing up and enjoying the beauty of their newly restored church. I shook the atol while exchanging a few words with these proud neighbors. That’s how I found out how much they have spent in the restoration; that Q400,000 of it was donated by the only factory in town (Sacos Agroindustriales); that paint job and spot lights system was donated by the Novella Foundation; that 10 construction workers were hired since January and that almost all neighbors were required to help with their own labor or donate money towards the restoration; that floors and ceiling were repaired; that tomorrow they will be having a procession, mass and inauguration, that the name of this church is very long and confusing; that these people are very nice and friendly (my neighbors, you know). All of that transpired while I shook my atol to cool it down.

That short while with the neighbors of San Pedro Las Huertas and the dozen photos I took are my highlight for the week: what a delightful time!

If you would like to see other photos with the former San Pedro Apostol Church in San Pedro Las Huertas, check out the following entries:

1. Guatemalan Fair: The Ferris Wheel
2. Guatemalan Fair: The Church and its Saint
3. Altar Inside San Pedro Las Huertas Church
4. Mobile Library Chicken Bus
5. San Pedro Las Huertas Cathedral
6. Bell ringer
7. Guatemalan Women & Killer’s Paradise

You can also browse the over 40 entries about San Pedro Las Huertas. Boy, I need to turn San Pedro Las Huertas into its own category; don’t you think so?

P.S. Today’s entry is number 796… counting up to 800 pages in La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo.

Here’s another wallpaper for your desktop as an appreciation for a donation someone made today towards the hosting bills. Thanks! I know who you are.

Anyway, if you would like to download this simple wallpaper of Volcán de Agua (Water Volcano) taken from one of the balconies of my house, please, just follow the white rabbit and click here.

Would you like to know more about this impressive volcano towering over the south flank of La Antigua Guatemala at 3,760 meters (12,336 feet)?
(more…)

Tomorrow the La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo (LAGDP) will be two years old. About 744 consecutive daily photographs and descriptive narratives of a Spanish Colonial Town embedded between coffee plantations, flower farms and volcanoes.

As a pre-celebration party, I am making available another desktop wallpaper for you computer (1600×1200 pixels) of a set of bougainvilleas colors. Like always, by clicking the photo above you will be presented with a high resolution image that you can use as a desktop wallpaper. If you are interested in the other wallpapers available for download, please, browse the wallpaper category.

Second Anniversary Side Note: By the way, I forgot to tell you that La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo (LAGDP) will be celebrating its second anniversary (731 consecutive days of entries) on May 1st. I hope you come to celebrate this amazing milestone (at least for me).