Sometimes it pays to be present at the right moment with the camera ready to capture a fleeting instance. Such was the case of man paying for his order of chiles rellenos. By the way, did you know that chiles rellenos are normally sold on Sundays, so it was a surprise to see the sign of Hoy Chiles Rellenos on the door on a Wednesday.

When was the last time you had Guatemalan chiles rellenos?

One thing I have noticed reviewing the archives of AntiguaDailyPhoto is that I have yet to visit all the villages of Antigua Guatemala. This year I plan to visit and photograph all the villages of La Antigua Guatemala. To that end, here’s the church of San Gaspar Vivar, a small community sandwich between San Pedro Las Huertas, San Juan del Obispo and Santa Catarina Bobadilla. I will also spend sometime going through the archives reclassifying old post so they appear on the correct village categories.

How many villages of Antigua Guatemala or nearby municipalities have you visited?

Siesta time used to be sacred in Antigua Guatemala. Almost all business stop for lunch and siesta time between 12pm and 3pm or 1pm and 3pm. Nowadays, many businesses are owned by foreigners and the tradition of siesta is being lost. Heck, many businesses are not even closing for lunch anymore.

Even though it’s convenient to have everything open at lunch time, something very important is being lost, does anyone know what it is?

“I have everything I ever wanted, nothing I ever really needed,” I read in Twitter.

In Guatemala is quite the opposite most of the time for most Guatemalans. Often I see Guatemalans, young and old, have so much fun with so little. Kids buy an inexpensive colorful plastic ball or natural membrane ball and have an informal foot ball match, and I mean real foot ball, not what North Americans call foot ball; a chamusca pues. Adults can spend a few hours playing cards at the park.

The image above brought back memories of a family spending quality time at the green areas of the ruins and where I wrote “the best things in life are free or nearly free as Claudia said it, “… simple times, simple pleasures, family, friends, nature… ” feel her heart with nostalgia.”

And that image triggered this comment from Claudia, a long time reader of AntiguaDailyPhoto:

“No helmets, no amber alerts, no Wiis, just a plastic ball or if lucky a real soccer ball…”

“… I feel one component that I loved of living down there was that you knew everyone and everyone knew you, or of you, do you know what I mean? You spoke to your neighbors, you knew their names, where they worked, etc. Heck, you could even have refaccion together, at night you could hang. . have some decent conversation about everything and nothing…”

Oh such is life deep on the highlands of Guatemala and just about any country of the infamous “third world.”

There are three public spring-water pools inside Finca El Pilar. One pool for kids, less than one meter deep, a medium size pool which is about 2 meter deep and a large three-meter deep pool, or tanques, water tanks as they are called there.

All three pools are filled once or twice a week completely with mountain spring water from a spring located about 300 feet away. Although I believe the pools are continually filled since I noticed the water valves were running the entire time I was there. The water is chilly and refreshing, especially in hot days like we have had this week.

Entrance fee for the pools is a mere Q15/$2 for an entire day of fun (7am to 6pm). Finca El Pilar is located about two kilometers up the hill from San Cristobal El Bajo, one of the Antigua Guatemala villages south of El Calvario church; a good 45-minute walk from Parque Central. Besides the pools, you can hike and take nature walks among the trails of this farm-turned-into a nature reserve.

Here’s your Spanish word of the day: Nacimiento, birth, is the word most often used for water springs.

If I were you I would be very careful about walking around Calle del Arco. See, there’s guy selling dreamcatchers, atrapasueños in Spanish, so imagine somebody catching your dreams as you stroll by. What if you’re a dreamer, would yourself get trapped inside this web? Seriously, I hadn’t realized that dreamcatchers were being produced this far south and adopted by the Maya as part of their handicrafts. I’ll make sure I buy an atrapasueños next time I see this fellow. The going price was between Q25 for the little one and Q120 for the large ones.

While dreamcatchers originated in the Ojibwa Nation, during the Pan-Indian Movement of the 1960s and 1970s they were adopted by Native Americans of a number of nations. Some consider the dream catcher a symbol of unity among the various Indian Nations, and a general symbol of identification with Native American or First Nations cultures. However, other Native Americans have come to see dream catchers as over-commercialized. Non-Indians have also used the dreamcatcher for their own purposes. (source: Wikipedia)

Here’s a video clip showcasing the magic found in and around Antigua Guatemala. The video was sent to me by Lico Rosales to share with you. Enjoy!

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!

Tiendecitas or tienditas, little convenience stores, have to be the most popular business enterprise in Guatemala. I can not imagine living without a tiendecita in each block or several tienditas for the matter. These convenience stores are very convenience and they sell many items in small quantities. For instance, who would thought that you can go the tiendecita and purchase just one, 1, cigarette or an ounce of margarine or one egg, etc.

What’s the weirdest thing you have bought at a tiendita?

We Guatemalans are the best recyclers in the world. That’s what I was trying to convey a couple of weeks ago with the entry Recycling Around Antigua Guatemala where a list some of the ways we recycle in Guatemala.

Well, today I happy to share another way we recycle in Guatemala: Bocado de Reina, a cake made with bread leftovers. But, don´t believe me, I’ll move aside and let Cynthia Rothwell from Guatemalan Genes describe Bocado de Reina and a quick, kids approved, recipe. If you don’t already follow Guatemalan Genes, you should, Cynthia is very good at covering all aspects of the Guatemalan DNA, culture and traditions.

Here’s a bocado of Guatemalan Genes to your tasting:

The Bocado de Reina is a cake made with leftover bread. It is not bread pudding because the consistency is that of a cake. The literally translation Bocado de Reina is “Bite of a Queen” now to really carry the meaning I suggested “Food fit for a queen”, although I couldn’t figure out why a cake made of left overs would be fit for a queen…

RECIPE (Kids approved)

2 cups of crumbled bread
1 can of condensed milk
2 eggs
1 tbsp of cinammon
2 bananas
Raisins (optional)

Mix all ingredients. Bake it at 350F for 45 minutes. Makes one 8inch round cake.

The fear of photography is real in Antigua Guatemala. More often I am finding signs which prohibit photography. That’s kind of ironic is you take a moment to consider the Antigua Guatemala is the most important tourist and travel destination in Central America. You might recall a sign from the Only in LAG category which prohibit the admission of food, cameras, guns and backpackers. After I had taken the photograph above, a clerk approach me to let me know that taking photos was not allowed. When my friend asked why, the drone spoke for about two minutes and didn’t say an intelligent coherent thought. Obviously, we left the store because places like this do not deserve our business.

My friend and I continue our stroll and conversation and he was wondering if the owners and employees there would have realized how much promotion a photo and description appearing at AntiguaDailyPhoto can do for their bottom line. He also said to me that he prefers the capitalist approach to prohibition, charge $1 per photo, he reasons most people would not pay, but they wouldn’t feel as they were prohibited from taking photographs either. I agree with him on both comments. So, if you’re a business owner, think twice about prohibiting photography in your shop, you might be missing out on the free promotion that blogs, social networks and news sites could do for your bottom line.

La Antigua Guatemala has an antique aesthetic beauty which goes beyond the colonial architecture and the gorgeous wood and metal works. Antique items as mundane as coffee grinder find their way into the homes and business of Antigua Guatemala. I have also seen antique keys, locks, clocks, and decoration artifact as part of the aesthetic of Antigua Guatemala.

I know am skipping so many things, what other antique items have you seen while strolling around Antigua Guatemala?

I found this booth selling piñas colada and mojito smoothies at the doorway of pseudo Mexican restaurant. I had the mojito flavor and it was very, very good, especially for the hot weather we had today in Antigua Guatemala. Of course, these a good way to observe the Cinco de Mayo, a very important celebration for Mexicans everywhere except almost all of Mexico. However, I would order lime and pineapple margaritas or any citric smoothie with a few shots of tequila or mezcal, don’t you agree?

I was showing my cousin some photos of Antigua Guatemala and the first thing she mentioned was that there were flowers everywhere year round. You know I always try to look at Antigua Guatemala with the eyes of visitor so I can notice that things that go unnoticed to the locals. Also, I have spend a great deal of time showing the different kinds of flowers and the most often found flowers around Antigua Guatemala. However, I have to admit I have become accustomed to the excessive amount of flowers that one can find everywhere.

The flowers above were found at the table of a local restaurant. Do you know what kind of flowers are these?

On May 3, many countries in Latin America, including Guatemala of course, celebrate the Day of the Holy Cross and also the Day of the Construction Worker. The Day of the Holy Cross is known in Guatemala as Dí­a de la Santa Cruz and you can see many Albañiles (construction workers) placing an adorned cross at their current construction site.

The legend has it that when they were unburying Jerusalem, they found three crosses, one of them larger than the other two. When some of the diggers touch the larger cross, their ailments healed and the cross were thought to be miraculous. The priests on site called a funeral passing by and the dead man’s hand was made to touch the cross and he resurrected and walked away. The cross was taken immediately to Rome, the Vatican to be precise, and a chapel was built for it. This chapel was built in record time and for this reason and for the fact that the man who resurrected was a construction worker who had died while at work a few days earlier, this date became the day of the construction worker. All of this as seen on tv, a few details more or less.

Also, I just learned that for 4th time there will a Festival de la Santa Cruz which this year will be held on Sunday between 10am and 6pm at Cerro de La Cruz; thus the photo above. I will try to stop by and bring you some photos, videos and information about this festival. Stay tune!

If you manage to get to rooftop of a house in Antigua Guatemala, you could get a panoramic vista of volcanoes Agua, Fuego and Acatenango (left to right). If you’re lucky enough to have a poniente vista (that’s looking west) you might also be able to enjoy glorious sunsets during the dry season, and electrifying thunder and lighting storms during the rainy season. Either way you look at it, it’s a win win vantage point, don’t you agree?