Antigua Guatemala's number one multimedia resource in English for everything about La Antigua and the Guatemalan people, culture and traditions with a brand new web page every day!
Welcome to Antigua Guatemala's number one multimedia resource in English for everything about La Antigua and the Guatemalan culture and traditions with a brand new web page every day!
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.
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.
Yes, believe it or not Guatemala is quite modern and Internet capable.
Yes, Guatemala has 3.5G wireless Internet Access network in mayor cities and Edge-capable networks in most of the country.
Yes, there are iPhone-capable networks from the three main carriers: Telefónica, Claro and Tigo. As a matter of fact, most of my web-savvy friends have iPhones and iPod Touches to access the web either via the 3.5G networks or the free WIFI access points available in restaurants, commercial centers and parks.
First of all, if your telephone terminal, i.e. iPhone, has been flashed, jail-broken, zapped, cracked, or whatever word they use in your neighborhood, you can bring your telephone and just purchase a chip, sim card, from either Claro, Telefónica (least expensive to call back home), and/or Tigo (best reception all around).
You can only put a local sim card, “chip” as they call it here, if your phone is flashed, jail-broken, cracked, et-cetera. If your phone is jail-broken, then bring it and I recommend you buy a Tigo chip which has the best reception anywhere.
Also, you may purchase a 3.5G Internet-ready chip and be able to have internet access everywhere there’s Tigo signal. The 3.5G Internet-ready pre-paid packages rates are: Q5 for Hora, Q25 for Día, Q100 for Semana and Q325 for Mes. Make sure you get clear instructions on how to buy the pre-paid packages for your terminal. The best of all, you can do this without contracts!
The Panchoy Valley, where La Antigua Guatemala is located, used to be a lake at the time the Conquistadores arrived and when they founded the second Santiago de Guatemala in the Almolonga Valley, now Ciudad Vieja which is about two miles from Antigua. Then the Panchoy Lake basin was fed by the Pensativo River. The Panchoy Lake was filled with packed soil and stones as the third Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala was founded in 1541 and the city began to grow. The last remains of the Pensativo River can still be observed today along the Calle Chipilapa during the rainy season.
These are some of the reasons why there’s an abundant supply of water in and around La Antigua Guatemala. This ample source, fuente in Spanish, of water can also help explain why there are thousands of fountains, fuentes in Spanish, and búcaros, half fountains embedded on walls, in and around La Antigua Guatemala. It seems like every restaurant has at least one fountain, even the fast food restaurants. You should browse the Fountains and Gardens category to see over 35 samples taken over the three years of existence and 1215 entries of AntiguaDailyPhoto. I hope you enjoy the fountain tour through time.
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.
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:
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!
Well, it seems like the color purple will be with us for a while longer. The flowers above are known colloquially as Flores de papel (paper flowers) because their petals are so dried that they look like if they were made from paper. I looked up the flower in the Guateflora book, but I did not find it there, so I can not help you with scientific name. Perhaps, some of the other visitors know its scientific name and can share it with us, anyone?
A simple shot to commemorate the sunshine, the purple, the ever-present spring and to revive the Guateflora series. This photo was taken at my favorite green house: Vivero La Escalonia.
I wish everyone an easy starting week!
P.S. I forgot to mention that we went over 700 entries six days ago; Today’s photo is the 706 consecutive page posted at La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo. No wonder I’m so tired.
This old man and the band are the tail of the procession. There goes Semana Santa 2008… we are at end of the Holy Week in La Antigua Guatemala. Just one more day!
To answer Sara’s question about where the money collected through the sale of the turns at carrying the float go? Almost one third goes to the band. I heard that the San Felipe Church processional Band charges Q150,000 (close to US$20,000) per procession and La Merced Church processional band about Q125,000. I imagine some of the money goes to the church who lends the saint figures for the processions. Some money goes to the organization, the creation of the scenes above the floats which are never the same and lastly for maintenance.
Literary Introspection Side Note: Much of what I am today and the decisions I made that took me to La Antigua Guatemala were inspired or influenced in part by Milan Kundera’s writings. Through the reading of several of Milan Kundera‘s novels, especially Life is Elsewhere, Laughable Loves, The Farewell Party, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Immortality and Identity, I begun to question myself about life, lifestyles and what I wanted out of the day. Life is a jigsaw puzzle made up from moments (days) and where and with whom you spend those moments shapes the picture you see at the end. Honestly, I do not know if it is better to live in the ‘first world’ with a first-world salary, first-world commodities and such or to live here in the south or third world with all the complications and dangers that decision entails. I don’t know about the first/third world euphemisms either. However, I do know that a different life or lifestyle is possible outside the safety net. There are other ways to be human and to experience unusual traditions and celebrations. There is a huge difference between Spring Break, Easter, Holy Week and Semana Santa as we live it in La Antigua Guatemala for sure. To each its own. For the moment, I’m just happy to be able to take ordinary snapshots from my daily comings-and-goings and to be able to share them with YOU! I hope you enjoy them too!?
The side note is dedicated to my dear epistolary friend Carmen.
That is right, Semana Santa in Guatemala is an equal opportunity celebration. Sure, cucuruchos take the majority of the clicks of cameras and most of the video recorded, but children, women and dogs have a place in the Holy Week celebrations. Women’s float or andas are a bit smaller and carry virgins or angels most of the time.
Right about now, you may be asking yourself, what are processions anyway and what do they represent? Well processions are representations of the the last days of Jesus Christ. Processions represent the funeral march of Jesus Christ. Processions in Guatemala also represent a penitent act.
Here is the background information about La Dolorosa Procession, taken from last year entry:
La Dolorosa or The Sorrowful Mother is the biblical figure of the sorrowful mother Mary which follows Jesus in his way to his crucifixion. This act is represented by a smaller anda (long carved wooden flatbed image-carrying float [*]) —carrying the effigy of sorrowful Mother Mary and other female biblical representations— which is hauled exclusively by women who mostly dress in black or white as this is the appropriate dress code for a funeral. Jesus’ funeral.
Just like the Christmas Season comes with its own set of smells, flavors and color palette, so does the Holy Week celebrations. I can bring to you still photos, slide shows, video clips and sounds. But I can not bring you the smells. Like I said back in the Virgin of Guadalupe Day, … the incredible power of the sense of smell can detonate nostalgic memories… if only the smells could be seized like Patrick Süskind suggested in his masterpiece Das Parfum (Perfume). How could one go about imprisoning the mixture of the smells of copal incense, corozo palms, fireworks, pine needles, moisten saw dust, fresh tropical fruits, palm flower arrangements and sweat into a digital format readily available to download onto your own computer?
Only in Star Trek that is possible… we must wait for the future to arrive. In the mean time, we wave good bye to Arthur C. Clarke as we thank him for allowing us to dream of the future. Until the future arrives, you must pack your bags and head down south where you can be free!
I did want to say a thing about it; just show the pictures and don’t even mention it; that was my plan. But no, Jerry T gave me away; sort of a behind the scenes of the Holy Week, he said. See the problem with showing pictures of Semana Santa year after year is that you tend to repeat yourself. I do not want to do that, not if I can help it. So if last year I presented the normal approach to the Holy Week in La Antigua Guatemala, this year it has to be different.
Find a new angle always; that is my goal for this site. This was my goal since day 1. What good would it be if I just take the same shots that everybody else is doing. Because of how I earn my living, I get to see thousands of images of La Antigua Guatemala. Furthermore, I follow several photo groups and La Antigua Guatemala is among the most often photographed places in Guatemala. It is virtually impossible not to take the same shot that somebody else already did. And that’s the challenge!
Purple or violet is the color of Lent and the Holy Week. Cucuruchos wear their cone-head purple dress as a sign of penitence. Not only Cucuruchos have to observe penitence for the Lent (Cuaresma) and the Holy Week (Semana Santa), but they also have to pay if they want to get a chance to carry the enormous floats, known here as andas. According to my good friend Nelo, each turn costs around Q60 (around US$8), there are around 60 turns and each float has somewhere between 80 and 100 spaces for the Cucuruchos. That’s close to Q290,000 (US$38,000) per procession. Boy oh boy, there’s big money to be made with each procession. Now if only they didn’t have to spend the money… but that’s another day’s story!
By the way, you should visit my dear friend Nelo’s web site EnAntigua.com for all the photos of all the processions of Lent and the Holy Week since 2001. Be prepare, there are over a thousand images of Semana Santa and Cueresma at his web site.
You can also browse the Holy Week category for La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo for more background information and photos about the Semana Santa and Cuaresma in La Antigua.
Every once in a while is good to stop eating Guatemalan food and eat something healthy, like a chef salad from La Fuente restaurant. A salad and the New Yorker Magazine is what I consider a healthy lunch. The article about an unknown photographer by the name of Eugene De Salignac and his photo of painters spreading out like musical notes on the Brooklyn Bridge, over the sky line of New York, was most definitely the best dessert I have had in a long while.
These Indigenous people came from Santa Clara La Laguna, Solola, to sing and collect some money from the good Samaritans visiting or living in La Antigua Guatemala. Everything was fine until the Municipal Police decided this was too exotic and this kind of activity may seemed too third world.
I find the singing of the indigenous people extremely haunting and touching, even though, they are singing evangelical hymns. To me this singing has another layer of pain and denouncing which is above the meaning of the words they sing; something much older and more mystical than the religious hymns brought by the European Christianity.
I don’t know, maybe I hearing more than what really is there… what do you think?
Guy’s description of the restaurant fit it to the t: “…wood-panelled and decorated with specimens of local ‘game’ such as snakes, turtles and armadilloes.” La Naranja Pelada restaurant falls into the tacky category of restaurants or bars that have an exotic, underground sort of, appeal for intellectuals and ordinary people alike. Another example of this is the bar El Olvido in Guatemala City. I dislike most of what I saw inside La Naranja Pelada (peeled orange), but especially the animal decoration on the walls and bar. Also the full-size ‘Marlboro Man’ poster is of poor taste in my book. This weekend We rented the film Thank You for Smoking directed by Jason Reitman and there was a chapter about the Marlboro Man who was dying from all the years of smoking. Talk about synchronicity.
Just about now, many of you may be asking where I am going with this mini-series, right? Well, be patient. I am almost there… to be continued.
Rudy, this site is a great escape, a relevant commentary, and a great documentary all in one. I think your different and unusual photographs are fantastic - an extraordinary view of everyday life... —Eric
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