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Tax evaders in Guatemala take the risk of having their business shut down temporarily and have a sign like the above posted on their main entrance. To be able to open again a business has to pay back the taxes evaded and a fine to the Superintendencia de Administración Tributaria (SAT); this is the tax collecting agency in Guatemala. In the mean time, the business is marked with these shameful posters which basically are designed to embarrassed the owners and managers of said company.

What do you think of this procedure and posters?

This is how maps looked like in colonial times. Can you see the reference to Cerro de la Cruz? You may have to click the image above to get a larger version.

Pastis (pronounced in UK: /ˈpæstɪs/, US: /pæˈstiːs/) is an anise-flavored liqueur and apéritif from France, typically containing 40–45% alcohol by volume, although alcohol-free varieties exist.

Pastis was first commercialized by Paul Ricard in 1932 and enjoys substantial popularity in France, especially in the southern regions of the country.[1] Pastis emerged some 17 years following the ban on absinthe, during a time when the French nation was still apprehensive of high-proof anise drinks in the wake of the absinthe debacle. The popularity of pastis may be attributable to a penchant for anise drinks that was cultivated by absinthe decades earlier, but is also part of an old tradition of Mediterranean anise liquors that includes sambuca, ouzo, arak, rakı, and mastic…. Continue reading at Wikipedia

Yes, you can find a place of pastis in cosmopolitan Antigua Guatemala. Also, one can also find absinthe at another venue. Do you know where to get pastis in La Antigua?

It seems like most churches and buildings in La Antigua Guatemala have a sign similar to the one above. Another such sign was published a few months ago as Real Casa de la Moneda (Royal Minting House), now the offices for the SAT, short for Superintendencia de Administración Tributaria, which is the Guatemalan equivalent of IRS.

If you read both signs, you can see that both signs have terremotos (earthquakes) as part of their history.

By the way, I have come across a book which has some chronicles and anecdotes of the mayor earthquakes that affected and finally destroyed the Central American capital of Santiago de Guatemala, nowadays La Antigua Guatemala between 1541 and 1773. They are chilling stories of fear and destruction. Would you like to post some of them?

This sign can be found in the hallway of the SAT building in La Antigua Guatemala. By the way, SAT is the Guatemalan equivalent of IRS. SAT stands for Superintendencia de Administración Tributaria. Honest, I didn’t know the SAT offices were part of the Casa de la Moneda complex.

Don’t you wish all houses and buildings had a sign like this one that highlighted the major events of the site?

This is a follow up to the Pearls and Pans and Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket posts where I mentioned that “the wisdom of idioms do not escape the Guatemalan typical small business owner. That’s why it’s commonplace to find a zaguán shop selling disparate items. For a long time I’ve been wanting to show this with just one image; I believe today’s photo works, don’t you think so?” So, Las Conchas Jewelry and Bistro is the high end equivalente of the zaguán business where you have two disparate business under one roof. And this is quite common in La Antigua Guatemala and the rest of the country.

Is this practice commonplace where you live?

I found this colorful sign at the entrance of El Jaulón building, just one block east of Parque Central. I am sure those who have visited Lake Atitlán would be familiar with the Circus Bar. I am happy to report that now we have Circus Bar in Guatemala City and in Antigua Guatemala.

My best wishes for the upcoming weekend…

Encontré ese colorido rótulo en la entrada de El Jaulón, el edificio que queda a una cuadra al oriente de la Plaza Mayor. Estoy seguro que aquellos que han visitado el Lago de Atitlán estarán familiarizados con el Circus Bar, un lugar emblemático de Panajachel. Ahora ya tenemos Circus Bar en la Ciudad de Guatemala y en La Antigua Guatemala.

Mis mejores deseos para el fin de semana…

This is one more sign style found in La Antigua Guatemala. There are 133 pages in the Signs category, which I believe makes AntiguaDailyPhoto the premier source for Guatemalan signs, unless, of course, you can provide a link to a larger source, can you?

Like the Sanitarios sign, you should also make sure you know how to read this sign. Salida de Emergencia means Emergency Exit.

I managed to get some arches reflected in the acrylic sign above, can you see them?

Oficina de atención al ciudadano P.N.C. or Citizen desk of Civil National Police (P.N.C. in Spanish acronym) was written in the back of the three-tray inbox sitting in the desk of one of local police station, or rather administration office.

This police office main purpose is to receive citizens reports, formal complaints, denunciations, et cetera. There was nobody there, except for the lonely woman police officer with a computer and printer that looked like the hardware I worked on in the 80s. It was very quiet, except for the hammering sound of the dot matrix printer. There were broken down tall file cabinets and the omnipresent kitsch decor found through out Guatemala. In the patio there were bright painted circles and other such figures remaining from the time the house was pre-primary school. “We’ve been here for six months,” the police officer shared with me, “and I don’t know if we will be here next month,” she continued, “since the six month lease is up and the police administrators in Guatemala City have not paid or renewed the contract with the landlady.”

The office was three rooms, maybe four, with a bathroom and the entire place looked like was dreamed up by Franz Kafka for his novel The Trial (El Proceso in Spanish and Der Process in German). For better or for worse, living in Guatemala feels, quite often, like living in a Kafkaesque world, but in the Tropics.

It’s good to know that Dios te ama!

I like the ceramic “doble vía” signs and metal frames in La Antigua Guatemala. To be honest, I like all the ceramic traffic sign, including the Alto/Stop sign.

If I was a film maker or producer, I would call my company Doble vía films. Of course, I would use the sign a logotype.

Las marimbas del infierno film aside: Marimbas from hell is another film from Julio Hernández Cordón, which was released recently and should be showing in the Guatemalan theaters. Las marimbas del infierno makes a total of three major Guatemalan film releases within a six weeks. That’s pretty good considering the Guatemalan film industry is still a baby.

Here’s the plot summary for Las Marimbas del infierno from the IMDb entry:

Don Alfonso is a deliveryman. He also plays marimbas, the traditional Guatemalan instrument. He is used to play a folkloric musical show in one of the fancy hotel of Guatemala City. He faces the population’s lack of interest for his instrument, considered like out of date and old fashioned. Black is pioneer of the Heavy Metal Guatemalan underground stage. He also is also a doctor in the public hospital but nobody wants to be treated by him because of his long hair and his tattoos. When Don Alfonso and Black meet each other and decide to combine their talents and create a brand new project called Marimbas from Hell, they could never have imagined all the reactions they would provoke among the population.

It’s incredible how easily I fall for hand-made rustic signs in La Antigua Guatemala. A tour through the Sign category with over 120 samples so far can be a feast for those who are crazy, like me, for signs. Believe or not, am I not alone!

Puro Mula Film Aside: I am happy to report that Guatemalan film Puro Mula that I told you and shared a trailer with you about a year ago found the funding they needed to produce the film. Puro Mula will have its worldwide showing on November 24, 8:00 pm at Cine Lux in Guatemala City.

If you are in Guatemala, make sure you make the time to go see it. Here’s what I shared with you about Puro Mula last year:

Once again, we continue showing trailers of Guatemalan films and short films. This is the trailer for Puro mula, the first film by Best Picture System. Puro mula was recently film between August and September 2009 in Guatemala City. “I hope you like the trailer, and if you do, give us money to finish it” the caption reads.

I want to live on Calle de la Tostaduría. Do you know why?

Club Fotográfico de Antigua Photo Exhibition: Once again I have the pleasure of inviting you to the photo exhibit “Con sabor y aroma a café” which will open on Saturday 25 at 8 am and will be on display until October 9. El Club Fotográfico de Antigua Guatemala tiene el honor de invitarle a la exposición fotográfica: «Con sabor y aroma a café» del 25 de septiembre al 8 de octubre de 8 a 17 horas. Exposición y venta en Finca Filadelfia, La Antigua Guatemala (150 mts norte de la iglesia de San Felipe).

Vive tu vida y deja vivir translate more or less to Live and let live.

Well, I can believe I am letting the license plates do the talking this weekend.

Do you know what the nomenclature for the Central American license plates?

“Chunches y Chunchitos” is what a call a creative Guatemalan name for a business. What do you think they sell inside and do you know what those words mean?