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Catholic churches were usually built around the main plaza of each town, normally taken the east quadrant of the plazas. There are not as many catholic churches as there are protestant churches, but they tend to be much bigger and older and built at the best possible locations. The church of San Pedro Las Huertas shown above was built in 1672. I decided to include two people in the picture to serve as scale so we can better understand how big are these churches.

I never realized how much people die every day until I lived in a town where almost each death is announced by the PA system installed on the church on the main plaza. Through these announcements and the funeral processions and motorcades I have encountered I also learned that the grieving is also a communal event. When I stop to pay attention to the PA announcements often the name of the passing person is giving and the address where the mourning will be held and everyone is invited to assist.

These expressions of the strong community relationships forged through constant interactivity are often foreign to me since I have lived most of my life in big cities where often these community relationships rarely happen. I don’t know if I’m making any sense because I don’t think I have been able to seized these feelings and emotions into words. Am I?

How are deaths, funerals and mourning treated where you live? (more…)

The making of sawdust carpets, alfombras de aserrín, with its vivid colors and eye-catching patterns are among the most prominent elements of the Holy Week celebrations.

The making of carpets from sawdust, pine-needles, flowers, vegetables is a community-forming tradition. People get together by block or near-by neighbors to create the carpets on which the processions will pass by. Sometimes the making of the carpets is done at night, all night so they are ready for next day’s procession. The colorful processional carpet elaboration process involves the whole family, close friends, the neighborhood and the entire community. It does not matter if it’s just grandma throwing some corozo (corozo palms) and dried purple flowers to elaborate a humble alfombra in front of her home or it is a team of members of the cuadra (the block), or if a son lends a hand to a dad to put the final touches on the brightly-colored sawdust carpet, the devotion and the do-good spirit are present everywhere you look. This is the week of the year when Guatemalans stand as one people!

Also, since Gringos are now an integral part of La Antigua Guatemala and therefore many of them participate of the preparations of the world famous alfombras de Semana Santa (Holy Week carpets) made from colorful sawdust, flowers, fruits, and anything the imagination allows.

Like many firsts of the month, AntiguaDailyPhoto is participating in the theme day of the City Daily Photo community around the world. To see how others in the City Daily Photo community have interpreted today’s theme please click here to view thumbnails for all participants around the planet.

P.S. in 30 days AntiguaDailyPhoto will be four years old. What should we do? My first thought is that’s enough… I should go on and do something else.

Okay guys, today’s game is very simple: find as many kinds of contrasts as you can in this image of the San Pedro Las Huertas cathedral. I already gave you the color contrast.

The person with the most contrasts listed wins today’s photo as a post card. Good luck to all participants!

First, Blame the trabalenguas, tongue twister, title on emromesco, who said that water will be the oil of the 21st century.

Second, forgive the undramatic photograph; not much I can do with a working water well and its pumping warehouse. I compensate with all the wonderful researched information below.

Third, a few Spanish-English word equivalents are in order. I will list the words in Spanish and you gals and guys provide the English words, okay: agua, pozo, poza, manto acuifero, bomba, chorro, grifo, pila, lavadero, tanque, agua subterranea, lluvia, filtración, caudal, pluvial, cubeta, fuente, nacimiento, manantial, piscina, agua pura, agua purificada, agua corriente, río, lago, laguna.

Okay, to finish the first part of the water series, I have several questions and answers from two distinct locations in Guatemala: Jalapa and La Antigua. The Jalapa answers were provided by Ted from Wells of Hope. The answers from La Antigua Guatemala were provided by my dear friend J.M. “Chema” Magaña; a regular fuente, source for authoritative information regarding all things about La Antigua Guatemala.

Right after the questions and answers, I share with you an anecdote by long-time loyal reader of AntiguaDailyPhoto and member of the La Antigua Guatemala City Council in Spanish and my best effort at translating it into English. Enjoy!

How much does it cost to dig a well, an average of course?

• Jalapa — There are fundamentally two parts to a successful well. The drilling of the well is one challenge and the mechanics of bringing the water to the surface is another. There are numerous variables when drilling a well which will have a direct effect on the cost of the drilling process. The diameter of the well, the depth of the well, the amount of casing, the size of casing, the geological formation all have a huge impact on the overall cost. Due to the geological diversity that make up the drilling conditions in the various parts of Guatemala, a well can cost, on average, between $50,000 to $150,000.
• La Antigua Guatemala — If it is a mechanically drilled well as the above, the average price is $20,000. However, in La Antigua Guatemala manually digged rustic wells can be had for a few thousand quetzales, depending on the depth.

What are some of depths of wells around Guatemala?

• Jalapa — We have drilled wells from 200 feet to 1,500 feet.
• La Antigua Guatemala — The water tables in La Antigua Guatemala are near the surface, so for a manually digged well, water can be found between 3 and 8 meters ( 10 and 25 feet). In some places of San Pedro El Panorama, water was found at 50 centimeters (20 inches) of depth. For large amounts of water for a residential neighborhood, you may need to mechanically drilled until 100 meters (325 feet), but you are guaranteed a large recovery rate.

What kind of water tables and underground beds does Guatemala have?

• Jalapa — Primarily drilling in the mountain region of Jalapa, the abundant aquifers have been found in gravel beds well below the hard volcanic rock that must first be penetrated.
• La Antigua Guatemala — The water tables in La Antigua Guatemala are very near the surface; between 3 and 8 meters ( 10 and 25 feet). However for abundant aquifers, you must drill sometimes until 100 meters. The entire Panchoy Valley used to be a lake, so almost everywhere you drill you will find plentiful water.

What kind of treatments are necessary to make water potable?

• Jalapa — The aquifers that we have encountered in the rural communities of the Jalapa region have not yet been disturbed by the contaminants of humanity. The water sources that we have found have been free of pollutants and therefore quite potable.
• La Antigua Guatemala — Often, water found at the shallow depths can be contaminated so it needs to undergo purification before is potable. For underground water found much deeper, close to 100 meters (325 feet), you are almost guaranteed to draw pure water.

Is water from a well potable?

• Jalapa — Generally speaking, yes.
• La Antigua Guatemala — Much of it depends on the results of the water analysis by a professional laboratory. But, generally speaking chlorine and sometimes hydrochloric acid in the recommended doses by a professional laboratory, as well as filters for organic sediments and other such things. Often, water from deep wells is drawn quite potable already.

Here’s some additional information shared by Antonio Palomo, long-time loyal reader of AntiguaDailyPhoto and member of the La Antigua Guatemala City Council.

Te cuento que mientras viví en San Juan del Obispo, varias familias NO deseaban el agua municipal y no tenian agua corriente en sus casas, pues sólo hacian uso del agua de los chorros [ed. grifos] públicos. Intrigado por esto, pregunte a tres familias vecinas y la respuesta fue que el agua de los chorros públicos era mejor por que era nacida [ed. de manantial].

Let me tell you that when I lived in San Juan del Obispo, several families DID NOT want the municipal water and they did not had running water in their houses since they only used the public water faucets. Intrigued about this, I asked three neigboring families and their answers was that the water from the public faucets was better because it came from natural springs.

Investigando un poco mas, es decir, preguntando por allí, descubrí que los chorros públicos, por lo menos en San Juan [ed. del Obispo] y San Pedro [ed. Las Huertas], se alimentan de nacimientos naturales que son tan antiguos como los pueblos mismos.

Investigating a little further, in other words, just asking around, I discovered that indeed the public faucets are fed by natural springs as old as the towns themselves, at least in San Juan del Obispo and San Pedro Las Huertas.

El agua de San Juan proviene del cerro frente al pueblo hacia el oriente, yo visité el nacimiento y los hombres del pueblo tienen que hacer una faena anual para limpiar el nacimiento y otros arreglos. El agua de San Pedro, proviene de los nacimientos del Pilar, cerca de San Cristobal el Bajo, y es conducida hasta el pueblo, ahora en tuberia de pvc, en vez de los caños coloniales de barro. Y sí, el agua nacida sabe mejor, sólo basta probar el incansable chorro de la pila de San Pedro Las Huertas para comprobarlo.

The water from San Juan comes from a hill in front of the town to the east, I visited the spring myself and the men from the town are required annually to donate one day of work for cleaning and maintenance of the spring. The water of San Pedro comes from the springs of El Pilar, near San Cristobal el Bajo, and it is driven to San Pedro, now with PVC pipes, instead of the colonial ceramic tubes. And yes, the water from the springs tastes better, just try the tireless flow from the water tank in San Pedro Las Huertas to confirm it.

I love signs; as the Sign category can testify with 98 entries so far. I am sorry about that since you have to experience La Antigua Guatemala vicariously through my eyes. Oh well, c’est la vie!

Jornada has to be one of the most difficult Spanish words to translate into English. Jornada is basically journey or a march performed in one day, but it is much more as well. For instance, jornada electoral is polling day; jornada laboral is working day; jornada matutina and jornada vespertina refers to morning and afternoon classes respectively; media jornada is a half day; jornada militar is a military expedition, jornada can also mean opportunity, occasion, or circumstance; jornadas reducidas means part time; La Jornada or The Daily is one of the best newspapers from Mexico, jornada de reflexión is the day before elections when campaigning is forbidden. (source: SpanishDict)

So, the best way, in my humble opinion, to translate jornadas médicas or jornadas de salud is to use the words health campaign days, which can be just mornings or afternoons. Jornadas médicas is also the name given for free medic consultations campaigns that go from village to village or to remote areas in Guatemala. Jornadas medicas can also apply to Guatemalan, Cuban or foreign doctors and nurses.

By the way, back in February, Guatemala made the news because it gave The Quetzal Order, Guatemala’s top distinction to Fidel Castro as a gesture of gratefulness for the over 17 million medical consultations and more than 40,000 eye surgeries practiced in the context of the Miracle Operation free-eye surgery program, undertaken by Cuban doctors in the benefit of the Guatemalan people. (source: Escambray)

The photo above was taken in the village of San Pedro Las Huertas during a jornada de la vista or free eye exam consultations.

With all the different examples given above for the word jornada, do you think you can now use it?

It’s been a while since I last updated the color palette category. What do you think of the new colors?

Last year, on March 15th, I first introduced you the Broom-head Romans soldiers; I believe it was Domingo de Ramos or Palm Sunday as it is known in English. Below you can find my introductory text:

… it’s impossible not to publish photos like today’s. Talk about the idiosyncrasy of Guatemalans, have you ever seen a more convincing set of Roman Soldiers in your life?

Obviously, I tried to make a smart remark about how kitschy these Guatemalan Roman soldiers dress up with the insinuated idiosyncrasy of Guatemalans, but I believe I failed to convey the message.

So, I come out of the closet now and tell you I really find delightful the excessive garishness of the costumes of Guatemalan Roman soldiers, the clothes of the Holy Week figures, the golden-painted floats, in short, everything about the Holy Week celebrations in the villages and municipalities around La Antigua Guatemala. You may have to click on the photo above to see the fine or kitschy details of the Guatemalan-Roman soldier costumes.

Now guys, if given the opportunity, would you find an exhilarating experience to go out in public wearing a broom-head helmet, a bright-red cloak and a kitschy-looking Roman costume, wouldn’t you? Come on, live a little!

Some people have traveled the world over just to be present for the world-famous Holy Week in La Antigua Guatemala. Some people just have to open their front doorway and go outside to be part of Semana Santa in Guatemala.

One very important aspect or distinction of what makes the celebrations of the Holy Week or Semana Santa in Antigua Guatemala so special and unique is the colorful processional carpet elaboration process, which, quite often, involves the whole family, close friends, the neighborhood and the entire community. It does not matter if it’s just grandma throwing some corozo (corozo palms) and dried purple flowers to elaborate a humble alfombra in front of her home or it is a team of members of the cuadra (the block), or if a son lends a hand to a dad to put the final touches on the brightly-colored sawdust carpet, the devotion and the do-good spirit are present everywhere you look. This is the week of the year when Guatemalans stand as one people!

Holy Week processional carpets can be made from colorful sawdust, richly-scented pine needles and corozo palms, sweet-smelling flowers and tropical fruits and vegetables. Alfombras procesionales de Samana Santa (Holy Week processional carpets) can be delightful to see with their intricate design and patterns before every procession throughout the Lent and the Holy Week. However, it is a richer experience to be present through the elaboration process and to be part of it by lending a hand and talking to the creators who are more than happy to include you as part of the family, friends and community. To some people from other parts of the world it might be a weird and pleasant experience to realize that people here “know” their neighbors and the entire community.

If you are right now in La Antigua Guatemala, don’t miss this unique opportunity to be part of the elaboration of the world-famous Holy Week processional carpets!

I have shown quite of few pictures of the park in San Pedro Las Huertas , a village within the La Antigua Guatemala municipality, but I don’t think I have ever shown the entire park itself. What makes this plaza so particular and unique is the fact that there is a very large public laundry washbasins which people still use; you can click the Laundry Day in San Pedro Las Huetas to see people using it.

The structure with roof in the middle of the picture is the public laundry washbasins. It’s a great place to hang out and get some awesome pictures.

Every once in a while you reach certain marks in your life and in your projects and they serve to mull over all the things accomplished thus far and to look into the future and plan for new things.

Well, I have reached this point and like this old fellow, I too will be doing some cleaning around here. I will be changing the theme we have been using almost since July 2006 and reorganizing things so they are easier to browse and to find stuff stashed in the archives. I will also try to go back to clean up all the horrible typos and mistakes in grammar and orthography. I may call on volunteers to help clean up the archives.

For the upcoming future I can offer a discussion forum where all of us will be able to dig deeper into some themes and subjects that I have treated lightly in daily flow. Also, I will be working in a new site to rescue and share all the Guatemalan recipes I come across. This new Guatemalan recipe website will be bilingual and everyone will be welcome to participate and share. Once again, I will need your support and feedback.

For now, let the old man sweep the park with his all-natural broom. ¡Buenas noches y buena suerte!

It seems like Claudia and I are synching our thoughts lately. She makes a comment regarding her nostalgia and memories and I am photographing something similar almost at the same time.

For instance, in her last comment, Claudia she was bringing back some long lost memories from her dear Guatemala, in her own words, “No helmets, no amber alerts, no Wiis, just a plastic ball or if lucky a real soccer ball…” Last night, in my way back home, I stopped, for a few moments, to take a few shots of football game at the local school basketball court. Many neighbors sat on the sidelines talking and watching the game. The thoughts the crossed my mind while taking the photos were in synch with Claudia’s latest comment, “… 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…”

Although things have changed a bit from the old and romantic Guatemala that Claudia is nostalgic about, much have not changed. For instance, I live in small colonia (barrio or neighborhood) of about 100 homes and despite the fact that my wife and I try to keep to ourselves as much as possible, we do know and talked to our neighbors, know their names and what they do for living. Often we give each other rides back into La Antigua Guatemala and together with other neighbors had sent the chucha de la colonial (the neighborhood’s pet dog) to be neutered. Less than two hundred feet from our home there are several pavilions where some neighbors get together on the weekends for the chuparrasco, chupa (drinking) rrasco is short for churrasco or barbecuing. Chuparrasco is the Guatemalan informal colloquialism for a social gathering to drink and eat, especially charbroiled meats.

After you have lived a for a while in La Antigua Guatemala, it is impossible to walk a few blocks without being greeted, waved goodbyes, or fully stopped to chat for a few moments. That’s right fellas, people still chat offline in La Antigua Guatemala. What do you think about that?

On September 15th, at 6 p.m. all over main squares and central parks of Guatemala there is a civic act known as La arriada de la bandera (Haul down of the flag). The ceremony include several solemn activities like Juramento a la bandera (pledge alliance to the flag); Canto del Himno Nacional de Guatemala (Singing of the National Anthem) and a few speeches remembering the signing of the Independence Act and how many years has been thus far (187) since 1821.

In the picture above, you can appreciate the final moment of the lowering of the Guatemalan flag (far left) while students and the spectators position their right hand to salute the flag. This scene was capture at the small village of San Pedro Las Huertas.

With this final image we wave goodbye to September, Guatemala’s Independence month, and to the third consecutive year of the coverage of the Independence Day activities. In 2006, I focused on the marathons and the torches. In 2007, I covered the school parades. And in 2008, I have use the Guatemalan flag as the common thread. You can watch slide shows for each year to get a feel for what to expect and to compare three different photographic approaches for the same theme.

It is my hope that you have enjoyed the photos and explanations behind the celebration of independence in Guatemala. Please, let me know your opinions and thoughts; your feedback is greatly appreciated and expected.

You can watch a slide show of all the photos below:

Regardless what you may be thinking right about now, this is not edible. Believe it when I tell you this is not a close up Antigüeño cake. However, it’s a sweet view.

On the other hand, do you remember what church the close-up above belongs to?