We don’t love our land because of its great size and power, because of its weakness or tiny size, because of its snow and white nights or its solar rain, We love it, simply because is ours. — Luis Cardoza y Aragón Luis Cardoza y Aragón is another great Guatemalan writer, born in La Antigua … Read more
No, they are not Ku Klux Klan as you might be inclined to believe at first glance. They are cucuruchos which is the name given to the brotherhood who use the cone head-dress; in this case is the brotherhood of the nazarenos (from Jesus of Nazareth). Each brotherhood from each church wear a different color … Read more
One of the things I like best about La Antigua Guatemala is its location. One hour or less from Guatemala City and the Pacific Ocean, about two hours or less from the most beautiful lake in the world: Lake Atitlán (according to Alexander von Humboldt). A little under three hours from Quetzaltenango or Xela like … Read more
The photo above shows the façade of the Escuela de Cristo church in La Antigua Guatemala, which is located to the southeast of the city in the way to El Calvario Church. It is on la Calle de los Pasos (the Steps Street) which takes its name from the Vía Crucis (Stations of the Cross). … Read more
I had said it before, La Antigua Guatemala is tiny town —barely a 10×10 block grid— yet it manages to host well over 65 Spanish-language schools. As a matter of fact, Guatemala is a popular destination for those willing to learn Spanish, even though Guatemala’s Spanish is an old flavor and many words are only … Read more
I can almost hear the crow grackle yelling Bush is coming, Bush is coming! What a nightmare. Poor bird, it is so exhausted that it needs to take a break and drink some water. Just when you think things can not get any worse, Bush decides to visit Guatemala. Recent entries about Bush’s visit to … Read more
Sometimes there is no better lunch than a great book. Now I am having Saturday from Ian McEwan for lunch. The prologue of the book Saturday, “For instance?” appears to be appropriate for the visit of Mr. Bush to Guatemala. Here’s a little fragment: “… Which spent military billions against foreign enemies but would not … Read more
One of the best things to do in La Antigua Guatemala is to enjoy the sunsets at the parks or in a bar. Here you see some Spanish-language students, I supposed, taking a break from classes and warming up with the sunshine of the late afternoon at the park right across the Escuela de Cristo … Read more
Normally, I try to publish clean, with almost no visual noise, photographs as in Shadow Casting Lamp, the wallpaper series, Palo de Izote Tree and Arches reflected on Tanque de la Unión. This is an extremely difficult task when you live in a part of the world which is very noisy, both visual and audio; … Read more
I have posted many photos of bicycles in and around Antigua Guatemala and I even said that bicycles are among the most-widely used vehicles in La Antigua Guatemala. It is only logical that many bicycle repair shops exist to fix them. Here is a glance at a tidy and messy bike repair shop. Come back … Read more
During the Lent period (Cuaresma in Spanish) many houses and businesses are decorated with purple or violet strips of textiles and bands as the one above seen at the Santo Domingo Hotel.
Even simple details like the marker for the men’s bathroom is done with style in many places around Antigua Guatemala. Here you can see the stain glass marker for the bathroom for señores. Nothing like an image to be universally understood. This photograph was taken at La Fuente as well.
Here is a better shot showing how the Guatemalan textiles literally carpet the garden around the fountain (fuente in Spanish) at La Fuente. I had to underexposed the fountain and the people in the background to get a better view of the colors and textures of the textiles in the foreground. As always, if you … Read more
On the weekends the center garden around the fountain in La Fuente strip mall and restaurant is carpeted by Guatemalan textiles on sale; awesome stuff, by the way. La Fuente is one my favorite places to have lunch and meet with people. You can recall the entry about Six Degrees of Separation at La Fuente … Read more
Is it motorcycle or automobile? The meeting of the tuk tuk drivers and the police was to define the tuk tuk as either a motorcycle or an automobile so that the drivers can have the proper license and insurance. Interesting enough, they meet to decide this after the introduction of the tuk tuks mototaxis. Even … Read more