Tomorrow the La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo (LAGDP) will be two years old. About 744 consecutive daily photographs and descriptive narratives of a Spanish Colonial Town embedded between coffee plantations, flower farms and volcanoes. As a pre-celebration party, I am making available another desktop wallpaper for you computer (1600×1200 pixels) of a set of bougainvilleas … Read more
If I had been told when I was a little kid that they would “grow” and “harvest” fish in a farm around La Antigua Guatemala, I would have said, “Get out of here!” Surely enough, in the picture above you can see the fish farmer’s harvest being sold at the Farmers’ Fair in La Antigua … Read more
The Departamento of Sacatepéquez (State or Province), where La Antigua Guatemala is located and to which is the Department’s Capital, is very dynamic and project-oriented State. Perhaps the fact the La Antigua Guatemala is the NGO’s capital of the world has something to do with it. Anyhow, this is the most recent project I have … Read more
The fresh produce available at the Farmers’ Fair and at the market are so irresistible. As you can see in the picture above, many people took advantage of the produce available at the fair instead of going all the way to el mercado.
On my way to work I came across this small farmers’ fair at the Alameda of El Calvario Church. This fair is promoted by the Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganaderia y Alimentación (The Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Alimentation). Come back tomorrow for a closer look at the offerings.
It is so good to have friends who are artists; they keep you cultivated and entertained. Such is the case of Rodolfo de León, alias “Fofo” to his friends, whom I met many years ago. Along those years, I have witnessed many of his artistic manifestations; always something new and fresh. This season, Fofo and … Read more
One of the benefits of living in a third world country is that you don’t need to read Cien años de soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude), Pedro Páramo or El Señor Presidente (The President) to learn about magical realism. No, no, no, we don’t need literature to learn the subtleties of magical realism: we … Read more
Today’s is Earth Day and to celebrate it, I am posting a desktop wallpaper photo for your computer which shows the harmony between the human habitat and nature. Wow, what a pompous description for an old-looking wall and the bougainvilleas and jacaranda trees that crown it. Today’s entry is the desktop wallpaper number 9 which … Read more
L-R: Ronald Flores, Ana María Rodas, Javier Payeras, Julio Serrano, Francisco Alejandro Méndez As I have shared with you, last Saturday I went to listen to the Guatemalan writers of the post-war in a dialogue they held about Contemporary Central American Literature. Those of us who attended were lucky enough to listen to the opinions … Read more
Guatemalan mixtas (mixed) are basically hot dogs which come with tortillas instead of a bun. Simple and great tasting. There are other kind of mixtas (which really just means mixed) like beers, like ceviches, et-cetera. You get the point, right. With this very simple dish we close yet another mini Guatemalan food series. Now you … Read more
Since Manolo needs to improve his tortilla making skills, I am posting this image to help him in the process. Even Carmen may benefit from these lessons! 😉 Bohemian Literary Side Note: Since I talking about Manolo, might as well invite him for a bohemian night with the writers that will appear in the 17:30 … Read more
There are some Guatemalan fruits that are impossible to translate into English; jocotes is one of them. Jocotes is the little round fruit that looks like cherry tomatoes in the image above. Can anybody help translating what jocotes are and what could be a close equivalent? The Jocote Translation Side Note Update: Thanks to Cindee … Read more
Granizadas is the Guatemalan Spanish word for shaved ice snacks. Basically, you take shaved or crushed ice and add any combination of the following: syrups, fruits, condensed milk, cooked fruits and their syrups, tamarind, camote (sweet potatoes), nance (sweet yellow cherry), just to name a few of the possible ingredients for the sweet granizadas; you … Read more
Since you guys are having the cravings for Guatemalan fresh fruit snacks, I decided to show you the current options. All you need to add is pepitoria molida (ground pumpkin seeds), salt, lemon juice and ground chili peppers (cobanero, that’s what we have today). I believe Mario (MO) described the eating process of fresh fruit … Read more
