As read on Prensa Libre recently: According to the legend, each November 1st the God-world releases the souls of the dead from the underworld and for 24 hours the spirits are free to visit their live families, whom must provide a warm welcome, otherwise the spirits can cause harm to the crops and harvests. It … Read more
Today, for a mere random act, I ended up in Jocotenango and because we’ve talking and learning about jocotes, I remember to take a snapshot of the jocote monument at the entrance plaza in Jocotenango. The jocote monument is the giant jocote on top of the white pedestal, right after the flowers. I am sure … Read more
Camotes en miel could be translated as sweet potatoes in syrup or in preserves. Camotes en miel is also another popular dessert for the Day of the Dead (Día de los difuntos) in Guatemala. Camotes en miel, unlike jocotes en miel, can be found in La Antigua Guatemala year round.
Jocotes (/hoe-ko-tes/) or red mombin are often eaten raw, but you can find them as often in tasty preserves. Jocotes en miel or red mombin in syrup (literal translation of miel would be honey, but in this instance it means syrup or almíbar in Spanish) are prepared as dessert to take to the cemetery on … Read more
I became contagious with the regular twitter updates about gasoline prices going down in Guatemala, so the very next time I went to the gas station, I took my own shot of the “low” gasoline prices. The prices for fuel in gas stations, as you can see on the board, are around Q28 for regular, … Read more
I figure that when one decides to name something is the set it apart from the rest, right? So, why would name a school Escuela Oficial Rural Mixta (Mixed Co-ed Rural Oficial School)? Come on, it is like naming your kid ‘John Doe’ (no offense to John Does of the world). Those four words are … Read more
Some businesses just feel the need to have a sign hanging for every one of their services. 🙁
As you can see in the picture above, most flower shops are working really hard to have a large inventory of flower arrangements for the Day of Dead celebrations around Antigua Guatemala. This picture was take at Floristería Perpetuas Rosas (Perpetual Roses flower shop) inside the Antigua Guatemala’s market. Some of you may already know … Read more
By moving from one section of the mercado to another, we find that las floristerías (flower shops) are preparing the flower arrangements of the Día de los muertos or Día de los difuntos (Day of the Dead) celebrations. Above you see the round arrangements called coronas (crowns). Día de los muertos is celebrated in Guatemala … Read more
There’s no coming back. I was surprise to see a computer being used among all the fresh produce in the mercado (market) of La Antigua Guatemala. Sure, Lucky, my favorite vendor, supplies fresh fruits and vegetable to many restaurants around Antigua, but I was startled to see the computer in there. I think for now … Read more
You can go every day to el mercado (market) of La Antigua Guatemala, but if you go Monday, Thursday or Saturday, you can find a larger market (about twice as big) and the best selection and quality are available in días de mercado (market days). You also find a crowded market on those days. In … Read more
Here’s yet another gift for those Guatemalans living abroad, the jocotes de corona wallpaper that you can download from here at 1200×900 pixels. Several of you wrote to me to let me know that you haven’t had jocotes in a long while and since I’ve been given the gift to think ahead about your suffering, … Read more
WANTED: Blenders are needed to process all the tropical fruits in the market stand above into licuados, smoothies and milkshakes. Experience is not required, but you should be able to name as many fruits as possible. As bonus you are encourage to eat all the fresh fruit you can handle. All interested, please call our … Read more
Platillo típico (typical dish) is the name given to any meal that normally has at least two of the following: chirmol (Guatemalan tomato-based sauce), platanos fritos (fried plantains), frijoles negros (black beans blob), queso o crema (Guatemalan fresh cheese or cream) and guacamol (avocado sauce). With the elements you can turn a regular breakfast into … Read more
I really like the naí¯f aspects of this sign. I like how the composition is trying very hard to include all the antigüeño elements into one sign. I like the Gato (cat), the sign maker, left his paw print marks/signature on the upper right corner. Okay, let translate the the above sign: La Casa de … Read more