Casa Antigüeña: The Balconies

What better photo to wave goodbye to the Casa Antigüeña series than an image of the balconies against cloud-free deep blue sky, tell me?

Balconies are not very common in walls that face to the outside, unless of course they are on a second floor, like in the entry Sun-bathing in La Antigua Guatemala. However, balconies are more common in houses inside enclosed residential areas with security; like it is in this case.

Word of the Day Aside: Balcón (Balcony)
In Northern Italy the Longobardos (now Lombardos, from Germanic background) imposed the word balko (beam, balken in modern German) from which we got balco and later balcone which finally gave us the Spanish word balcón. (Source: La palabra del día {ñ})

I have a few dozen more photos for the casa antigüeña series, but I believe I have shown you the most relevant rooms and architectonic elements. I am sure you don’t want to see the bathrooms or the garage and the such; right?!

Anyway, I would love to hear your impressions about the series as a whole, whether you found it too light, too boring, too long, or too anything. Please, take some minutes from your time and let me know your opinion. I will really appreciate it. Thanks.

11 Responses to "Casa Antigüeña: The Balconies"

lesther says:
February 11, 2009 at 1:22 am
Hermosa fotografía!
La tonalidad del cielo con el color marrón, una perfecta combinación.
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Michelle says:
February 11, 2009 at 4:08 am
Rudy, I love the Spanish colonial architecture in Antigua. La Antigua, itself, is a living art museum. I cannot see enough of crumbled buildings to renovated homes, interior design, walls, floors, windows, stair cases, iron works, paintings… Keep up your work on showing any building old or new. Your series on Casa Antigüeña, I hope, was only the beginning, Many thanks to the owners of Casa Antigüeña.
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sister sandy says:
February 11, 2009 at 5:34 am
We really enjoyed this series. Looking at examples of new builds was interesting. We would love to see views of old homes behind walls, too, if that ever becomes possible.
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norm kwallek says:
February 11, 2009 at 6:17 am
I have been one of those people who tried to find a high place to get a look at behind the walls. I would sneak a peek when a car would go in and out. I love the Guatemalan compound way of living. The courtyard and the common areas for people to interact.
Some photos of poor folk’s kitchens would be interesting to me. Outdoor ovens, food prep, clean-up, how the simple folk do it day to day.
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erica says:
February 11, 2009 at 8:08 am
rudy, the series was great, i enjoyed the pictures of the house. i wish that was my house! please do more series of Casas antigüeñas
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Tami says:
February 11, 2009 at 10:06 am
I loved the series on Casa Antiguena. I noticed you did give a view of the Guatemalan sink that I wrote you and asked if you could post. I was a little stunned by your somewhat brusque response to me that no one would be interested in that. I see by norm kwallek’s comment that I am indeed not the only one of your readers that would be interested in Guatemalan sinks and other daily mundane items.
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Blaark says:
February 11, 2009 at 1:29 pm
I think it would have been interesting to see people living in the house as you took the pictures– not posing but just captured… I also agree with those who want to see different kinds of homes, places where the less fortunate citizens live, so we can witness how their lives differ… But all in all I found this series revealing and appreciate the effort you made in taking the pictures and sharing them…
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Rudy Girón says:
February 11, 2009 at 2:20 pm
@Lesther, gusto saber que te pasas por aquí de vez en cuando. Gracias por tus palabras amables.
@Michelle, thanks for the feedback and I am glad you appreciate it.
@Sister Sandy, well you know as soon I can get access to an old home, I will do a new series on casa antigüeña.
@Norm, unfortunately there are not many homes left in LAG that belong to poor folks, as you put it. La Antigua Guatemala is a town of the wealthy, the expats and businesses and that’s why I had to move just to outside of LAG, into a residential compound to get this overdue series going.
@Erica, I wish this was my casa as well. 😉
@Tami, I am sorry if I sounded rude in my response to you; please accept my apologies.
@Blaark, Guatemalans and local residents value very highly their privacy for security reasons. One of the reasons why it took so long to do this series was precisely that nobody wants their home display online for everybody to see, especially the criminals. Much less would any Guatemalans or residents would agree to appear in pictures of their home which will be available to “everyone”. You have to remember that, sadly, Guatemala is the second most violent country in the American Continent and one can never take enough precautions to avoid becoming another statistic. I hope you begin to comprehend the implications of your request. 🙁
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mike says:
February 13, 2009 at 7:07 am
Hello from New York. I like the design.
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Blaark says:
February 13, 2009 at 10:27 am
Rudy, quite right– how near-sighted of me… I should have been more considerate as I was just reading a little about Rio Negro and the Chixoy Dam… Thanks for taking the time to explain what should have been obvious to me…
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1. Rudy Girón says:
  February 13, 2009 at 11:39 am
  @Blaark, no problem. Actually it is not that obvious to most people who live outside of Guatemala. 🙁
  Reply

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