Month: May 2010

Give Me A Hand

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You know what I mean! 😉 Okay, let’s review the recent events of the last four days: 1. Fast jolt by an earthquake 2. Pacaya volcano erupted 3. Tropical storm Agatha drowns Guatemala 4. Floods and landslides 5. Massive sinkhole in Guatemala City 6. Guatemala soccer teams loses 5-0 against South Africa (Well, this one … Read more

Agatha’s Aftermath

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Agatha's Aftermath

As the new figures and images keep pouring in it becomes obvious that the tropical storm Agatha has caused more damages in Guatemala than Hurricane Stan in 2005 or Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

By the end of Sunday, May 30, these were the figures 82 dead, 111,964 evacuees, 29,245 in shelters, 13 bridges collapsed, [many] roads blocked by landslides or floods (via webO_o). Climaya calls Guatemala the country most affected but also Honduras and El Salvador were affected by the storm Agatha in Muerte y destrucción causa Agatha en Centroamérica. HablaGuate reported about 15 houses that were destroyed in San Pedro Las Huertas (the village I live in) and all the houses lost in Ciudad Vieja, Sacatepéquez. The list of damages caused by tropical storm Agatha just in Guatemala is an endless river of updates in Twitter and Facebook.

Below I share with you just a few samples so you can get an idea of the current state of Guatemala; not a terra firma country any more but an archipelago of isolated communities. 🙁

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Stop Agatha, Stop!

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Stop Agatha, Stop!

Guatemalans urgently need a break!

First we experience a short but strong jolt cause by an earthquake. Right after Pacaya volcano began erupting and spewing black volcanic sand and ash over Guatemala City, which cause the closing of the main international airport of Guatemala. People were still cleaning up the black sand and ash when we got hit by tropical storm Agatha, which behaves pretty much like a hurricane.

We urgently need a break!

Of course the tropical storm Agatha is the worst of all evils because it hit hard the entire country with a heavy downpour which caused floods and land slides in many places, including La Antigua Guatemala. Many people have lost their houses and many more have been evacuated and are now living in temporary shelters. A flood of tweets and Facebooks updates keep inundating the timelines with the hash tags #Pacaya, #AgathaGT, #CenizasGT, #ApagonGT, etc. You can look at all the photos from tropical storm Agatha that people are uploading at http://is.gd/cvbam and http://is.gd/cvbak.

Don’t you agree that we need a break from Nature’s catastrophes? 🙁

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Typical Guatemalan Breakfast

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I have shown you the typical Guatemalan breakfast at least three times and each time has been somehow different, how so? Well, what can I say, there are a series of ingredients that can be assorted to make breakfast taste very Guatemalan. The typical Guatemalan breakfast must include, however, black beans, fried plantain slices, fresh … Read more

Flyers Launch Pad

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What a creative way to distribute volantes, flyers, don’t you think? By the way, I believe it’s time to go out at night to listen to Buena Vista de Corazón. Hopefully I will come back with good night photos of the Cuban musicians. You know how much I love to photograph music events at night. … Read more

Rainy Season Break

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Eveyone needs a break every once in a while. Today will be my break. However, before I head for the beach, I will share with you this simple image of doves taking a break or perhaps holding a staff meeting before the storm’s arrival; you decide. Did you know the Pacific Ocean shores are only … Read more

Street Photography Is Like Hunting

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We street photographers are like hunters; often we roam the streets, stalking the city for candid, naturally looking, images. Other times, we seat or stand in a corner until we become invisible or at least until the people around us become oblivious about us. We set the light, aperture, and shutter speed ahead of time … Read more

Earphone Usage is Up in Antigua Guatemala

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A few years back LD ranted about all the people she came across wearing earbuds while riding the public transit buses in Toronto after having spent a few years in Guatemala where the practice was rare, if not, nonexistent in the chicken bus rides. I remember her rant because at the time I hadn’t noticed … Read more

An Old Automobile for An Old Town

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The weekend is the perfect time to catch the classic automobiles in La Antigua Guatemala. You can catch classic automobiles near churches and hotels because they are used for weddings and other celebrations, including quinceañeras. In the picture above, I captured two classic German automobiles; where is the second one and what color and brand … Read more

The Tortillas Transactions

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We are men of maize! It is impossible to think the Guatemalan, Mexican and Mesoamerican diet without maize. From the Popul Vuh (Popol Wuj in modern spelling), the Mayan equivalent of the Bible, which states that humans were literally created from maize, to Miguel Ángel Asturias‘ novel Hombres de maíz (Men of Maize) which is … Read more