Month: August 2011

Guatemalan Alienation

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This year FOTO»30, Guatemala’s Photo September, a month full of photographic exhibits has as the encompassing theme the concept Nation. I remember what Manolo said last year when I entitled a post Perpetuating a Nation. It [Guatemala] is a country, a republic… but a nation… I am not sure. —Manolo Everyday I come across more … Read more

Voting Location Desk

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As the national general elections are getting closer the Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE, Supreme Electoral Tribunal) is making every effort to speed up the election process, this include helping the voters know where they’re supposed to vote and providing printed slips with the address and instructions on what things are needed to vote. This TSE … Read more

Mayan Ceramic Replicas

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These Mayan ceramic replicas can be had for about Q150/$20, but DO NOT try to take them out of the country because you might run into trouble. It turns out now there’s a law that forbids taking handicrafts and replicas out of the country without first having the Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes certify that … Read more

Political Propaganda Creates Visual Pollution

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I can’t wait for September 11 to arrive and not because it’s my birthday, but because that’s when Guatemala will hold general elections for President, Vice President, Congress and Mayors through out all Guatemalan Municipalities. This means that after that we can finally get rid of all the political propaganda causing all kinds of visual … Read more

Guatemala’s the Birth place for Chocolate

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Did you know that Guatemala is the birthplace for chocolate? If not, read on. Cocoa bean (also cacao bean,[1] often simply cocoa and cacao; Mayan: kakaw; Nahuatl: cacaua) is the dried and fully fermented fatty seed of Theobroma cacao, from which cocoa solids and cocoa butter are extracted. They are the basis of chocolate, as … Read more

Colorful and Tiny Nativity Scenes

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Don’t you wish you can have one these adorable Guatemalan nacimientos (nativity scenes) in your own home for the next Christmas? In my never ending quest to share with you all the different artistic manifestations from Guatemala that I come across I preset you this video clip entitled Tejido audiovisual de Guatemala by Julio Dávila … Read more

Guatemalan Entrepreneurship: Avocado seed masks

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Often enough I am sharing with you examples how ingenious and creative Guatemalans are when confronted with adversity or simply day-to-day life little issues. Well, I have decided to inaugurate the Guatemalan Entrepreneurship category with these masks created from dried avocado seeds. Many people just throw away the avocado seeds while other “see” you can … Read more

Guatemalan Cuisine: Caldo de Gallina Criolla

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Criollo or Criolla is the Guatemalan Spanish word often meaning native or garden grown. Although criollo in colonial times was the word used to label the offspring of Spaniards that were born in America (remember America means the entire Continent not just the U.S.). Nowadays, in Guatemala we use the word criollo/criolla for things that … Read more

Brilliant and Colorful Guatemala

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    Here’a another entry for the Color Palette category. Make sure you wear sunglasses if you decide to follow the white rabbit. By the way, I created the Color Palette category nearly 100 days after the initial posts as a way to capture photographs that were a very good samples of the colors found … Read more