Here we have a group of students from the first year of the faculty of Architecture of Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, USAC, taking a test underneath the arches of the Municipal building of Antigua Guatemala. These students are the Guatemalan architects of the future. I chatted a little bit with some of them … Read more
I was fortunate to accompany Guatemalan Architect José María Magaña Juárez, who specializes in conservation of monuments and historic centers and was Antigua Guatemala Conservator from 1979 through 1986, and other architecture enthusiasts through a architecture walk through the three different periods Magaña has been able to identify: Renaissance, Transition and Baroque. According to Architect … Read more
Even a drain cover from Finca Filadelfia coffee plantation looks interesting and appealing to the eye, at least to my eye, how about to your eye?
Black beans are such a staple of the Guatemalan cuisine that a cook or chef only needs to add them to a dish and call it Guatemalan, Chapín, Nacional or Típico. Beans, but especially black beans, are ingrained in the Guatemalan DNA. Yet, black beans are also considered the food of the less privilege even … Read more
I don’t need NO stinking Siri or hands free earphones, I can imagine the woman thinking as she goes around making phone calls through her cellphone inside her helmet. This hands free approach is not safe, of course, but I believe it’s the norm with most, if not all, delivery motorcycle riders around Antigua Guatemala … Read more
El Sombrerón appears at dusk, dragging along a group of mules carrying coal, with whom he travels around the city and its neighborhoods. When a woman corresponds to his love, he ties the mules to the house’s pole where she lives, unhooks his guitar and starts singing and dancing. Some residents from the neighborhoods of … Read more
Who can explain to me why belly dancing is so popular in Antigua Guatemala. I have seen belly dancers in many activities and events in Antigua Guatemala, but I don’t know how something so foreign can be so embedded in the traditions of Antigüeños. What’s your take on it?
I have said it before and I am repeating again here, both Panchoy and Almolonga valleys are surrounded by three volcanoes and mountain ranges which served as funnels during the rainy season collecting tremendous amounts of water; much more than can be consumed by all the trees and plants on the hills around La Antigua … Read more
Café Barista is the Guatemalan coffee house chain equivalent to what Starbucks is in the U.S. more or less. I don’t visit often because I prefer the local coffee houses run by locals in Antigua Guatemala, but in this occasion I stopped to get a piece of chocolate cake for the better half. I was … Read more
This man and his chucho assistant sell fresh coconut water and cocos on the corner of 5a avenida sur and 9a calle poniente in case you need to refill your superfood fluids and restore your electrolytes. In case you doubt that Antigua Guatemala is located in the tropics, the freshly cut coconuts should serve as … Read more
Our loyal and long-time reader Jessica Flores explained the differences on Facebook. Here are my quick and dirty translations on the fly: Chuchitos = corn dough, tomato-based sauce y meat inside, wrapped in dried maize husks. Eaten as an appetizer. Tamalitos = single corn dough and other ingredients such as chipilin, chicharrón, etc., no sauce, … Read more
These are tamalitos de frijol, which basically are small tamales, thus tamalITOS, with black beans mixed in before cooking and wrapped with maize plant fresh leaves. Who can tell the difference between chuchitos, tamalitos, tamales and paches? Best answer will win a photo post card sent via snail mail to you home or office.
I started the photowalks in Antigua Guatemala last month and so far they have been a total success. This past Saturday I had nearly 50 people sharing the passion for Antigua Guatemala. We were lucky because we encountered Architect JM Magaña, a former conservator, and one of the people who know most about restorations and … Read more
El fin es sólo el comienzo. The end is just the beginning. One of the aspects that I enjoy the most about being part of engine behind Club Fotográfico de Antigua Guatemala (CFA), Antigua’s Photo Club, is that we bring the most prominent and important photographers to Antigua Guatemala to share their experiences and knowledge. … Read more
Last Saturday was the inauguration of the photographic exhibition “Instrospectivas” (instrospectives), a sampling of the human condition. These images are not just photographs, they are people and their circumstances, a society and its circumstances the promotional banner reads. As always, if you’re in Antigua Guatemala don’t miss this important exhibit at the Compañía de Jesús … Read more