This is yet another popular vista at Parque Central, artisans making handicrafts to sell on the spot or on Calle del Arco. Often the artisans are Maya women, but sometimes you can also find artisans from all over the world as in this case. These women were so focus in building their necklaces and jewellery … Read more
Kimchi JJigae FTW! As I have mentioned many times before, Antigua Guatemala is a foodie’s paradise since one is able to sample many of the world’s foods in such a tiny city, a town really, some might even call Antigua Guatemala just a village in the Mayan high lands of Guatemala, and who’s to deny … Read more
Antigua Guatemala, la ciudad de las perpetuas rosas is the name and slogan of La Antigua Guatemala; that’s the city of the perpetual roses for you English speaking people. However, I am sure roses are grown in large scale in Antigua Guatemala, but they are around Antigua. I heard that there really big rose plantations … Read more
As mentioned before, if you’re looking for flower and plant nurseries, then head over to San Miguel Dueñas where it seems as though each block has at least one vivero (nursery) or invernadero (green house) growing flowers and plants. A rose started plant sells for about Q5/$0.60 in the nurseries around San Miguel Dueñas, how … Read more
Parque Central is not only a place to meet with friends or to watch people or having one shoes shone; the Plaza Mayor, main square, is often a place to be entertained with all kinds of shows from live performances of Peruvian music, marimba, orchestra recitals, mimes, et cetera. Can you guess what was the … Read more
First of all, bitter chocolate is an oxymoron because chocolate means bitter drink. That’s right, we can say chocolate was the bitter drink of Meso America just as coffee was the bitter drink of Africa and Europe or tea in Asia. “Chocolate is coming back home to Central America, good chocolate at last. The cacao … Read more
You can order many beef cuts in Guatemala, but by far lomito and puyaso are the most popular beef steaks in Guatemala. Often you can order a pyrex for two with just lomito, puyaso or both, which is called mixto. In Guatemala, whenever we mix we call it mixto or mixta. In the picture, you … Read more
Antigua Guatemala has to be the most popular filming venue in Guatemala. As I have mentioned many times before, one can often find filming crews through out La Antigua. I wonder if the Ayuntamiento, City Hall, collects filming fees as many other cities do?
Guatemala is certainly rich when it comes to flora and fauna. Here’s a really strange-looking plant that I found at Vivero La Escalonia recently. Does anyone know what it is? Update: Andrée Laganière added the following on Facebook — It’s an aristolochia, also known as Dutch pipe. I have some of those malevolent-looking flowers in … Read more
I don’t know if McCafés exist in other parts of the world or if they are a Guatemalan invention. Please, illuminate me. Anyhow, McCafés sometimes exist within the typical McDonald’s restaurants or by themselves in malls. This one in particular, has Guatemalan coffee decorations everywhere from the typical textiles, petates to the coffee 100-pound bags … Read more
Often I have mentioned the importance of Antigua Guatemala, formerly Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala, through out the history of the Central American isthmus and beyond. For instance, Antigua Guatemala had the fourth university in the American continent. The California avocado mother seeds came from Antigua Guatemala. The black Christ effigy of Esquipulas was … Read more
As always, Guatemala’s tourism institute, INGUAT for short, put up a show of “Mayan” ceremonies and dances to welcome the members of the OAS General Assembly being held in Antigua Guatemala for the next three days. Honest, I have never understood why Guatemala’s tourism board or institute, INGUAT, hires real Maya people to perform ceremonies … Read more
Caldo de res is often called “cocido” (cooked) in La Antigua Guatemala. Caldo de res (beef stock or stew) has to be among the most often eaten dishes in the Guatemalan cuisine. It is always present daily menus at diners, fondas and restaurants. As many Guatemalan caldos, it comes with carrots, corn on the cob, … Read more
I feel like doing a series on just courtyards. Imagine, having ten or twelve photos of the most popular courtyards in Antigua Guatemala. Which would you include?
Seven hundred species of orchids out of 1,000 are actually native to Guatemala. I found these fragments in an article about orchids a few years ago. I believe the author captured precisely the importance of orchids for Guatemala, don’t you agree? Guatemala is a colorful country in many ways and has enchanted millions of people, … Read more