Blame NYChapin for today’s photo of a forest area among the milpa fields. This is about 2 miles up the hills of Volcán de Agua as climbed from the village of San Pedro Las Huertas. Boy oh boy, the things I do for you guys. 😉 The picture below, on the other hand, was taken … Read more
So far in these milpa fields I have found beans, squash, red onions, fruit trees, and flowers. However, as explained before, in a milpa field there a dozen crops at once: maize, avocados, multiple kinds of squash, chiles (hot pepper chilli), beans, tomatoes, tomatillos, camotes (sweet potatoes), jicama (a tuber also known as sengkwang, yam … Read more
According to Don Alejandro, campesinos walk about a mile or two each day around 6am to 7am to work on their milpas. They do this from April through December. If you have a mule or donkey, the loads are a little easier, but if you are not, you have to carry heave loads up and … Read more
Don Alejandro, 78, has four cuerdas [1/6 of block equals 1 cuerda] on communal or municipal land where he grows maize and beans. He works on his milpa or maizal field from April through October. Harvest time is November for the maize and December for the beans. This photo was taken on the outskirts of … Read more
It was Manolo who introduced to the term colono (a salaried worker) in comparison to a campesino (a self-employed farmer). Manolo also made this statement: Real Guatemala -> Royal Guatemala -> Feudal Guatemala, which I think is true quite often. As I have mentioned before, the campesino, the fieldworker, is an ever-present stamp in the … Read more
One of the favourite activities Guatemalans enjoy to do on the weekends are these soccer matches. Most matches happen on Saturday afternoon and Sundays all day since many Guatemalans usually work on Saturday mornings. Soon though, most Guatemalans will be glued to their television sets since the real and true FOOT BALL WORLD CUP will … Read more
This portrait of a Guatemalan teacher, mother and perhaps even grandmother serves as the portrait of a the typical Guatemalan mother. In Guatemala Mother’s Day is always celebrated on May 10, regardless of the day of the week it falls on, as opposed to other countries where it falls on the 2nd Sunday of May. … Read more
One of the benefits of having a Banana Republic (not the clothing store, but the real thing!) is the tremendous amount of recipes available with plantains that became an integral part of the Guatemalan gastronomy. Bananas, including plantains, are native to Africa. Yet it is the Central American republics, more specifically Guatemala the tiny third-world … Read more
Did you know that Guatemalan’s National Flower, the Monja Blanca [white nun] is an orchid? If you like orchids, flowers or gardening, Guatemala is paradise since you indulge in your passion year round. Seven hundred species of orchids out of 1,000 are actually native to Guatemala. I did some photos of orchids as part the … Read more
Once again granadillas are in season in Guatemala. As I have mentioned before, granadillas (Passiflora ligularis) are often confused with Maracuya (Passiflora edulis) because they look similar, especially the yellow maracuyá (passion fruit). However they taste different, granadillas are sweet while maracuyá are more acidic. Granadillas, Passiflora ligularis, commonly known as the Sweet granadilla or … Read more
I came across this tree house while scouting through the alleys of the village of San Pedro Las Huertas, Antigua Guatemala. What I found interesting was that the house made from lepa logs (lehpah me thinks). Lepa is the word we use in Guatemala for “slab wood,” the cut-off edge from when they are cutting … Read more
We continue our street portrait series with the picture of this young girl who was practicing her English skills with me, even though I only spoke Spanish to her. Who knows why she chose to speak in English to me since I only speak Spanish and poorly at that. Anyhow, I was able to take … Read more
As I have mentioned before, on May 3, In Guatemala and many countries in Latin America is celebrated the Day of the Holy Cross and also the Day of the Construction Worker. The Day of the Holy Cross is known in Guatemala as DÃÂa de la Santa Cruz and you can see many Albañiles (construction … Read more
When is boulder not a boulder? When a boulder is for a climbing competition. Such is the case today where we can see the preparation of this man-made boulder for climbing challenge right in front of Palacio de los Capitanes. If you are in Antigua Guatemala right now, you can watch the Antigua Boulder Challenge … Read more
When was the last time you visited the ruins of Santa Rosa? Do you know where in Antigua Guatemala can you find this church?