Barber Shops Around Antigua Guatemala

Here’s your Spanish word of the day: Barbería or barber shop.

There are still plenty of barber shops around Antigua Guatemala, especially so in the villages of Antigua Guatemala.

By the way, here are two possible meanings for the barber shop pole or cylinder shared by two long-time readers.

Manolo: Three colours of the barbershop “candy cane” represent the three types of jobs barbers used to perform. They were dentists (white=extract teeth), they performed blood cleaning services (red) with leaches, and blue I think it was the colour to represent the actual hair cutting. At least that is what I remember they represent.

Lorenda: The modern barber pole originated in the days when bloodletting was one of the principal duties of the barber. The two spiral ribbons painted around the pole represent the two long bandages, one twisted around the arm before bleeding, and the other used to bind is afterward. Originally, when not in use, the pole with a bandage wound around it, so that both might be together when needed, was hung at the door as a sign. But later, for convenience, instead of hanging out the original pole, another one was painted in imitation of it and given a permanent place on the outside of the shop. This was the beginning of the modern barber pole.

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