A while ago I had the great opportunity to make some portraits of Guatemalan filmmaker Luis Argueta. In case you don’t know who Luis Argueta is, here’s a brief bio taken directly from IMDb: “Luis Argueta is a director and producer, known for El silencio de Neto (1994), Collect Call (2002) and AbUSed: The Postville … Read more
Believe it or not, La Antigua Guatemala is NOT the REAL Guatemala. Well, let me rephrase that, downtown Antigua Guatemala is not the real Guatemala because the minute you step in any of the villages around our beloved colonial town, you are in the REAL Guatemala. Today we continue our series of street portraits with … Read more
I’ve discovered a hidden gastronomic jewel in La Antigua Guatemala. The Cocina del Obispo restaurant is not conveniently located but if you take the time to find it and try its food, trust me, you’ll love it. The atmosphere is quite lovely; you are surrounded by a charming garden which is frequented by these colorful … Read more
Guatemalan dobladas, turnoevers, are basically a fried folded in half tortilla with chicken, pork or potatoes, served with steam sliced cabbage, guacamol [avocado sauce] and chirmol or tomato sauce. Dobladas are normally found in the options for refacción, but your can also have them for lunch or dinner or as appetisers for inaugurations or events. … Read more
Up on the hills of San Pedro Las Huertas, it is rising the monastery of Hermanas Clarisas among fields of maize and other milpa fields. This monastery is among the last edifices on the path the climbs the skirts of Volcán de Agua through the cultivation fields peppered with avocado and nispero trees. About 500 … Read more
Here’s another panoramic vista of volcanoes Agua, Fuego and Acatenango during the sunset of this delicious canícula or heat wave, which in Guatemala it translates as days without rain. I have read or heard the following story. The enormous volcano that stands south of Antigua Guatemala is known as Volcán de Agua at present, but … Read more
As I have shared with you before, the ceiba tree (Ceiba pentandra) is very important in Guatemala. For one, the Ceiba tree is Guatemala’s national tree. There are Ceiba trees all over Guatemala. The Maya believed that Ceiba trees were portals to Xibalbá (The Underworld). Xibalba is described in the Popol Vuh as a court … Read more
If you have follow the daily updates from AntiguaDailyPhoto, you should know this guy by now. Sergio is the leader of crier group, pregoneros in Spanish, who dress up in colonial-style clothing and go around crying the news of the city or the promotions of a business when hired, as in this case, by Casa … Read more
Here’s your Guatemalan Spanish Word of the Day: turrón or meringue is the Guatemalan word for well-beaten egg whites and sugar. In México, turrón is known as merengue, which is very close to the French and English word meringue. In Guatemala, merengue is a Caribbean style of dance music, which is very popular here. Every … Read more
The seventh day of the seventh month began at 5:23am with a strong tremor, a 7.1º magnitude earthquake near the Mexican-Guatemalan border that was felt all the way to El Salvador. Even though, this strong earthquake only a gave Antigua Guatemala and surrounding areas a big scare, it left casualties in Mexico and Guatemala. Since … Read more
This picture of two Guatemalan young women laughing so hard at the main square of Antigua Guatemala is my most recent capture during the Antigua Photo Walk I lead last Saturday. These two girls were taking a break from selling the Guatemalan candy known as turrón [post coming up soon] when I approached them to … Read more
Here’s the typical vista of a Guatemalan chicken bus, camioneta we call them here, en route to Antigua Guatemala. By the way, this road is known as Ruta 14, route 14, and in my opinion is one of the most scenic pieces of road in Guatemala. If you are visiting Guatemala, make sure you take … Read more
You know it is the rainy season in Guatemala when you see people, handy men really, on the roof tops fixing the leaks. Do houses and buildings get annual repairs and new paint jobs where you live? If you would like to take a photographic tour through the rainy season vistas, just follow the white … Read more
The other day while scouting for new locations for the Artistic Photo Sessions I now offer, I came across a large garden area with many fountains which are simply decoration pieces. It got me thinking that most fountains around Antigua Guatemala are simply decor pieces; don’t you agree?
Honest, I don’t know if I am hunting mermaids in Antigua Guatemala with my camera or I am blindly following the singing of all the sirens that are found through out colonial architecture of Antigua Guatemala. I ask because it seems that somehow I am drawn to them and I am not sure if it … Read more