Tourists from San Juan Comalapa

As I said a few weeks ago, often in Antigua Guatemala people when they think of tourists, they think of foreigners who visit Guatemala while in reality the largest number of tourists come from other parts of Guatemala. 

Here I photographed a group of Guatemalan tourists from San Juan Comalapa, a village famous for its unique paintings and painters as well. 

San Juan Comalapa is sometimes called the “Florence of America”, because of the many Kaqchikel painters living there (one of the more celebrated painters being Paula Nicho Cumez). It is also the birthplace of Rafael Álvarez Ovalle, who composed Guatemala national anthem. The painting tradition started in the 1930s, when Kaqchikel painter Andrés Curruchich (1891–1969) started painting with oil. His creativity was noted so much that he started showing his art in the United States and achieved international success. Because of this, Curruchiche decided to teach the new generations his form of painting. Today there are some 500 painters in San Juan Comalapa, and the majority of them still use the techniques of Curruchiche. These painters are dedicated to paint the costums, life experiences and traditions of the Indian towns. Source: Wikipedia.

What are your thoughts regarding national tourism in Antigua Guatemala?

© 2019, Rudy Giron. All rights reserved.