Sights of Our Times: Santiago Banners at Antigua’s City Hall

Here’s your illustrated Guatemalan Spanish word of the day: Ayuntamiento for City Hall.

Since this year the city of Antigua Guatemala could not celebrate it’s patron saint festivities on July 25th, which is Día de Santiago, or Saint James Day, they hanged these huge Santiago banners from the Palacio del Ayuntamiento [City Hall Palace].

By the way, the reason Antigua Guatemala celebrates the patron saint of Santiago Apóstol is because the city was founded on July 25th, 1524 with the name of Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala and this title was only changed until 1775 when the city moved again to the Valle de La Ermita; that’s where Guatemala City still is today. So that’s why you find thousands of images, effigies and sculptures of Saint James all over Antigua Guatemala.

Is your city celebrating its town fair this year?

© 2020, Rudy Giron. All rights reserved.