
Gorgeous Winter Light Vista from Antigua Guatemala
Antigua Guatemala is a popular destination for snowbirds looking for warmer Winter weather. Although, Antigua Guatemala is located about an hour away …
Antigua Guatemala is a popular destination for snowbirds looking for warmer Winter weather. Although, Antigua Guatemala is located about an hour away …
As I have shared with you before, flores de Pascua or pascuas, are the most popular Christmas floral displays. Poinsettias are also …
In the most southeast end of Antigua Guatemala you can find this 3- arch gate for the Hermitage of El Calvario. El …
Believe it or not, there hasn’t been public transportation in the entire country of Guatemala since March 16 when the national government …
We continue our close-up look at the most common flowers found in the gardens of Antigua Guatemala with Hortensias the common name …
This particular flower (which most people in the US call hydranga) has an additional lesson for me. You can find them in …
Once again the location of Antigua Guatemala has proven to be strategic and beneficial for yet anothe type of tourism. Antigua Guatemala …
Explore the Hidden Gems of Antigua Guatemala with photographer Rudy Giron of AntiguaPhotoWalks.com
During the street photography walks I lead in and around Antigua Guatemala or abroad we learn how to compose images that tell …
A few days before the celebrations of Independence Day on September 15th, the President of Guatemala, Jimmy Morales and/or the Vice President, …
Last night, Guatemala and Mexico were hit by an 8.2 earthquake at 10:49pm local time. It was quite long, over 3 minutes …
As I have mention before, do not underestimate the power of catholic imagery. You see, the world-famous Antigua Guatemala processions are about …
Here’s your illustrated Spanish word of the day — Sastre for tailor. Another interesting aspect of real life in the villages of …
Here’s your illustrated Spanish word of the day: Calabaza for squash. In Guatemala we also use ayote and chilacayote for specific kinds …
Here’s your illustrated Spanish word of the day: Mariscos for seafood. Can someone explain to me how could I have missed caldo …
Climate change denier Sarah Palin might benefit by a visit to the highlands of Guatemala, specifically the city of Antigua Guatemala, located …
Here’s you Spanish word of the day: Cuaresma or Lent. Once again, from the early morning reports started to pour in, around …
The first time we “officially” drunk coffee in Guatemala was in 1743 for the celebration of the conversion of the Catedral de …
Havoc all over Guatemala as flash floods, mudslides and heavy rains pour all over the country due to low pressure tropical storm …
I really enjoy teaching street photography to timid photographers through the Antigua Photo Walks. Here’s a photographer who in the previous week …
Blip, blip, blip! Alert, alert, we break from our regular programming to bring you this important news update. From early in the …
Okay, there are three different kinds of venues where to get coffee in Antigua Guatemala. The first coffee venue type, you order …
A few years ago, our guest writer Arturo Godoy published a post about custom-made boots and shoes made in Pastores, a town …
I have found a tortillería that offers black tortillas twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Of course, you can find black …
I believe I have mentioned a few times before through the years, we have the most beautiful and incredible light around Antigua …
Even though we have experienced a drought in Guatemala since the canícula, heat wave, on early July, that has brought terrible consequences …
Another crop that I have found on my walks through the hills on the skirt of Volcán de Agua is coffee. These …
Smiles, big smiles, that’s something that I really enjoy about roaming the streets with a camera in hand. Sometimes I look for …
This is one of the photos taken during the last “street photography challenge photo walk” I lead on the streets of Antigua …
One of the benefits of having a Banana Republic (not the clothing store, but the real thing!) is the tremendous amount of …
I love doing street photography and capturing candid images from the streets of Antigua Guatemala. In the almost eight years I have …
It was only a matter of time before solar panels would become part of the landscape of colonial Antigua Guatemala. What things …
Today’s picture is an unusual perspective, perhaps even an original take on the chupetes which are normally photographed like this. Well, you …
This church with its three chairs provides a symbolic representation of the crucifixion; with each seat representing each cross. In this take, …
With this gallery of Semana Santa photos from Antigua Guatemala, Nelo Mijangos shares with us an overview of the many vistas one …
As I have mentioned before, every year, on 15th of January, thousands of pilgrims from Guatemala, the United States, Europe, Mexico and …
All of Guatemala celebrated the end of the long count Mayan calendar and the beginning of the new era. There were events …
This is also the season of posadas (shelter quest) and nacimientos (nativity scenes) in Latin America, Guatemala and more specifically Antigua Guatemala. …
We continue our black and white series of the churches in and around Antigua Guatemala. In this occasion, I stopped by El …
El Calvario or Calvary (Golgotha) is the name of the mount on the outskirts of Jerusalem where it’s believed that Jesus Christ …
How many people can you fit inside a bus? The chicken bus Guinness World Record of how many people you can fit …
Since Antigua Guatemala is the tourism capital for Central America, it’s quite common to see tourists, local and foreign, window shopping for …
Honest, what’s not to like about the dry season? Clear skies, crisp and cool temperatures and the most enchanting light are the …
I know that to keep abundant richly verdant mountains in Guatemala we have to have a 6-month rainy season. But, enough is …
Do not underestimate the power of catholic imagery. You see, the world-famous Antigua Guatemala processions are about showing the devoted images as a reminder and representation of the crucifixion of Jesus.
Also, today all Stations of the Cross altars will be open and many if not all procession will pay a visit to El Calvario Church, which is located on the southern outskirts of La Antigua Guatemala. El Calvario or Calvary (Golgotha) is the name of the mount on the outskirts of Jerusalem where it’s believe Jesus Christ was crucified. This church with its three arches provides a symbolic representation of the crucifixion; with each arch representing each cross.
Boots, boots, boots… I bet you didn’t know that there is town near Antigua Guatemala where one can choose from a large …
I wonder what’s the fascination with mermaids and sirens around La Antigua Guatemala, a town located in the highlands of Guatemala, a …
I guess geeks will be geeks regardless where they come from. I mean, Guatemalan geeks eat no different than other computer geeks …
Fried fish is another popular dish in Guatemala. The fried fish presentation above can be found just about anywhere in Guatemala. Normally …
In this photograph I try to captured the different ages or stages of the coffee berries. Since we are showing the different …
There is new seismic activity in La Antigua Guatemala’s grapevine. For a while now, I’ve been hearing rumors about new closing times …
Guatemala is a tiny little country with a tremendous wealth of things to do and see. From La Antigua Guatemala, you can …
Eveyone needs a break every once in a while. Today will be my break. However, before I head for the beach, I …
At 3:30 in the morning and by the light of the full moon as the rooster crowed a couple times, my husband …
Believe it or not, in La Antigua Guatemala people still take their shoes for repairs, quite often extending the life of shoes …
From the self-portrait above it’s obvious I was in quite the “alternative art” mood. But, being at my third art exposition for …
The Maya is a civilization really preoccupied with the unbearable lightness of being and masochistic on top of it all by keeping a long count which shows how insignificant we really are. We humans, however, we really muddle ourselves with all kinds of fixations, preoccupations and obsessions like dates.
“We could see the topography was just perfect,” Victor Gallo confidently asserted. Victor Gallo is the expert Antigua Canopy Tours hired to …
What a beast. The journey of “flying through the forest” with Antigua Canopy Tours begins with a ride in the unique UNIMOG, …
pushwigh#@%&?¿… blip! Alert, alert, we break from our regular programing Details, details, details to bring you this important news update. From early …
Boy oh boy, the things I do to bring you first-hand, eye-witness coverage daily from La Antigua Guatemala. I’ve done the unthinkable, …
Every year, On January 15th, thousands of pilgrims from Guatemala, the United States, Europe and other Central American countries flock to pay …
Pino is the name by which Guatemalans refer to the pine needles used as Christmas decorations, specifically, to spread around the floor …
I am happy to report that slowly but surely Guatemalan women are moving into all the positions they deserve. Two good friends …
Thank you for your interest in promoting your business on AntiguaDailyPhoto.com, the largest and number 1 online resource in English for travelers, visitors …
L-R: Ronald Flores, Ana María Rodas, Javier Payeras, Julio Serrano, Francisco Alejandro Méndez As I have shared with you, last Saturday I …
Last year I showed you one of the Surf Shops in La Antigua Guatemala and talked about surfing in Guatemala in general. …
That is right, Semana Santa in Guatemala is an equal opportunity celebration. Sure, cucuruchos take the majority of the clicks of cameras and most of the video recorded, but children, women and dogs have a place in the Holy Week celebrations. Women’s float or andas are a bit smaller and carry virgins or angels most of the time.
Processions are majestic, huge and long in La Antigua Guatemala. You can browse the Processions category to get an idea of the size of the processions in La Antigua Guatemala. There are smaller and more humble processions in the villages and small communities surrounding La Antigua Guatemala. This year, I will try to focus more in the Holy Week celebrations and processions in the villages where you can still observe the fervor, regardless of the size, for all these Catholic rituals. The photo above was taken in the village of San Pedro Las Huertas, while the procession made a pit stop or parada as they are known in Spanish. Well, I think that is the name, maybe somebody more knowledgeable in Catholic rituals can provide the actual name for the stops the processions make every so often at specific spots.
It is incredible that one time women, nuns to be more specific, were not allowed contact with the outside world. The Arco de Santa Catarina, one of La Antigua Guatemala’s landmark was built to prevent the nuns to be seen by the outsiders, quite possibly men, while they move from side of the street to the other side where they eat or pray; don’t know for sure which one.
I am glad to know that now nuns are allowed to walk freely in search for the best Wi-Fi spot in town so they can update their blogs. 😉
Sometimes you just have to ask yourself what kind of strange brew are the Canadians brewing way up north, heh. See, first they steal our bright minds; then they take our gold and buy out our postal service; they insert strange things into our antigüeño breakfast (bacon they call it); even our money is now Canadian (it reads Canadian Bank Note on the brand-new Quetzal bills); just to name a few things. In return they send salsa-dancing-craze Spanish students and the horrible and hostile weather. Come on, this is Guatemala, a tropical country in Central America, you know, the tiny land that impedes the Caribbean Island from moving over the Pacific Ocean. So what business does it have freezing-cold-ice-capping winds in La Antigua Guatemala. See, we don’t need no sticking ice-capped mountains and volcanoes in our gorgeous temperate-always-sun-shining-eternal-spring weather. Those volcanoes you see in the background are ice-capped (see larger image).
But like in anything else in life, something good emerged from such a tragic history. Fried plantains, rellenitos (fried plantain mass filled with black beans), atol de platano (plantain-based hot and thick drink) and even the wrappings of traditional Guatemalan tamal came from the banana trees. Man, I could on and on talking about bananas recipes and dishes in Guatemala like Bubba did in Forest Gump about shrimp.
For those who would rather break a piñata than playing around with fire, I present to you the Lucky 7 Burning of the Devil Piñata for you to fill it with all your frustration and negative vibes and virtually burn it or break it with your mouse, trackball or tablet until your let it all out. Happy Burning of the Devil everyone!
We will begin a mini tour of the library at the Compañía de Jesús building under the care of Cooperación Española NGO or Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional as it is called in Spanish.
But first the disclosure: I love libraries; even chicken bus libraries! 😉
From the Guateflora series we take a different road to show you the lush roads around La Antigua Guatemala. By the way, the roads that communicate La Antigua Guatemala with the rest of the ‘real’ Guatemala are some of the best in the country, if not the best; they are kept in better conditions than the rest of the roads around Guatemala.
Thanks to our resourceful readers now we know exactly what shade of blue should the Guatemalan Flag should be. Manolo provided us with the exact Guatemalan Congress Act 104-97, available as a PDF download, which determines the color blue as ISCC-NBS 177. Then, Manolo, who felt like procrastinating, decided that ISCC-NBS 177 was not something most people could understand as Celestial Blue, so he gave us a web site address where we could look at the specific shade of blue. He went even futher, and submitted the HTML codes #4285B4 and #4997D0 for the Guatemalan flag blue. Xensen, took this information and came back with Pantone Matching System 297 and 298 and a link to get an idea of the color. So with all this information at our disposal, we now know what the official blue should be used in the Guatemalan Flag (like the photo below). But, like I said yesterday, “… Reality dictates that the Guatemalan flag can be blue, any blue really, with or without the emblem or coat of arms.”
I have said that I really enjoy being in this building so many times that you might actually believe that I work …
Back to the Compañía de Jesús building to see the photo exhibit Punto de fuga by some of my favorite photo journalists: Sandra Sebastián, Moisés Castillo and Andrea Aragón. Since I had promised to come back to this magnificent example of antigüeño architecture and show it to you, I took a few more shots. This window frame is the first of this mini-series or the continuation of the Compañía de Jesús building series. Either way, let me know what you think of it. Boy, La Antigua Guatemala is so full of these wonderful vistas.
The waves are getting closer to La Antigua Guatemala. So it is no surprise to find a “surf shop” in a Spanish colonial town embedded between coffee plantations, flower farms and volcanoes.
Actually, you can get straight down to the Pacific Ocean in about 45 to 60 minutes (depends on your safety level while driving) through one of the most beautiful stretches of road in Guatemala, known simply as Carretera 14 (road #14) and then the highway in Escuintla. Two prime beaches for surfing are Monterrico and Sipacate, both of them about two hours from La Antigua Guatemala.
I am glad El Calvario Church provides a nice transition from the white cemetery series back to the rich antigüeño color palette while maintaining the death theme going on. El Calvario or Calvary (Golgotha) is the name of the mount on the outskirts of Jerusalem where it’s believe Jesus Christ was crucified. This church with its three arches provides a symbolic representation of the crucifixion; with each arch representing each cross.
Once again, La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo is participating in the theme day of the Daily Photo community. This time the theme is about the color red. Here you can see the Compañía de Jusús building under care of the Cooperación Española which is huge red building; one full block to be specific. This building has had many uses through history, like the home of Bernal Díaz del Castillo, home to the Jesuits of Central America in colonial times, thus its name, and more recently it houses a public library, culture center under the administration of Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional. You can see the big entrance of the building, the interior gardens and arches and one the side wall of the ruins. I decided to photograph this building because it’s the biggest red thing in La Antigua Guatemala, but I was lucky to have a red motorcycle and a red jeep enter the viewfinder at the moment I snapped the shot; how lucky, indeed.
Very Strong and Long Earthquake Hits Guatemala
The Compañía de Jesús Building has to be one of my favorites building in La Antigua Guatemala. It is beautifully restored with …
The Antigua Guatemala is full plaques pointing to historic sites or events that happened here. The Antigüeños must luck the humor or …
La Dolorosa or The Sorrowful Mother is the biblical figure of sorrowful mother Mary which follows Jesus in his way to his crucifixion. This act is represented by a smaller anda (long carved wooden flatbed image-carrying float [*]) —carrying the effigy of sorrowful Mother Mary and other female biblical representations— which is hauled exclusively by women who mostly dress in black or white as this is the appropriate dress code for a funeral. Jesus’ funeral.
Nevertheless, Good Friday is the culmination of the Holy Week Celebrations and the processions end at the Calvario Church (Calvario is the Spanish word for Calvary or Golgotha). The entrance of the Calvario Church in La Antigua Guatemala is a yellow façade with three arches, topped by three bells and three crosses —one larger than the other two— with a very large concrete cross in front. Can you see the obvious architectonic reference to Jesus’ crucifixion?
One of the things I like best about La Antigua Guatemala is its location. One hour or less from Guatemala City and …
In the Catholic realm the Holy Week Celebrations begin today with the Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Cuaresma, the Spanish …
El Calvario Church, located to the south of La Antigua Guatemala, is another famous landmark, yet it only took me 290 entries …
Buying a house in Antigua is a proposition beyond the economic means of most Guatemalans, sometimes, even so for foreigners. On June …
This performance was at the atrium of the Compañía de Jesús building. This was the house of Bernal Díaz del Castillo and …
Compañía de Jesus Fountain, originally uploaded by rudygiron. Here is another example of a fountain and a patio. This is the inside …