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San Pedro Las Huertas Town Fair

The Antigua Guatemala villages of San Pedro Las Huertas, San Juan del Obispo and San Pedro El Panorama are having the patron-saint …

Small Procession in San Pedro Las Huertas

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.

Altar Inside San Pedro Las Huertas Church

Today’s photograph is dedicated to those friends that have pointed out that in over 427 days I have taken over 34 photos of atriums and churches, but not a single photo from the inside of a church. Let me tell you, it was not easy, but I decided to just walk in and take a few shots. So there, see I can also take photographs from inside the churches. Here is another close-up view of the altar of San Pedro Las Huertas Church without people. I hope you are not put off by religious motifs.

Medio Maratón Las Rosas 2017

As every year, a Sunday or two before Día de Santiago, or Saint James Day, celebrated on July 25, a half marathon …

© Vista from San Juan del Obispo by Rudy Giron

Vista from San Juan del Obispo

I learned that INGUAT is now offering free tours to the villages of Antigua Guatemala twice a month on Saturday and Sunday. …

San Gaspar Vivar Church by Rudy Girón

San Gaspar Vivar Church

One thing I have noticed reviewing the archives of AntiguaDailyPhoto is that I have yet to visit all the villages of Antigua …

San Lázaro General Cemetery

This photograph marks the beginning of the San Lázaro Cemetery series. I know Friday is a weird day to start a series, but since most people visit the cemetery on the weekends, I guess it’s okay. I have to warn you about the series though. This cemetery is not exceptional and quite frankly a little boring since it is mostly white. So, don’t expect any extraordinary or exotic shots.

Coffee Harvest Time in Guatemala

Yesterday’s photo was a close-up of the coffee bush in the lower left corner of today’s photo. If you click on the image above you can the coffee bushes (the small trees) being harvested under the shadows of the Gravilea trees in San Pedro Las Huertas, La Antigua Guatemala. Around La Antigua Guatemala you can find coffee bushes everywhere, including as part of the hedges of La Compañí­a de Jesús ruins.

Chicalote (Prickly Poppy) Cocoon in La Antigua Guatemala

Last year, on the entry The Land of the Eternal Spring, I talked about the “undocumented alien” in our garden, the Flor de Pascua (poinsettias) which were not planted or maintained, yet it gave us those wonderful red flowers from October through March. Since then, we moved to another house in San Pedro Las Huertas, one of the neighborhoods of La Antigua Guatemala, which is next to a coffee plantation with lots of trees and birds (partners in crime). Well, I am happy to report yet another “undocumented alien” in our new garden by the name of Chicalote (Prickly Poppy or Argemone Mexicana), a sort desert weed (that’s right I said desert, remember La Antigua is located in a tropical country). Two days ago I presented you the chicalote’s flower in the entry Flora and Fauna working together. One thing many visitors to La Antigua Guatemala notice right away is the incredible number of exotic flowers and plants, many of which grow in the wild.

Guatemalan Fair: Fresh Fruit Stall

After all the pounds we have gained this week at the San Pedro Las Huertas Fair, it is nice to come across some healthy food. For Q5 ($0.65) we can take any fresh fruit bags and we will need the savings since we already lost quite a few Quetzales at the others fair stands. Now, even though I have shown all these Guatemalan fair food and even describe it as tasteful and delicious, I don’t want to pass it as healthy. Fair food is junk food. I am so glad these fair food vendors have not come across the Super Size Me concept!

Guatemalan Fair: The Ferris Wheel

Ferris wheels are another element of the Guatemalan fair. There is at least one Ferris wheel, but more often two or three of different sizes. The Ferris wheel is known here by these names rueda de Chicago(Chicago Wheel), rueda de la fortuna (wheel of fortune) and vuelta al mundo (around the world). Fairs are made up by all kinds of ambulant stands. Fairs are like accordions, they grow or shrink depending of the size of the community or town. All these photos belong to the San Pedro Las Huertas, a small village just outside and belonging to La Antigua Guatemala. At the end of July, La Antigua Guatemala will have its massive fair in honor of Saint James or Santiago.

Guatemalan Fair: The Church and its Saint

Almost all town fairs and festivities are around the town’s patron, in this case is San Pedro Las Huertas, which by the way, means Saint Peter of the vegetable gardens. Since Guatemala was a catholic country for the last 500 years or so and the Mesoamerican indigenous people absorbed and mixed the catholic rituals and traditions with their own religious beliefs and traditions, most Guatemalan towns have a Spanish catholic first name and often an indigenous last name (otherwise known as the original name). For example, Santo Domingo Xenacoj, which means the original name of the town was Xenacoj, and the town was re-christen with Santo Domingo. Now with the above information, we now know that a town’s fair happens once-a-year on the town’s catholic patron. For San Pedro Las Huertas the date is June 29th and for La Antigua Guatemala is July 25th because the city used to be called The Very Noble and Very Loyal City of Saint James of the Lords of Guatemala, as mentioned by Manolo a few days ago. And some of you thought La Antigua Guatemala was already a very long name; try explaining to your friends and relatives that you are planning a vacation to The Very Noble and Very Loyal City of Saint James of the Lords of Guatemala.

Is it fair? Really it’s a fair

For those who like to imagine what ruins were like and what people did around them I have todays photo of San Pedro Las Huertas Town fair with the church (not a ruin) in the background and all kind of food vendors around the town’s plaza. So this is what the ruins looked like when they were in used by the people of the past. If you would like to browse for other photos from San Pedro Las Huertas, just follow the white rabbit or if you only want to see a better shot of the church in the background just say we’re not in Kansas anymore.

Coffee and Gravileas Trees Along with Bougainvillea Bushes

This photo is needed to clarify a confusion about the coffee trees and their height. Nathalie from Sydney DP asked if coffee trees grow very tall in La Antigua Guatemala, while referring to this photograph which showed coffee trees and their shadow makers the gravilea trees around Antigua, San Pedro Las Huertas to be precise. I posted a Close-up photo of coffee plantation before to show the coffee bushes (tree could be considered an exaggeration) and the shadow trees known here a gravileas. So, to answer Nathalie’s questions, coffee trees (ed. bushes) do not grow very high; they can be harvest by Guatemalan farm workers on foot.

Walking Among Giants in Antigua Guatemala BY RUDY GIRON

Walking Among Giants in Antigua Guatemala

Since we are talking about the Gigantes, which are used in Dances of the Giants or Baile de los Gigantes, through this link you will find the agenda of activities for The End of the Year Festival at Calle del Arco. Enjoy!

The Butcher and His Shop

Here’s another typical small entrepreneurial shop found in the villages of Antigua Guatemala, in San Pedro Las Huertas in this particular case. …

Guatemalan syncretism knows no limits!

When it comes to popular religious celebrations Guatemalan syncretism knows no limits. Watch these short video clips that include diablos, devils, moros …

Sympathy for the Devil

Well, not really. See you see all these masks are for parades celebrated through out Guatemala, but prominently at Ciudad Vieja and …

Cemetery Cleaning Crew

For the past month the Antigua Municipality has had cemetery cleaning crews going around the graveyards of the villages of Antigua. Here …

Guatemalan Coffee FTW!

Another crop that I have found on my walks through the hills on the skirt of Volcán de Agua is coffee. These …

The Old Man and The Saint

I was able to capture a portrait of this old man taking the sun next to the San Pedro monument in San …