It is official: The California avocado if from La Antigua Guatemala. I had mentioned a couple of times the antigüeños are known as Panzas Verdes (green bellies) because of all the avocados they eat (see trivia 2) and that one Wilson Popenoe took the antigüeño avocado to California (see trivia 3).
With each new edition of the Flower Festival of Antigua Guatemala, the flower arrangements and decorations become more complex and elaborate; the creativity of the Panzas Verdes is certainly always blooming.
These decorative banners hanged on Good Friday are still hanging this week at Panadería San Martín. Yeah, it is hard for panzas verdes to let go of the Semana Santa. On the other hand, I am glad these Easter decorations are still hanging since it gives me an opportunity to share them with you. One … Read more
The myth of why people from Antigua Guatemala are called panzas verdes, or green bellies, states that the reason is all the avocados they eat. Certainly, we eat a lot of avocados here since we have several kinds and a plentiful supply of aguacates. Even on this website we reinforced the myth almost a decade … Read more
Run for the border no more. Well, at least, no more trips to Guatemala City or even San Lucas, Sacatépequez thanks to the new Taco Bell restaurant in Antigua Guatemala. For years the rumor of Taco Bell opening in Antigua Guatemala never materialised until two weeks ago. Since then, it looks like the lines never … Read more
The Avocado Tour is fairly new, a couple of months or so, yet it is one of the most fascinating and interesting activities to do in Antigua Guatemala. Especially so, if you like avocados and going the farms and plantations tours. The Avocado Tours is the perfect fit for understanding why people from Antigua Guatemala … Read more
Another thing that I encourage during the street photography walks around Antigua Guatemala is to capture portraits of strangers, intimate portraits whenever possible, which means within 3-6 feet or 1 to 2 meters at the most. I also encourage to capture portraits of kinds of people not just the Maya people. This means portraits of … Read more
Here’s another entry to my street portrait series. This time I share with you the portrait of the jardinero, gardener, of the main square or parque central of the village San Pedro Las Huertas. Antigüeños are known as panzas verdes, green bellies, but if you ask me, many should be call green thumbs since there … Read more
The chief agronomist of The United Fruit Company, Wilson Popenoe, took the local avocado variant to California and from it the California avocado emerged (Hass). Read the plaque placed by the California Avocado Society in Antigua Guatemala’s main square in which they recognized and appreciated the contribution of Antigua Guatemala to the development of the … Read more
Warm light, textures, rich colors and always blooming flowers and plants are part of the magic of Antigua Guatemala. Of course, the real secret is the enchanting smile of the antigüeños or panzas verdes, green bellies, as we call the locals here. Well, this is my opinion; perhaps you have a different set of things … Read more
Did you know that Guatemala once had both an English and Spanish-speaking Black community? The latter group, known as Garifuna, arrived from Nigeria by way of St. Vincent, where they blended with Carib Indians beginning in 1635 before migrating to Guatemala. By contrast, the former group was brought to the country to work the fields … Read more
Guatemala and Mexico are the birth places for the delicious avocado fruit. Avocado Trivia 1: The word avocado comes from the the Spanish word aguacate which in turn comes from the Mexican Nahuatl language word ahuacacuauhitl, which means testicle tree. Avocado in Maya is on and palta en Quechua. Source: UC Davis. Avocado Trivia 2: … Read more
Often enough I am sharing with you examples how ingenious and creative Guatemalans are when confronted with adversity or simply day-to-day life little issues. Well, I have decided to inaugurate the Guatemalan Entrepreneurship category with these masks created from dried avocado seeds. Many people just throw away the avocado seeds while other “see” you can … Read more
As every fist of the month, the Daily Photo community has a theme day and the color green is what was chosen for July 1, 2011. I have to admit that green is the easiest color to photograph in La Antigua Guatemala since green is the color of the official flag; green bellies (panzas verdes) … Read more
Guacamol has to be among the most present sauces or salads in the Guatemalan cuisine; as well as chirmol and often together. Chirmol (Guatemalan tomato-based sauce) and guacamol (avocado sauce) are often found with typical dishes like parrilladas and chuparrascos. Guacamol is also found in tostadas. Guacamol, of course, is part of the diet of … Read more