Why is there a Ronald Hubbard plaque at Antigua’s Parque Central?
The Plaza Mayor better known as Parque Central is full of plain-view secrets and interesting trivia. For instance, did you know there …
Trivia about Cerro de la Cruz, Oops, I mean Cerro de La Candelaria
That’s right, what everyone calls Cerro de la Cruz, is actually Cerro de la Candelaria. The cross placed there fairly recently by …
Did you know that Antigua Guatemala is the birthplace for the California/Hass Avocado?
The chief agronomist of The United Fruit Company, Wilson Popenoe, took the local avocado variant to California and from it the California …
From Spain to Guatemala
Or rather from Santiago de Compostela to Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala reads the plaque of this monument donated by Spain …
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 …
Mosaic Mural by ‘Pasión por los Mosaicos’ at César Brañas Cultural Center
This mosaic mural is located on one the main wall of the César Brañas Cultural Center. Pasión por los Mosaicos, passion for …
Avocado Trivia: Things To Know About The Avocado
Guatemala and Mexico are the birth places for the delicious avocado fruit. Avocado Trivia 1: The word avocado comes from the the …
Isabel La Catolica Monument
I am sure most people in La Antigua Guatemala don’t know about this monument or its location. In fact, this monument gives …
UNESCO Declaration of Patrimony of Humanity
This is the actual plaque, in which, chiseled over a piece of stone you can read the UNESCO’s declaration of Patrimony of …
Quirio Cataño, Sculptor of the Black Christ of Esquipulas
Every year, On January 15th, thousands of pilgrims from Guatemala, the United States, Europe and other Central American countries flock to pay …
Esquisuchil Tree in San Pedro Las Huertas
What’s so special about the Esquisuchil trees around La Antigua Guatemala? For starters, the esquisuchil trees (bourreria huanita) are very old and …
The Library Tour: the reception desk
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! 😉
The California Avocado is From La Antigua Guatemala
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).
Family Mausoleum in San Lázaro Cemetery
JM Magaña, La Antigua Guatemala’s second conservator and the pen behind the architecture column in Recrearte Magazine, pointed out that until 1976 La Antigua Guatemala was painted all white too. At the time the cemetery was created in the 1800s, there were a couple waves of plagues and thus every thing was white-washed with live limestone to disinfect and maintain the town virus free. This coincided with the introduction of coffee in 1875 (more or less) and thus an abundance of wealth which provided the necessary fund to build all those mausoleums. There was a massive earthquake that hit Guatemala in 1976 and destroyed a great deal of buildings and houses in Guatemala. In fact, it is said that the 1976 earthquake changed forever the look and feel of Guatemala. La Antigua Guatemala was not saved and thus reconstruction began after the quake and with it, the color lime-stone paint came. This change in color did not reach the cemetery.
Saint James Day in La Antigua Guatemala
Santiago was a very popular name for the conquistadors to use as they rechristen the new lands of the American continent. If you check the entry for Santiago in Wikipedia, you will there are over 60 cities and towns throught the world that carry that name and that is a very short list since you could probably find about 60 towns with the Santiago name, just in Guatemala. But why was Santiago such a popular name for the Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors?
Here Was Born Luis Cardoza y Aragón
And in front of the door that I hadn’t crossed in so many years, I remembered the small key, short and round, …
Walter William Road Monument in Antigua Guatemala
Believe or not, the monument plaque says that this monument was erected in the memory of Walter Williams who happens to be present on the date of inauguration for the the road. I guess that back in 1925, Guatemala was still a jungle and foreign visitors were scarce, so they needed to erect a monument to celebrate such an important event.
Bernal Díaz del Castillo Lived in La Antigua Guatemala
The Antigua Guatemala is full plaques pointing to historic sites or events that happened here. The Antigüeños must luck the humor or …