Details of the Baroque Façade of Ciudad Vieja Cathedral
Even though the Ciudad Vieja Cathedral was founded in 1534, it is obvious the church has gone through many renovations. For instance, …
Façade of the Ciudad Vieja Cathedral
Okay, I am overwhelmed by such positive feedback regarding the one-year anniversary and the work done thus far. I don’t have the …
Guatemalan Sweet Bread Sampler – One Year Anniversary
What about the Guatemalan Sweet Bread?
Oh yeah, I am rambling again. In the photo above you see one of things Guatemalans abroad miss the most: Sweet Guatemalan Bread. I have talked about cutting a cake for this anniversary, but then I decided to shared the poor Guatemalans alternative: La Torta, this huge sweet bread, takes the place of the cake for many Guatemalan families. Also, as suggested by some friends, I decided to include other pieces of the Guatemalan sweet bread repertoire for all those chapines abroad. In Guatemala, we dip the bread in the coffee, as described by Manolo in LD’s entry about Miss Manners International. Since Manolo can not find champurradas (the flat tortilla-like bread in the picture) in Toronto, he dips his cookies in the coffee. I hope you don’t get grossed out by my dipping the bread in the coffee; I am doing it for the full impact on those Guatemalans who live abroad and visit this site infrequently.
The sweet Guatemalan bread in this picture comes from a very popular bakery in La Antigua Guatemala by the name of San Antonio, which stills uses brick ovens and wooden logs. The bread is baked freshly twice a day and with the best recipes from La Antigua Guatemala, the culinary capital of Guatemala. Sweet bread dipped in a cup of the best coffee in the world (from Antigua, of course), what else can you ask from life?
Ciudad Vieja Cathedral Dome
In the picture above you can see the dome of the Ciudad Vieja Cathedral; a town four kilometers away from La Antigua Guatemala. Now a little trivia information. Ciudad Vieja was the second settlement of Guatemala City right before they moved it to where La Antigua Guatemala is now. Thus, its name means Old City or Ciudad Vieja in Spanish (check the aerial shots of Ciudad Vieja).
If you read, you succeed
The bibliobuses’ route takes them around Sacatepequez, that is the name of the State where La Antigua Guatemala is located—called Departamentos in Guatemala, visiting the villages around La Antigua for two hour per stop and returning every week. So kids with no access to public libraries, get the chance to read and check out the material in the mobile library chicken buses once a week. Here is the side view with the contact information of Probigua and their motto: Please Help Us to Help!
We Move Books!
The back of the mobile library chicken bus has even the same typography and three-step color gradient as the public transportation buses. …
Inside the Mobile Library Chicken Bus
Some of you have asked to update yesterday’s entry about the Mobile Library Chicken Bus with information on how to help and how to send donations. Come on people, you did not think I was going to left the entry about bibliobuses there, right? I have three more photos to go, one per day, as that is our agreement. I will be posting all this information for you to help and donate to such worthy project.
Mobile Library Chicken Bus
Here is an interesting twist for the infamous chicken bus. Turn it into a bibliobús or mobile library bus so you can take the books to the communities that lack a library. For now, they have two bibliobuses, but I believe they will need a whole fleet to cover all the communities that do not have a library in Guatemala.
Now I know where I will be donating my next batch of books. The two mobile library buses belong to the Non-Government Organization (NGO) Probigua, which stands for Proyecto Bibliotecas Guatemala (Libraries Project of Guatemala). Come back in the next few days to learn more about the project and to see the inside of a “chicken bus”.
Laundry Day in San Pedro Las Huertas
It was almost a year ago when I published a photo of the public laundry washbasins in Ciudad Vieja and Heidi asked …
Saints for Sale – Countdown to One Year Anniversary
Many artisans come to La Antigua Guatemala to sell their crafts. The streets are for anyone who wants to sell, just watch …
Monk in San Francisco El Grande Church
It is not unusual to come across monks or nuns in La Antigua Guatemala. This morning as I was driving past the …
Don’t Ask for Directions Here!
La Antigua Guatemala is based on the time-tested Spanish grid of Streets and Avenues (see this map to get an idea). Streets …
This is Not a Cat Photo
Let it be known that I am not breaking the rules with yet another photo with cats. Even though our little Tito is in the picture (now you have seen all three of our cats: Lolita, Camilo and Tito), really what I want to show you is the pumice-stone blocks which are used to build houses in Guatemala. Also, I want to show you the broken glass, chaye in Guatemalan Spanish, which is put on top walls as protection against burglaries.
You’ve Got Some Balls!
Guatemala is a football-playing country and thus it is obvious that balls are the favorite toy for young and mature kids . …
Upside Down Arches
The first time I published the arches reflected on the water tank at Tanque de la Unión Park in La Antigua Guatemala, there were many people who really liked the photo. There were even some Guatemalans who said the reflection was done in Photoshop. Now you can take the statement either way: you can feel proud to know that you’ve snapped a shot that people think you spent many hours in the digital lab of Photoshop or you can take it as a put down on your photo-taking ability. I am glad I am very competent in the Photoshop department, heck I could even argue that I excel in the skills of Photoshop since I started working in version 2 and I use the program in a daily basis.