Mimes and clowns were the main attraction for the boys and girls alike during the Día del niño, Children’s Day, celebrations. To me, I was delighted to hear and see the little ones sing mishito; all off key. Mishito is the Guatemalan Spanish word for kitten. Often you can hear mishito mishito mishito as children … Read more
Better late than never, the saying goes. In Guatemala, every October 1st, the Día del niño, Children’s Day, is observed. There were some Children activities and celebrations on October 1st, but the main celebrations were held in Parque Central on October 2. The Plaza Mayor was full of parents and children taking advantage of the … Read more
Yes, believe it or not Guatemala is quite modern and Internet capable. Yes, Guatemala has 3.5G wireless Internet Access network in mayor cities and Edge-capable networks in most of the country. Yes, there are iPhone-capable networks from the three main carriers: Telefónica, Claro and Tigo. As a matter of fact, most of my web-savvy friends … Read more
A quick search for architectonic details throws beams, arches, baroque elements, Spanish-tile roofs, windows, doorways, et-cetera. Each an individual entry showing a distinct aspect or element of the colonial architecture of La Antigua Guatemala. In today’s photo I was able to capture several elements: the cupola, the window with its ironworks crate, the ojo de … Read more
There is something about how the sun rises and sets that gets people marveled, or in some kind of magical admiration to what nature shows us. On this past Tuesday I was about to meet some friends, and I began seeing what promised to be a beautiful sunset. Someone on the street said, it is … Read more
Here are the elements of a weekend photo of LAG on a weekend afternoon: The Bride and Groom The SUV The locals (whatever that means) The tourists The hippies The old cars The motorcycle The ice cream cart … Loteria! Every picture you take from anywhere around el parque central (is it called that way … Read more
School bands and parades were the norm to celebrate Independence Day before the December 29 signing of The Guatemalan Peace Accords of 1996, which put an end to Guatemala’s 36-year civil war since the CIA-orchestrated overthrow of the democratic reformist government of Jacobo Arbenz in 1954 (read more…). School parades with their martial music bands … Read more
Getting everything ready for Independence Day Celebrations. This torch will light the Independence fire torches from all over Guatemala. These Independence torches will be carried in marathons so that Fire of Independence arrives to all the corners of Guatemala on time before September 15.
It doesn’t matter how many times I see Volcán de Fuego erupting, I can never get tired of it or get accustomed. Often, I just stop and enjoy its pyromaniac display. Such was the case last Friday as I am entering La Antigua Guatemala and Volcán de Fuego was putting such a show and the … Read more
First, Blame the trabalenguas, tongue twister, title on emromesco, who said that water will be the oil of the 21st century. Second, forgive the undramatic photograph; not much I can do with a working water well and its pumping warehouse. I compensate with all the wonderful researched information below. Third, a few Spanish-English word equivalents … Read more
The Panchoy Valley, where La Antigua Guatemala is located, used to be a lake at the time the Conquistadores arrived and when they founded the second Santiago de Guatemala in the Almolonga Valley, now Ciudad Vieja which is about two miles from Antigua. Then the Panchoy Lake basin was fed by the Pensativo River. The … Read more
In Guatemala exists a near monopoly of bottled water called Salvavidas; surely you remember the photo of the pile 5-gallon jugs known in Guatemalan Spanish as garrafones, right? Until recently you had no choice, but to buy your bottled water from Salvavidas or some of the tiny competitors who deliver the 5-gallon jugs from far … Read more
Visitors can easily spot the Maya people dressed in rainbow colors weaving their way throughout the renowned colonial architecture of La Antigua Guatemala. But, sometimes, such prized culture and striking architecture can distract one from noticing the more obscure, yet just as captivating beauty that’s found in this city. For me, the bright, exotic flowers … Read more
Here’s the follow-up photo to yesterday’s Antigua Guatemala’s Grid from Above. If I had taken one more shot to the right of today’s picture I would have covered the entire city. That’s how small La Antigua Guatemala really is. What landmarks can you recognize from this overview shot of La Antigua Guatemala?
La Antigua Guatemala is quite small city, or town rather. It is about 10×10 block grid. Could you believe that with three photos like today’s I can cover the entire city. Come back tomorrow if you want to see one more piece. Even more incredible is the fact that I have published 1,164 pages, over … Read more