Art & Handicrafts

Luck, Prosperity and Abundance Owls

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From blue birds, to quetzals to owls; we are on a bird streak. According to Damara, in Guatemala, owls or tecolotes represent luck, prosperity and abundance, especially with money and that is why ceramic artisans use owls as piggy banks. If you get an owl bank, you will have prosperity with income and savings. Boy … Read more

Painting La Antigua Guatemala

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Gotcha! Yet the title is correct, the technique it’s different than yesterday’s photo though. Honest, I have never liked this kind of paintings; costumbrista would be the category for this kind of painting, but I don’t know what term to use in English. Would you guys mind lending a translating term. Thanks!

YO-YO: The Inauguration

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This is what the inauguration of the YO-YO: retratos y autoretratos the photo exhibit looked like inside the Sala Marco Augusto Quiroa of Paseo de los Museos in the Hotel-Museo Casa Santo Domingo in La Antigua Guatemala. Much of cream of the cream of the Guatemalan cultural scene was there to check out the photo … Read more

Old and Rusted Metal Wheels

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In La Antigua Guatemala you’ll never know what can you find in a driveway or doorway as you walk by. Here I found these two old metal wheels which probably belonged to an old horse-carriage… really who knows, but here they are. Can you guys suggest what these wheels were used for in the past?

Rigoberta Menchú for President

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What is Rigoberta Menchú’s Mission, anyway? She has embarked in an impossible mission. She is running for the Guatemalan Presidency. So what, why is this an impossible mission? Isn’t she Guatemalan and thus possess the legal rights to run for the presidency? Well, yes, that is correct. But, and this is a big but, she is a woman; worst yet, she is an indigenous woman; even worst, she is an indigenous woman from the left.

Saints for Sale – Countdown to One Year Anniversary

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Many artisans come to La Antigua Guatemala to sell their crafts. The streets are for anyone who wants to sell, just watch for the tourist police or they might confiscate your work, give you a ticket and send you home with empty hands. On the streets you can buy tortillas, handicrafts, textiles, furniture, watercolors paintings, … Read more

Spinning tops

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Trompo is the Spanish word for spinning top. Here you can see the Guatemalan wooden handicraft version and one of them at full spin. Some of you who have been following the photos at this site might remember these arches from the Book Fair in Antigua, back in July 22nd, 2006. Also, there is a … Read more

Rusted Owl

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The Artisans Fair was the showcase for the handicrafts made in all the villages around Antigua Guatemala. So far we have seen textiles, seeds, jade jewelry, wood, fruit and vegetable jars and now a forged metal owl. Wouldn’t you like to have a piece like this in one your rooms?

The Crosses are Everywhere

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The crosses are everywhere around Antigua Guatemala even though one may become blind to them after a while. This black cross was capture in the Fair of Artisans from around Antigua. As a matter of fact, all the recent folk-art photos where taken there, including Don’t get burn! and Close-up View of Guatemalan Textiles. There … Read more