I am glad El Calvario Church provides a nice transition from the white cemetery series back to the rich antigüeño color palette while maintaining the death theme going on. El Calvario or Calvary (Golgotha) is the name of the mount on the outskirts of Jerusalem where it’s believe Jesus Christ was crucified. This church with its three arches provides a symbolic representation of the crucifixion; with each arch representing each cross.
There is a broken bell in the San Lázaro Church, which is located inside the premises of the San Lázaro Cemetery. The broken bell serves as testament of the many earthquakes this land has experienced and its resilient will to continue to toll for the dead.
Ferris wheels are another element of the Guatemalan fair. There is at least one Ferris wheel, but more often two or three of different sizes. The Ferris wheel is known here by these names rueda de Chicago(Chicago Wheel), rueda de la fortuna (wheel of fortune) and vuelta al mundo (around the world). Fairs are made up by all kinds of ambulant stands. Fairs are like accordions, they grow or shrink depending of the size of the community or town. All these photos belong to the San Pedro Las Huertas, a small village just outside and belonging to La Antigua Guatemala. At the end of July, La Antigua Guatemala will have its massive fair in honor of Saint James or Santiago.
Almost all town fairs and festivities are around the town’s patron, in this case is San Pedro Las Huertas, which by the way, means Saint Peter of the vegetable gardens. Since Guatemala was a catholic country for the last 500 years or so and the Mesoamerican indigenous people absorbed and mixed the catholic rituals and traditions with their own religious beliefs and traditions, most Guatemalan towns have a Spanish catholic first name and often an indigenous last name (otherwise known as the original name). For example, Santo Domingo Xenacoj, which means the original name of the town was Xenacoj, and the town was re-christen with Santo Domingo. Now with the above information, we now know that a town’s fair happens once-a-year on the town’s catholic patron. For San Pedro Las Huertas the date is June 29th and for La Antigua Guatemala is July 25th because the city used to be called The Very Noble and Very Loyal City of Saint James of the Lords of Guatemala, as mentioned by Manolo a few days ago. And some of you thought La Antigua Guatemala was already a very long name; try explaining to your friends and relatives that you are planning a vacation to The Very Noble and Very Loyal City of Saint James of the Lords of Guatemala.
Today’s photograph is dedicated to those friends that have pointed out that in over 427 days I have taken over 34 photos of atriums and churches, but not a single photo from the inside of a church. Let me tell you, it was not easy, but I decided to just walk in and take a few shots. So there, see I can also take photographs from inside the churches. Here is another close-up view of the altar of San Pedro Las Huertas Church without people. I hope you are not put off by religious motifs.
For those who like to imagine what ruins were like and what people did around them I have todays photo of San Pedro Las Huertas Town fair with the church (not a ruin) in the background and all kind of food vendors around the town’s plaza. So this is what the ruins looked like when they were in used by the people of the past. If you would like to browse for other photos from San Pedro Las Huertas, just follow the white rabbit or if you only want to see a better shot of the church in the background just say we’re not in Kansas anymore.
Oops! I almost forgot about the photo above. These ruins belong to the church Our Lady of the Remedies, or Nuestra Señora de los Remedios in Spanish. It is located on the left bank of El Pensativo river, on the south part of town, right on the street that takes you to El Calvario Church; just a few hundred feet from it. The processional figures in storage, shown yesterday, are pile on the front part of the atrium. There is a black bird in the picture, can you find it?
“Chevere” is a Venezuelan Spanish word which means cool, fine, excelent, okay, just to mention a few of its meaning. Well, about the origin of the chevere word, I don’t know; perhaps it is not even Venezuelan. Nonetheless, the word is understood and used in Central America.
In Guatemala, a company of hot dogs decided to use as its name in the late seventies or early eighties. The company did things right and it was a total hit and the Chevere brand became almost as omnipresent as Coca Cola, Pepsi and the Gallo Beer. It was everywhere.
Thanks to Juan, who asked me to go and take some photo of the San Cristobal El Bajo Church and its plaza which had been recently remodeled and restored, we have, yet another, picture of a church. Boy oh boy, how many churches are there really around La Antigua Guatemala?
Around Antigua Guatemala you’ll never know what may find if you take a side road or dirt road. For instance, today while taking a shortcut dirt road between El Calvario and San Cristobal El Bajo, I found this church ruins at the cross roads in the middle of some coffee plantations. Now I have some … Read more
Here is better overview of the La Ermita de la Santa Cruz ruins and the trees that hug it. Also, you can see more students practicing for the big marching band competition which I believe will be next week. I will try to take a few snapshots for you and maybe a video clip. Thanks … Read more
While driving over Calle Chipilapa, I was lucky several school marching bands practicing for an upcoming student band competition in La Antigua Guatemala. In the background you can see La Ermita de la Santa Cruz Ruins, a popular venue for music concerts. I published a rather plain photo of La Ermita before on July 19th, … Read more
Even though the Ciudad Vieja Cathedral was founded in 1534, it is obvious the church has gone through many renovations. For instance, if you take a closer look at the façade, you can see the baroque architectonic details which were not available until a couple centuries after it was founded. The Virgin of the Immaculate … Read more
Okay, I am overwhelmed by such positive feedback regarding the one-year anniversary and the work done thus far. I don’t have the vocabulary at my disposal to let you know how grateful I am to hear (read) your kind words. Perhaps the best response is to continue the photographic journey and to strive at improving … Read more
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).