Have A Happy Independence Day everyone! Guatemala has one really strange celebration for the Independence Day festivities: Freedom Torches or Antorchas de Libertad. As I have explained in previous years, on September 14, people from all over the Guatemala begin marathons to go to another part of the country to get the flame for the … Read more
As I have mentioned before, in Guatemala we still celebrate holidays on the actual date they happen to fall on. For instance, today we celebrate Día del padre, Father’s Day, in Guatemala, regardless if it is a Wednesday. What better way to observe Día del padre than with a picture of a father teaching his … Read more
On May 3 the Day of Construction Worker is observed as well as the Day of the Holy Cross because they are related to each other. The Day of the Holy Cross is known in La Antigua Guatemala as Día de la Santa Cruz, thus one finds many albañiles (construction workers) placing an adorned cross … Read more
Once again, as every December 12, Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe is observed in Antigua Guatemala. As I have said before, “in La Antigua Guatemala, religious celebrations draw together all kinds of heterogeneous people and the Feast of Our Lady of Virgen de Guadalupe is no exception. On December 12 celebrations of La Virgen … Read more
This portrait of a Guatemalan teacher, mother and perhaps even grandmother serves as the portrait of a the typical Guatemalan mother. In Guatemala Mother’s Day is always celebrated on May 10, regardless of the day of the week it falls on, as opposed to other countries where it falls on the 2nd Sunday of May. … Read more
In Christian tradition the Magi (Greek: μάγοι, magoi), Three Wise Men, Three Kings or Kings from the East are said to have visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts. They are mentioned only in the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 2) , which says that they came “from the east to Jerusalem” to worship the Christ, … Read more
Yo no olvido al año viejo (I don’t forget the old year) Porque me ha dejado cosas muy buenas: (Because it left behind good things for me:) Me dejó una chiva, (It left me a goat,) Una burra negra, (a black donkey) Una yegua blanca (a white female horse) Y una buena suegra… (And a … Read more
Guatemala’s a pyromaniac hell or paradise, what is it? Since Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are the perfect night for fireworks and firecrackers lovers in Guatemala with colourful and loud explosions going off all night long, especially so around midnight. In theory, one could measure the state of the Guatemalan economy by the amount … Read more
December is also the time for convivios, Christmas convivial get-together parties or lunches. Almost every restaurant you go to has tables setup for convivios such as the one shown here for Santo Domingo. Have you ever been present in a Guatemalan convivio?
These photographs belong to the procession of Santuario de San Francisco El Grande. Nelo explains that the two wood rods that stick out at the front of the float, andarilla he calls it, are called timonen (steering) and are the responsible for the rhythm and direction of the procession. If you have any questions about … Read more
As explained before during the Lent Food series, Lent has some food that is associated with it and sold at the food stalls out side where velación, vigil, is held. As Lent progresses towards the Holy Week which begins tomorrow on Domingo de Ramos, Palm Sunday, there are more and more vigils per week. Just … Read more
The fountains are decorated with flower arrangements as part of the low profile celebrations for Antigua Guatemala’s 470th anniversary this March 10th. Because of the Lent processions and festivities, the celebration will consist of opera recital by ensemble from Juniata College from Pennsylvania on Saturday 9 at 7pm on the main square. Don’t miss it! … Read more
With the Ash Wednesday religious ceremony begins the 40-day period known in Spanish as Cuaresma, Lent, which ends with Semana Santa, Holy Week, by far the most affluent event in Antigua Guatemala. I read in Prensa Libre, Guatemala’s main newspaper, that one million and a half are expected to visit Antigua Guatemala during the Lent/Holy … Read more
Ordinarily, I begin by asking readers to recall their earliest memories to provide a context for corpocratic historians of the future… Could you describe this annual “Carnival” ceremony? The Tuesday before Ash Wednesday was the culmination of carnival, a festive season which occurred immediately before Lent, in the territory then known as Guatemala, where these … Read more
Unlike other catholic countries, Guatemala does not make a big deal of the arrival of the Tres Reyes Magos (Three Wise Kings) known as Epiphany in English; a Christian holiday celebrated on January 6th. Except, of course, for burning firecrackers and ringing bells of the churches right at noon, which seems to be Guatemalans’ favorite … Read more