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
So, what kind activities are done in Guatemala to celebrate Independence Day? Most people in Guatemala often say that Guatemalans are not very “patriotic” and immediately mention how patriotic the Mexicans really are: “that’s really patriotism!” Having said that, you can begin to see the first glances of Independence Day activities back in July, or … Read more
The Maya is a civilization really preoccupied with the unbearable lightness of being and masochistic on top of it all by keeping a long count which shows how insignificant we really are. We humans, however, we really muddle ourselves with all kinds of fixations, preoccupations and obsessions like dates.
In La Antigua Guatemala we are so lucky to have plenty of free culture. The Festival Internacional de Jazz en Antigua and the Festival Internacional de Cultura Paiz come to mind right away, but almost every week or even every day there’s a free event happening in Antigua Guatemala. For those of us who love … Read more
Not a farol left over from last year’s posadas. Nor indeed a house of ill repute, except perhaps with regards to the quality of Guatemalan grub to be purchased there. For whatever a doorway in a narrow, dark alley illuminated by little red lantern might mean back where you come from, here it means ‘come … 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
Today, as in colonial times, these public water tanks and washbasins serve as the places for doing the laundry and for water distribution. Furthermore, public laundry washbasins (sometimes river or lake shores) serve as the gathering place for news, gossip and community building through the interactions that take place. Public washbasins could be considered the … Read more
These recently renovated colonial-styled public water faucets can be found in and around many of the villages of La Antigua Guatemala. Like I said yesterday, the presence of these chorros as the water faucets are called in Guatemala, is a sure sign that there are still houses in the villages without piped water service. The … Read more
All Guatemalans, of course, just like the air. Water belongs to the Guatemalan people and it’s managed by the government; national and local government. In theory, Guatemalans don’t pay for the water itself, but for the distribution system; that is the electricity to pump it and the distribution pipes. The water bill can vary a … Read more
Blame this photo on Eric, who just yesterday invoked the tortilla-making ladies. It is interesting how the aroma of freshly-made tortillas can be so haunting. This is especially true for Guatemalans who are not used having tortillas not made the same day or even within the same hour. It’s funny now that I think about … Read more
Last year I mentioned about that thanks to the wise weather gods, in Guatemala any time of the year is good for grilling and barbequing and to meet with friends for what is known locally as El Chuparrasco; a contraction between chupa for drinking and rrasco, short for churrasco or barbecuing or grilling. I also … Read more
To play this game you simply try to name as many musical instruments as you can from the musical stand above (you might need to click on the photo to get a larger version for details). Let the game begin.
Yesterday, I mentioned that La Antigua Guatemala’s Central Park is often used as stage for many free cultural and artistic events. Well, the Main Plaza, or Plaza Mayor as it is the official name, is also often used as shooting location for many photographers covering Quinceaños (Fifteen years) and Weddings. In the picture above, we … Read more
La Antigua Guatemala’s Central Park is the most often used stage around town for free culture events. In this particular case, the park served as stage for FICCUA VI; that’s the Festival of Central American Colleges of Culture and Art. For three days there were cultural and artistic manifestations in the Parque Central and with … Read more
I am worry that with technology we are turning a personal history into ephemeral instants. See the early Maya wrote their history, culture and art over stone, jade, metals and ceramics and it only took nature a couple of centuries to banish it all into dense tropical jungles. What is going to happen to our … Read more