Here’s Guatemala’s National Anthem in English in case you want sing along next time you hear it. Happy Guatemala, may your altar Never be trampled by the tormentor Nor should slaves lick the yoke Nor should tyrants spit in your face If tomorrow your sacred soil Is threatened by foreign invasion Free into the wind, … Read more
If you like swing, blues, cumbia or all the above, you are in luck because tonight between 8:30pm – 11pm you can listen to live music of Ishto Juevez, Maf & Tula and Juanka Hidalgo at their recital in Kafka on 3rd calle oriente. This is not the first time we focus on Ishto Juevez … Read more
Chocolate is created from the cocoa bean that come from cacao pods as seen here. Chocolate is quite possibly the most popular flavour in the world. The origins of chocolate, however, can be very controversial. It is been claimed that the Olmecs were the first people of Mesoamerica to drink chocolate, or sometime around 1750 … Read more
Here’s another panoramic vista of volcanoes Agua, Fuego and Acatenango during the sunset of this delicious canícula or heat wave, which in Guatemala it translates as days without rain. I have read or heard the following story. The enormous volcano that stands south of Antigua Guatemala is known as Volcán de Agua at present, but … Read more
As I have shared with you before, the ceiba tree (Ceiba pentandra) is very important in Guatemala. For one, the Ceiba tree is Guatemala’s national tree. There are Ceiba trees all over Guatemala. The Maya believed that Ceiba trees were portals to Xibalbá (The Underworld). Xibalba is described in the Popol Vuh as a court … Read more
Here’s your Guatemalan Spanish word of the day: Mishito or kitty or gatito in plain Spanish. Now, the effigy next to the mishito is Maximón, worshiped by the Maya people of Guatemala. Below, an introduction to Maximón from Wikipedia. The origins of his cult are not very well understood by outsiders to the different Mayan … Read more
As I have mentioned before, it is impossible to think of the Guatemalan, Mexican and Mesoamerican diet without maize. From the Popul Vuh (Popol Wuj in modern spelling), the Mayan equivalent of the Bible, which states that humans were literally created from maize, to Miguel Ángel Asturias‘ novel Hombres de maíz (Men of Maize) which … Read more
Here’s your Guatemalan Spanish word for the day: Refacción o snack time. The Guatemalan labor code allows for two short breaks of about 15 minutes (in addition to the lunch break); one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. The breaks are known as refacción in Guatemala, merienda elsewhere in the Spanish-speaking world, … Read more
Here’s your Spanish word of the day: Barbería or barber shop. There are still plenty of barber shops around Antigua Guatemala, especially so in the villages of Antigua Guatemala. By the way, here are two possible meanings for the barber shop pole or cylinder shared by two long-time readers. Manolo: Three colours of the barbershop … Read more
One of the benefits of having a Banana Republic (not the clothing store, but the real thing!) is the tremendous amount of recipes available with plantains that became an integral part of the Guatemalan gastronomy. Bananas, including plantains, are native to Africa. Yet it is the Central American republics, more specifically Guatemala the tiny third-world … Read more
Let’s go grab a licuado! Sweet. Refreshing. Natural. Licuados are one of those treats that truly define a Guatemalan experience. The blended fruit drinks can be found most anywhere in La Antigua from fancy restaurants to local, hole-in-the-wall comedors… and I absolutely LOVE them. They are nothing more than fruit blended with your choice of … Read more
If case you missed it, yesterday, February 2, was Día de la Candelaria. As I have explained before, around Antigua Guatemala, many people keep their Nacimientos [Nativity scenes] and Christmas decorations until the 2nd of February, Día de la Candelaria (Candlemas), which incidentally is Groundhog Day in the United States. Now, we begin the countdown … Read more
Last night I had the opportunity to attend the Special preview screening of the documentary “Dance of the Maize God” by filmmaker David Lebrun as part of 2014 Maya Meetings being held at Casa Herrera in Antigua Guatemala. The event was free and open to The Maya Meetings participants and the general public. The filmmakers … 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
Besides the omnipresent fireworks and firecracker street booths, one can also find Christmas decoration street shops when anyone can pick up Christmas lights, decoration, nacimientos, pine needle, pine trees, et cetera. Literally, one-stop pit shops for all your Christmas decoration needs.