I have talked about the recycling done in La Antigua Guatemala before with Haves and Have-Nots, Public Enemy Number 1, Guatemalan-style Salt and Pepper Shakers, Chicken Buses are The Second Life of School Buses, and Antigua’s Biodiesel Project (just to name a few). It never ceases to amaze me the creativity and ingenuity of Guatemalans … Read more
All year long he hides under the bed or in the junk piled up in the corner, casting misfortune or worse on helpless mortals. But on Wednesday, December 7, at 6 p.m. sharp, the Devil gets his comeuppance, as he is tossed out of the house along with the trash and set ablaze in the … Read more
La Antigua Guatemalal joined the other cities in the world that, on December 1, observed World Aids Day, Día mundial del sida, with cultural and awareness-promoting activities. There was, of course, the omni-present marimba music, speeches, parades, skateboarding, rollerblading, et cetera. Red ribbons and white t-shirts bearing the red ribbon stamps and information about Día … Read more
Roller skaters and skate-boarders using the Central Park is something you don’t see very often. There are plenty of skaters in La Antigua Guatemala, but they are not allowed to use Parque Central. The exception was made on December 1 as part of activities for Día mundial del sida (World Aids Day).
I also took advantage of the relax atmosphere I took quite a number of jumps. Check out the slide show. Enjoy!
Guatemala is such a colorful country; everything from flora to textiles, from architecture to food is saturated with the richest rainbow. If the entries from the last seven days weren’t proof enough, take a look at today’s colorful fiambre chapín.
Have you ever seen more colorful salad?
Here I present to you the fiambre creator from La Antigua Guatemala. Every first and second of November he withdraws the fiambre recipe that has delighted the taste buds of the most demanding fiambre connoisseur for over 27 years. From his unassuming Lo-Mix comedor set on 7a calle poniente No. 25B, he begins, like an artist, to paint the canvas with different shades of green lettuce, adding more colors, textures and flavors with each layer from a tasteful palette of over 40 ingredients.
Below you can find a slideshow with each step of the process of creating the colorful fiambre chapín.
Shoot! I forgot to mention I also recorded some videos. I am sorry, it looks like we have enough Día de los difuntos Día de Todos los Santos, Day of the Dead All Saints’ Day material for the entire week. Today you can appreciate the size of a kite and see how the kites are … Read more
What can I say, today was a day with lots of ups and downs. I am too tired tonight to give all the details; suffice it to say that our car broke down on the way to pick the fiambre (nothing major) and had to carry the fiambre and the car on a tow truck; … Read more
Because today is a holiday in Guatemala (read the aside below), we are going to skip all the controversial stuff and just have Empanadas de leche as dessert, postre in Spanish. It was a little over year ago that Lucía requested “photos of some ‘empanadas de leche’ (las que tienen manjar adentro), pleaseeeeyyyy?” See, sometimes … Read more
Mimes and clowns were the main attraction for the boys and girls alike during the Día del niño, Children’s Day, celebrations. To me, I was delighted to hear and see the little ones sing mishito; all off key. Mishito is the Guatemalan Spanish word for kitten. Often you can hear mishito mishito mishito as children … Read more
Better late than never, the saying goes. In Guatemala, every October 1st, the Día del niño, Children’s Day, is observed. There were some Children activities and celebrations on October 1st, but the main celebrations were held in Parque Central on October 2. The Plaza Mayor was full of parents and children taking advantage of the … Read more
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
On September 14 10, people from all over the country begin a marathon to go to another part of the country to get the fire for the Independence Torch in their communities. There are many places the have a torch where other people from other towns can light up their torch to bring back to … Read more
Getting everything ready for Independence Day Celebrations. This torch will light the Independence fire torches from all over Guatemala. These Independence torches will be carried in marathons so that Fire of Independence arrives to all the corners of Guatemala on time before September 15.
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.