In Guatemala as in many Latin American countries October 12 is a national holiday known as Día de la Raza or Native People’s Day. Some companies and institutions use the name Día de la Hispanidad for this holiday. In Spain the name this event as Fiesta Nacional.. These holidays have been celebrated unofficially since the … Read more
For obvious reasons, this was the quietest and more solemn Independence Day celebrations that I have ever experience in Guatemala. Other than a few speeches, the day went by just like any other day.
Guatemala’s Independence is celebrated through the entire month of September even though the official date falls on the 15th. Independence bunting is often found in doorways, windows, balconies, etc. The Palacio del Ayuntamiento, [City Hall Palace] in the Main Plaza is a popular spot for placing Guatemalan flags in the hand rails of the second … Read more
Under normal circumstances, today the Catholic world will be celebrating the Day of the Holy Cross or Día de La Santa Cruz as we know it in Antigua Guatemala. Today, only decorations will be found over all the crosses in Antigua Guatemala. Today is also the Day of the Construction Worker. I take my hat … Read more
Here’s your Guatemalan illustrated Spanish word of the day: Miércoles de ceniza for Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the 40 days that end on Maundy Thursday; one of the most colorful and fervent time periods in Antigua Guatemala. Today I share with you three proud boys showing their foreheads marked with … Read more
In general, graffiti is not tolerated in Antigua Guatemala. So whenever I catch a wall with a message or stencil art I photograph it before they take it down. A sample of stencil art is the wall art at the entrance of Antigua Guatemala portraying Rigoberta Menchú as a candidate for the presidency of Guatemala, … Read more
Here’s your illustrated Guatemalan Spanish phrase of the day: Miércoles de ceniza for Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent in Antigua Guatemala. This Sunday, March 10th, we will have the first Lenten procession. Stay tuned for the Lent processional coverage!
Today is the last day of Carnival in Guatemala. Tomorrow Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. You can see lots of repairs and new paint jobs all over Antigua Guatemala. The streets are no exception as you can see here as the crews apply a new paint job to the curbs and trees along Alameda El … Read more
The only surviving arch at Iglesia de La Recolección was a symbol of Antigua Guatemala ruins for many years. The 1917 and 1976 earthquakes destroyed what was left of the iconic arch. The 1976 Guatemala earthquake struck on February 4 at 03:01:43 local time with a moment magnitude of 7.5. The shock was centered on … Read more
For Día de Reyes or Epiphany we break a piece of bread known as Rosca de Día de los Reyes. Whoever gets the plastic baby placed inside has to pay for the tamales and ponche on Día de la Candelaria, February 2nd, or Groundhog Day. Click through the link to see Rosca de Día de los Reyes…
Merry Christmas to y’all!
For today, I decided to shared a humble corn-husk Nacimiento, another popular style found in Guatemala.
Retablo of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe found inside Iglesia San Francisco El Grande, Antigua Guatemala. Guadalupe-Reyes Marathon is a concept typical of Mexican [/Central American] culture. It began in the decade of the 1990s and informally refers to the vacational period from December 12 (Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe) to January 6 (Day of … Read more
Finally I was able to capture a totally unplanned street portrait of my two favorite models together. Of course, one of them couldn’t keep the hands away from the other model. What can I say, there’s some sympathy for the devil around December 7th in Guatemala. If you don’t know why, ask me in the … Read more
Once again Chermol is organizing the Oktoberfest in Antigua Guatemala one week from this Saturday, on September 29. Oktoberfest is a fabulous event to try out the best craft beers brewed in Antigua Guatemala. Also, Oktoberfest offers a fun and entertaining music line up as well as delicious food from the usual suspects: Chermol, Pappy’s … Read more
Here’s Guatemalan illustrated word of the day: Cariño for sweetie, honey, darling, tenderness, affection, etc. Cariño is such a versatile Spanish word; it can mean honey as ven cariño, come here, honey, or sweetie and darling; it can also be used as tenderness [dilo con cariño]. Cariño can also mean love, dear, and affection, as … Read more