Not everyone waving a white flag is asking for food or economic assistance to feed their family. Some people waving a white flag are simply asking for the opportunity to work and earn a day’s wage to feed their family. Read yesterday’s post to understand why there are people waving white flags in the streets … Read more
Here’s your illustrated Guatemalan Spanish word of the day: Basura for either trash, garbage or rubbish, depending on which side of the Atlantic you live in. You would have thought that people would produce less trash while under lockdown and curfew, but it turns out that we are producing more garbage now that we stay … Read more
Here’s your illustrated Guatemalan Spanish word of the day: Tienda for convenience store. Tiendas are so common in Latin America and Antigua Guatemala is no exception. Often you can find several convenience store in a block. I don’t think 7 Elevens [US] or Oxxo stores [MX] will take a hold in Guatemala as the tienditas … Read more
In Guatemala restaurant food is delivered in motorcycles. Even the food delivery apps use motorcycle drivers with color brand backpacks. Today I share with you a hive of those motorcycle drivers just waiting for the next order to drop on their smartphones. They gather around this area, right across the Parque Central, main square, because … Read more
What a sight, hundreds of people in queue on Sunday morning waiting to be hired by Antigua Guatemala’s leaving municipal administration. Is it ethical for the leaving municipal administration to hire so many people a few days before the new municipal administration takes over on January 14? What are your thoughts regarding this practice?
Starting at the end of August, the ambulant flag vendors hit the streets with every flag size and shade of blue to celebrate Guatemala’s Independence Day, or rather month as we do here. So, September dresses up with lot shades of blue. What shade of blue is actually the official color of the Guatemalan flag?
Tortillas los tres tiempos, tortillas for breakfast, lunch and dinner, or a toda hora, or all the time, tortillas are sold out of these baskets through out Guatemala. If you can not go to the tortillería, tortilla shop, then the tortillas come to you, or close enough. Often you find the ambulant tortilla vendors near … Read more
As you may already know, Invierno in Guatemala happens to fall mostly during Summer with a little bit of Spring and Autumn. I know, I know, it makes no sense, but that’s how it is in Guatemala, in Central America actually, as I have met some Costa Ricans over the weekend and they also call … Read more
One of the benefits of having convenience stores, or tiendas as we call them here, it is fact that if you need to cool down, most tiendas will have a few beverage choices for you. This is perfect for the upcoming canícula or dog days, right? Follow the white rabbit to » to take a … Read more
Poco a poco, slowly, all the traditional and typical tiendas and tienditas, borough convenience stores, have been bought and turned into abarroterías de occidente, that’s what call them, although there is no set name, only a set style. What does a tienda de occidente, western highland store, look like? Well, first of all, they are … Read more
HELP! Can you caption this picture and explain the street scene shown in it?
Believe it or not, La Antigua Guatemala is another fallen city under the spell of narcissists who now have access to very inexpensive Chinese selfie-sticks being sold on the streets and central market. You can put a dot over Central America as another region infected by self-obsession and telescoping sticks. Since we are in an … Read more
Even though modern ice cream carts are found all over Guatemala, these traditional ice cream carts are still quite present, especially around La Antigua Guatemala. So, what the scoop with these traditional carts? Usually the old-fashioned ice cream carts carry vanilla flavoured ice cream and they top it with acid-sweet syrup that ice cream vendors … Read more
I do’t believe that more guns on the streets make a place safer. For instance, more guns on the streets of the United States don’t make the country safe; guns just make the country more violent. I am sure the same for Guatemala and neighbouring countries. Ever since an ex-military was elected as the president … Read more
Guatemalans take any space available from a zaguán [entryway or lobby] to a corridor or simply a window to turn it into a business. In this case, a plant nursery [vivero in Spanish] in what appears to be a hallway. Let’s play a Sherlock Holmes game; what can you extrapolate by simply looking at this … Read more