Oh I want one of these classic Volkswagen Beetles with white tires and chromed bumpers. Who wouldn’t really. Anyway, to finish the work week I am sharing the happy song Carcachita by Roberto Carlos. There’s also a short video clip of a 360 degree vista around Parque Central this morning. Enjoy!
Yes, perspective is everything! If you don’t believe me compare the Tea Partiers and the Occupy Wall Street movement, since both share some similarities on the surface, but represent opposite world views as shown in this article from Aljazeera: Tea Partiers: The self-hating 99 per cent. There may be surface similarities between the two uprisings, … Read more
It’s your turn to write the caption. The most original caption will win this photo as a post card. Good luck!
Watching the world-famous mime Tamagochy yanking smiles and laughs from the audience formed around his “maleta de la alegría” (happiness suitcase) I thought of the wonderful song “Garrick” composed and sang by the extraordinaire Guatemalan artist Gaby Moreno. You do remember Gaby Moreno, right? I shared a Gaby Moreno song and video with you in … Read more
The other day while I waited for the fresh and hot tortillas to come out of the comal I noticed an orange peeler, the typical kind found in Guatemala and I could not help myself and snatch a photo with the iPhone, my new notebook dairy. As I took the shot with the iPhone a … Read more
Today AntiguaDailyPhoto.com is celebrating its fifth anniversary. Also, the CityDailyPhoto community around the world is having the monthly theme day which is Mailbox. So I thought it would be a good idea to participate in the theme day and at the same time request a post card or letter mailed from your home town. Feed … Read more
The Santo Domingo del Cerro hosted a Baroque music concert on Palm Sunday, and well, after Nelo’s wonderful work on Processions, perhaps it is just a different post this time. Going to these kinds of concerts is always an experience, and more so when you know one of the Concertistas. It was Carolina Palomo the … Read more
The Municipal Band Friday recitals is another reason why Parque Central is my favorite part of town. What can I say, I am a melómano; which is your Spanish word of the day. 😉 What is your favorite part of La Antigua Guatemala?
Street music calls for everyone. It is not privileged or costly. Any passers-by is invited to enjoy it fully. So these two persons response was to dance to it. text and photo by Pinar Istek
12. Colorful Guatemalan Balls, 11. Cathedral Spot Lights Zooming, 10. Sunday Mornings Begin with Coffee and Online Newspapers, 09. The Ages of Coffee, 08. Vive tu vida y deja vivir, 07. Antigua’s Bright Red, 06. Antigua Fragments, 05. Typical Guatemalan Breakfast, 04. A Colonial Church Within My Fingers, 03. The Cucurucho and The Photographer, 02. … Read more
La quema del diablo (Burning of the Devil) used to be this tradition, little known outside of Guatemala. I say “used to be” since the Burning of the Devil is now all over the Internet. I have a tiny share of responsibility because I’ve been promoting this tradition every year since 2006.
While glancing through all the different articles about the Burning of the Devil, I noticed that sometimes they have even quoted me directly in some of the articles or simply paraphrase some of the information I have published in the past. It’s good to know that AntiguaDailyPhoto is also a valuable source of information about Guatemala.
Here are some of the articles about the Burning of the Devil tradition:
The devil’s “will” is read: He leaves his greed to a wealthy local merchant and his manipulative skills to a prominent local politician, drawing hoots and guffaws from the crowd. Officials are rarely named, says Rudy Girón, an Antigua resident and editor of AntiguaDailyPhoto.com, but everyone knows whom the devil is talking about. “It’s humor-double-meaning speech making sure people know who’s being criticized without actually calling any names,” he says…
(Continue reading Run, Devil, Run by Michael Shapiro at American Way Magazine)
The tradition of burning the devil began in colonial times. In anticipation of the feast of the Immaculate Conception, those who could afford it adorned the fronts of their houses with lanterns. Eventually, the poor who could not afford such lanterns began gathering their garbage and would burn all of the year’s rubbish in front of their houses. Over time it was formalized and in addition to individual piles of garbage, communities started to burn The Devil to clear the way for Mary’s feast…
(Continue reading A Year’s Worth Of Sins Went Up In Smoke by Luke Maguire Armstrong at The Expeditioner)
Guatemala has just celebrated a beloved tradition: la quema del diablo, the burning of the devil. Across the country, people lit bonfires and burned images of Satan as a way to symbolically cleanse their houses. The government thinks this custom has gone too far. NPR’s John Burnett sent this postcard from Guatemala City…
(Continue reading Guatemalan Official: Burning Devil Dirties The Air by John Burnett at NPR)
One tradition that certainly puts our spring cleaning to shame is Quema del Diablo, or the Burning of the Devil, which takes place every December in Guatemala. Guatemalans have long believed that the Devil lurks in the dark and dusty corners of the house and in garbage, so every year before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8), people sweep him out of their houses and chase him off by burning their household refuse in bonfires topped by effigies of the Devil.
Marimba bands and fireworks add to the festivities. Some of the biggest celebrations are in Antigua and Guatemala City.
In Ciudad Vieja, a Devil three stories high is set alight in the city square at the stroke of six. Quema del Diablo is just one of the 192 unusual happenings described in the Lonely Planet guide, “A Year of Festivals.”
(source: World’s Strangest Holiday Traditions at AOL)
In Guatemala, October 12 is a national holiday known as Día de la Raza or Day of the Race. October 12 is celebrated as Columbus Day in the United States, as Día de la Raza in many countries in the Americas, as Discovery Day in the Bahamas, as Día de la Hispanidad and Fiesta Nacional in Spain and as Día de las Américas (Day of the Americas) in Uruguay. These holidays have been celebrated unofficially since the late 18th century, and officially in various countries since the early 20th century.
So, once you know that in Guatemala the October 12 holiday is officially known as Día de la Raza and that in Spain is known as Día de la Hispanidad I found a little ironic that Prensa Libre published a note with the following title: Marchas y carreteras bloqueadas en el Día de la Hispanidad since the news report is about manifestations in Guatemala. Certainly editors in Prensa Libre have a monkey on their back, which is just a reflection of the Guatemalan idiosyncrasies and low self-esteem. For a country with an official indigenous or native population of 60% or more and unofficially close to 90% most Guatemalans will tell you that their grandparents were pure 100% Spaniards. Another characteristic, or let’s call it a feature, of Guatemalans is how much emphasis is put on last names; like if by magic a Spanish-sounding last name could erase our mix ancestry.
All this talk about España and Spanish reminded me about a recent study entitled “El español en la red” (Spanish on the Internet) which found that the Spanish language is the third most often used language on the interwebs, after English and Chinese. So if you want to understand 46% of what’s available on the Internet or at least comprehend the song below, you must learn Spanish. That’s right, October 12 should be a reminder that soon enough Spanish will the official language of all the countries in the American continent; and by American continent, I don’t mean the U.S., but all the countries from Canada to Argentina. 😉
To finish this entry with a smile on our face, I would like to share with you the humoresque piece Valona de la conquista by Botellita de Jeréz, a Mexican rock band, formed in Mexico City in 1982. Their music is a fusion of rock, cumbia, and Mexican traditional music like mariachi and son, creating the genre called guacarrock (rock and guacamole). If you want to know more about Botellita de Jeréz, follow the white rabbit to Wikipedia. Enjoy!
Qué será, será… Alfred Hitchcock has to be one my favorite directors, along with Kubrick, and I often pay tribute to him with titles or double meaning sentences or phrases. As a matter of fact, often I pay tribute to all the artists who have influenced or touched me deeply with their art. I know … Read more
Ya running and ya running And ya running away. Ya running and ya running And ya running away. Ya running and ya running And ya running away. Ya running and ya running, But ya can’t run away from yourself Can’t run away from yourself – Can’t run away from yourself – Can’t run away from … Read more
Llanto sobre la ciudad colonial.
About four weeks ago I declared that this is The Rainiest Year Ever out of frustration with the seemingly non-stop rains. Later that week I learnt I was not mistaken and this has been the year with most rainfall in decades since 1959, which accumulated like over 1,700 mm/67 inches of rain. My good friend Norman Ávila from ClimaYa will provide us with the actual figures later today. When I made my frustration public, we were close to surpassing the 1,700 mm of rain. Certainly, after four additional weeks of intense rains, we can now declared this as The Rainiest Year Ever.
It seems only appropriate I share with you two songs from the El Hacedor De Lluvia (The Rain Maker) from Ranferí Aguilar, an excellent Guatemalan musician. Below the two songs, I am also sharing with you two video clips I recorded back in 2006 for a live performance of Ranferí Aguilar at the Jamtigua music festival. I hope you enjoy them and let me know your thoughts.