News

Thought Provoking Art at Casa Santo Domingo

by

As you walk around Casa Santo Domingo, you find antique and contemporary artworks one after the other without disrupting harmony and a sense beauty. This is proof of high quality of the curatorship. There is classical music coming off from strategically located speakers to provide a peaceful and tranquil soundtrack while you stroll around the … Read more

New Closing Time City Ordinances

by

There is new seismic activity in La Antigua Guatemala’s grapevine. For a while now, I’ve been hearing rumors about new closing times imposed by the Municipalidad, Antigua Guatemala’s City Hall for certain kind of businesses. Like everything in life, there are at least two sides to the story, but before I present you with details … Read more

Half Marathon Las Rosas 2010 Part 2

by

The Winner of the Half Marathon Las Rosas 2010

The Antigua Guatemala’s Half Marathon Las Rosas consists of a route of 21 kilometers through La Antigua Guatemala, Jocotenango, Ciudad Vieja and back to Antigua Guatemala. The half marathon Las Rosas begins and ends at the Plaza Mayor, Main Square of La Antigua Guatemala. The half marathon Las Rosas is held one Sunday before the Santiago (St James) festivities which are celebrated on July 25. The half marathon Las Rosas is among the most popular long distances running competitions in Guatemala. The winners were Elisha Korir with a lapsed time of 1:02:52 for the men category and Judy Jesire with a lapsed of 1:13:20 for the women category.

Here’s my slide show of the half marathon Las Rosas 2010 in La Antigua Guatemala. I hope you like it!

Read more

Half Marathon Las Rosas 2010 Part 1

by

This past Sunday I covered the Half Marathon Las Rosas 2010 with two cameras and the iPhone. I was tweeting and sending images and video to the social media networks in real time. Needless to say I accumulated lots of material, which I haven’t got the chance to process yet. This is why I am … Read more

The Maestro Behind MaestrosdelWeb

by

Like I declared yesterday, I am a lucky guy! I am so fortunate to have among my friends and acquaintances movers and shakers of the Guatemalan society. One such person is Christian Van Der Henst, a Guatemalan who thirteen years ago, 13 that’s right, setup one of the first websites in Latin America to help … Read more

Benefit Photo Exhibit for Agatha’s Victims

by

Photos for the victims of Agatha

I am a lucky guy!

I am so lucky to have among my friends and acquaintances movers and shakers of the Guatemalan society. One such person is Omar Soto, photographer and member of the Antigua’s Photo Club, who captured arresting images of the damages caused by tropical storm Agatha in San Miguel Escobar and Ciudad Vieja, two communities near La Antigua Guatemala, while helping the people of those communities. Afterwards, Omar Soto turned a selection of those photographs into “Ayuda y Esperanza tras el paso de Agatha” (Help and Hope after Agatha’s Aftermath), a benefit and chronicle photo exhibit on display now at Convento Las Capuchinas ruins.

At the inauguration of Ayuda y Esperanza tras el paso de Agatha Omar Soto requested food and cash donation to help the people of San Miguel Escobar and Ciudad Vieja who are still in need.

I am very grateful to know people like Omar Soto, who set an example and inspiration of the things one can do to help others in need.

Below a few shots of the inauguration and a video clip captured by Kara Andrade. I hope that if you are in La Antigua Guatemala right now or in the following weeks, you make the time to visit the Ayuda y Esperanza tras el paso de Agatha.

Public at Omar Soto's Photo Exhibit Omar Soto

Reporters at Omar Soto's Photo Exhibit Ciudad Vieja Mayor Speaking

Kara Andrade’s video coverage:

Read more

Agatha’s Aftermath

by

Agatha's Aftermath

As the new figures and images keep pouring in it becomes obvious that the tropical storm Agatha has caused more damages in Guatemala than Hurricane Stan in 2005 or Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

By the end of Sunday, May 30, these were the figures 82 dead, 111,964 evacuees, 29,245 in shelters, 13 bridges collapsed, [many] roads blocked by landslides or floods (via webO_o). Climaya calls Guatemala the country most affected but also Honduras and El Salvador were affected by the storm Agatha in Muerte y destrucción causa Agatha en Centroamérica. HablaGuate reported about 15 houses that were destroyed in San Pedro Las Huertas (the village I live in) and all the houses lost in Ciudad Vieja, Sacatepéquez. The list of damages caused by tropical storm Agatha just in Guatemala is an endless river of updates in Twitter and Facebook.

Below I share with you just a few samples so you can get an idea of the current state of Guatemala; not a terra firma country any more but an archipelago of isolated communities. 🙁

Read more

Stop Agatha, Stop!

by

Stop Agatha, Stop!

Guatemalans urgently need a break!

First we experience a short but strong jolt cause by an earthquake. Right after Pacaya volcano began erupting and spewing black volcanic sand and ash over Guatemala City, which cause the closing of the main international airport of Guatemala. People were still cleaning up the black sand and ash when we got hit by tropical storm Agatha, which behaves pretty much like a hurricane.

We urgently need a break!

Of course the tropical storm Agatha is the worst of all evils because it hit hard the entire country with a heavy downpour which caused floods and land slides in many places, including La Antigua Guatemala. Many people have lost their houses and many more have been evacuated and are now living in temporary shelters. A flood of tweets and Facebooks updates keep inundating the timelines with the hash tags #Pacaya, #AgathaGT, #CenizasGT, #ApagonGT, etc. You can look at all the photos from tropical storm Agatha that people are uploading at http://is.gd/cvbam and http://is.gd/cvbak.

Don’t you agree that we need a break from Nature’s catastrophes? 🙁

Read more

Flyers Launch Pad

by

What a creative way to distribute volantes, flyers, don’t you think? By the way, I believe it’s time to go out at night to listen to Buena Vista de Corazón. Hopefully I will come back with good night photos of the Cuban musicians. You know how much I love to photograph music events at night. … Read more

Earphone Usage is Up in Antigua Guatemala

by

A few years back LD ranted about all the people she came across wearing earbuds while riding the public transit buses in Toronto after having spent a few years in Guatemala where the practice was rare, if not, nonexistent in the chicken bus rides. I remember her rant because at the time I hadn’t noticed … Read more

Earth Hour 2010 in Antigua Guatemala

by

An hour for the Planet… An hour of no light for the planet; it was celebrated worldwide. Antigua Guatemala did its share, as a city. Some, of course didn’t. Nonetheless the care for our planet should be done 24×7, and not just an hour per year. Of course, I understand all the difficulties of going … Read more

The Nexus One has arrived to Antigua Guatemala

by

Modernity has arrived to the quincentennial Antigua Guatemala. AGAIN. It was nearly 18 months ago that I reported the arrival of the third generation cellular networks, known as 3G for short, to Antigua Guatemala. Back then, I showed you a black and white photo with a colorful iPhone held by Nelo against the San Francisco … Read more