San Pedro Las Huertas

Indiscreet Window — Guatemalan Women

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A door opens and three Guatemalan women from different ages stepped out, you greet them and raise your camera to get some natural shots as you talk to them. A wedding was the destination, but not before exchanging some smiles and good wishes for the day. That’s what the indiscreet window brings you today. Quite … Read more

Architecture of Antigua Guatemala — Baroque Temple Façades

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We continue the mini series about the Moorish baroque architecture of La Muy Noble y Muy Leal Ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala, now known simply as La Antigua Guatemala with the façade of the temple in the main square of the village of San Pedro Las Huertas. Have you ever visited the … Read more

Maya Portraits — Maya Woman Harvesting Coffee

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This is a behind the scenes picture of a recent photo session I helped to set up for a photographer from abroad. Believe it or not, this was one of the most difficult photo sessions I have organised. For the photo shoot we needed a Maya woman, a horse, a farmer and coffee. Simple right? … Read more

A Tailor’s Shop in San Pedro Las Huertas

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Here’s your illustrated Spanish word of the day — Sastre for tailor. Another interesting aspect of real life in the villages of Antigua Guatemala is that you have access to hand-made custom-made to your specifications, from clothes from a tailor shop to furniture, houses, whatever. A lot of artisans also live and work in the … Read more

Collecting Renewable Wood Fuel

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As requested by many of you here and on Facebook’s AntiguaDailyPhoto fan page, here’s a vista of the real life in the villages of Antigua Guatemala. Simple, two women collecting renewable wood fuel. Renewable, I hear you asking already, right? Yes, this wood are the prunings of the gravilea trees, the shadow trees for the … Read more

Happy People and Smiles from San Pedro Las Huertas

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If you visit Antigua Guatemala and don’t spend some time in the villages, you’re missing a lot. There’s nothing more authentic than life in the aldeas, as we call the villages. You can move a mile or two from downtown Antigua Guatemala, but you’re moving decades in time when you visit the villages, most filled … Read more

Slice of Daily Life from Antigua Guatemala

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This is the sort of situation you can encounter when you walk around the villages; an elderly person taken a sunbath. In this case, she was trying to push the Municipal IUSI notice inside under the door. IUSI or Impuesto Único Sobre Inmuebles is the property tax we pay in Guatemala. Had she known what … Read more

Photographing in the villages of Antigua Guatemala

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I feel very fortunate to be able to help other photographers come to make pictures around the villages of Antigua Guatemala through the Antigua Photo Walks. There is nothing more authentic in Antigua Guatemala than its villages and life there. We walk through the raw streets photographing people and the human condition as well as … Read more

Guatemalan syncretism knows no limits!

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When it comes to popular religious celebrations Guatemalan syncretism knows no limits. Watch these short video clips that include diablos, devils, moros y cristianos, moors and christians, beauty pageants, pre-Columbian monos and toritos, monkeys and bulls, school parade uniforms, animated/cartoon characters of a convite charade, and live marimba music. How about that for religious syncretism? … Read more

Consecutive Day 3645 — Fresh-fruit Drive-thru

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We do not have any fast food drive thrus in Antigua Guatemala, except for perhaps Pollo Campero on Alameda Santa Lucía. Another option might be the Cafe Condesa Express on the exit street that leads to Guatemala City. That is about it. We do have lots of fresh fruit drive-throughs as the one picture here … Read more