Real Old Wall with Alto Sign
After all those years, all those rainy seasons, all those earthquakes this old wall still stands.
Don’t Take Pictures…
Even though La Antigua Guatemala is a very photogenic town and that is virtually impossible to take a bad photo of this …
Transnational: Eat fresh
I think this Subway franchise will have to use its second slogan: The Way A Sandwich Should Be because the Eat fresh may not work in a place like Antigua Guatemala, where most places serve REAL fresh food. With all of these transnational fast-food restaurants in La Antigua Guatemala, we still have to make a run for the border or drive to Guatemala City if we’d like to think outside the bun while enjoying a bean and cheese burrito.
Kids Enjoying Ice Cream in La Antigua Guatemala
Helados Sarita, on 5a calle poniente, is the meeting place for these three kids and their joyful smiles. Sometimes life can be beautifully simple and full of joy (even for adults).
La Tienda de Doña Gavi Sign
We continue with “the sign fetish” and today’s turn is for La Tienda de Doña Gavi sign. Believe it or not, this tiny store is one of La Antigua Guatemala landmarks and it’s located on the street behind the Cathedral. Doña Gavi sells all kinds of organic stuff in this cozy shop including avocado ice cream. If you come to Antigua, you must visit this shop. If you don’t trust my recommendation, read the On the Road Travel recommendation below:
Porta Hotel Antigua Parking Lot Sign
I am a sucker for signs and La Antigua Guatemala has an amazing palette of signs made from wood, ceramic tiles, metal, paint, glass, etc. Perhaps, I am sensitive to signs because of my graphic design background or maybe because I am sign junkie. I like the colors, the materials and sometimes simply the typography used. The sign above is made from metal, welded together and installed at entrance of the parking lot of Porta Hotel Antigua with a gorgeous hand-made typeface. Sorry, I said I am sign addict and since I try to show you what one is expected to find while strolling around Antigua Guatemala.
Guatemala’s General Elections Will Be on September 9th
This coming Sunday Guatemala will be holding general elections for president, vice-president, congress curule seats, and city mayors throughout the country. It is sad to read the news feeds and news headlines regarding Guatemala. It seems like this tiny ‘paradisiac’ banana coffee republic has an innate quality to generate bad press. Like Tarzan, Guatemala jumps from bad stories to worse stories. It is a true jungle out here.
In the meantime, Guatemalans will cross their ballots to exercise the democracy Mayan ball game. But, before that, they must know where exactly they will cast their vote and for that, they have to go to one of the many citizens’ registration booths; like the one pictured above in the entrance to La Antigua Guatemala.
Theme Day: One Way to the Decisive Moment
As I negotiated my acrobatic skills over the stone, looked back so I don’t get ran over or splashed by one of the uncivilized drivers, looked at the camera so I don’t ruin it with the running dirty water, composed the shot to include both elements, I took a couple of shots to get the best composition. As I was ready to put away the camera and moved away from the center of the street because two vehicles were using their horns to alert me that they were close and they had no mercy; this lady entered the frame; I did see her with my own eyes as I was looking down to the twist-out viewfinder paralleled to the floor; I had but fleeing second to take the shot and this fraction of a second my mind went through all countless photographs warehoused in my memory so fast that I must remember over thousand images until my brain did a full stop at one my favorite images ever: The Decisive Moment by Henri Cartier-Bresson. With that image in my head, I pressed the shutter release. Next, I pulled away from the centre of the street just in time as the vehicle behind me went by making a big splash (I did not get wet), pulled my eye sight to see that the lady did not fall and was already walking away in the opposite direction.
Chicken Buses are The Second Life of School Buses
Unless you have taken the path of La Marche de l’empereur, you haven’t heard about how everyone is living a virtual second life through a community web site. Well, old and retired school buses from the U.S. get to live a real second life as camionetas (the street name for public transit buses in Guatemala). Revue Magazine had an in-depth article about The Birth of a Camioneta (available as a PDF download) which detailed step-by-step how an old retired school bus became a powerful camioneta ready for the curvy roads of the mountain ranges of Guatemala.
Wanted: New Mayor for La Antigua Guatemala
Calzada Santa Lucía gets overcrowded with all the stands of the 11 candidates for the La Antigua Guatemala City Hall or Muni as we call it here. They all have their booths, their chants and songs, their promises, their colors, their flyers, their visual and hearing pollution, their trash, et-cetera.
San Lázaro General Cemetery
This photograph marks the beginning of the San Lázaro Cemetery series. I know Friday is a weird day to start a series, but since most people visit the cemetery on the weekends, I guess it’s okay. I have to warn you about the series though. This cemetery is not exceptional and quite frankly a little boring since it is mostly white. So, don’t expect any extraordinary or exotic shots.
Palacio de Doña Leonor Sign
In La Antigua Guatemala even transnational companies have to bend their rules of signage and corporate identity to blend and be in harmony with the architecture and colonial style of the town. Check out the Transnational series signs I did back in October 2006.
Joyería del Ángel Corner in La Antigua Guatemala
Obviously what they sell there has not influenced my appreciation for this wonderful light-blue, celeste in Guatemalan Spanish, corner. I simply liked the light hitting the building and the tourist walking by that afternoon. Also, I like the geometry of the white stripes, the Joyería del Ángel sign and the lamp. You will have to excuse the white sky in many of the photos taken during the rainy season; not much I can do.
I am not conTigo
There are three cell phone companies in Guatemala (4 according to Wikipedia). Tigo is the mobile phone brand of Millicom International Cellular. Claro mobile telephone operator is owned by the Mexican group América Móvil, which in turn is the umbrella name for the mobile telephone division of Telmex, owned by Carlos Slim (estimated fortune of US$67.8 billion). Carlos Slim’s empire also owns the Guatemalan National Telephone Company, Telgua, and Telgua’s division of cellphone Claro brand. Movistar is the mobile division of the Spanish transnational Telefónica telephone company. Believe it or not the Telmex/América Móvil and Movistar/Telefónica are probably bigger than AT&T.
What’s in a name? That which we call La Antigua Guatemala
The English-language speaking community refuses to recognize the official name of La Antigua Guatemala because it is too long or lack of knowledge or poor Spanish-language skills; who knows really?. They just want to call it Antigua. But Antigua is a Caribbean Island. Yet, they refuse to call it La Antigua Guatemala, which, by the way, simply means the former Guatemala City.
To add to this confusion, many Guatemalans just call it Antigua too, although more often they say La Antigua. This error is even published by newspapers and magazine. Worst yet, the road signs just say Antigua Guatemala. Even Wikipedia just have it listed as Antigua Guatemala, which by the way means Old Guatemala.