How can simple instruments and uncomplicated and repetitive sounds create a profound, hauntingly, bewitching and fascinating musical experience? How can Guatemalans explain to other people the spiritual fibers that are touched by the fragile and high-pitched notes of the chirimilla flute and the heartbeat thumps emanating from the drums? How can two unpretentious and complementing … Read more
Día de la Santa Cruz (Day of the Holy Cross) is celebrated in Guatemala and other Latin American countries on May 3rd which is also the day of the construction worker or albañiles as they are known in Spanish. Through out La Antigua Guatemala and the rest of the country you can find adorned crosses, … Read more
The Holy Week in Guatemala is a full five senses overwhelming experience. As you follow the processions all five senses are bombarded with maximum stimuli and you are carried into a mystical experience. It is so difficult to convey these feelings when I am only presenting you with static photographs. But you are going to … Read more
Boy oh boy, the things I do to bring you first-hand, eye-witness coverage daily from La Antigua Guatemala. I’ve done the unthinkable, I threw myself into the zip lines of the Antigua Canopy Tours inside the coffee plantation Finca Filadelfia so you can have an idea of what to expect next time you come to … Read more
Those of you, who have followed the daily updates of La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo for a while, would know already how much I like to name certain entries with titles of films. If you look in the past 930 days, you would find the titles of some of my favorite films. Can you name … Read more
It doesn’t matter what kind of meeting it is, the ice cream men and their carts are always ready to sell you gratification. Sure, ice creams are healthy as a diet and should not be around for a celebration of physical activity, right? Wrong. This is Guatemala and as such there is no better place … Read more
Play it and wear it with pride, I am sure, is the advice this father tells his sons. Did I mention resilience as one of the qualities of the indigenous people of Guatemala? What do you think, am I wrong? These indigenous musicians appeared before in LAGDP, can you tell me when? VIDEO UPDATE: Thanks … Read more
Regardless of how I may feel about the marimba, this instrument and its waling sound are very important to Guatemalans all over. For instance, this school band parade did not begin marching until the marimba arrived. What are your feelings about marimba music? Video coming soon… [bliptv]1180827[/bliptv]
Last week, as we watch the delegations parade at the Beijing 2008 Olympics Inauguration, I was thinking how wonderful it was to see so many different and unique national dresses from the many countries around the world. Some of the delegations opted for a no-frills-western-style tie-shirt-suit formal dress code, while others chose to show off … Read more
Before what we know today as Guatemala vanishes into the fragile realm of memory, I am glad I can take some mementos to help me remember once I become yet another winter sleeper. I know it is very difficult to love or even understand this tiny banana republic, full of contrasts and contradictions. I know, … Read more
Ranchero music is for Latin America what the Blues is for the U.S.: music with just enough texture and color to express a wide range of emotions. Above, we can catch a glimpse of the ranchero music violinist in a break from the cantinas tour around La Antigua Guatemala.
What kind of story can you extract from this old man’s stare?
In Guatemala and many countries in Latin America today, May 3rd, is celebrated the Day of the Holy Cross and also the Day of the Construction Worker. The Day of the Holy Cross is known in Guatemala as Día de la Santa Cruz and you can see many Albañiles (construction workers) placing an adorned cross at their current construction site.
Below you can find a fragment of the text I published last year regarding this celebration:
Honest, I don’t mean to brag. But I have to say sometimes life can be pretty good in La Antigua Guatemala. Let me explain. In La Antigua Guatemala, sometimes you get access to free events like music concerts, photo exhibits, plays, paintings exhibitions, et-cetera.
Every once in a while is good to stop eating Guatemalan food and eat something healthy, like a chef salad from La Fuente restaurant. A salad and the New Yorker Magazine is what I consider a healthy lunch. The article about an unknown photographer by the name of Eugene De Salignac and his photo of painters spreading out like musical notes, on the Brooklyn Bridge, over the sky line of New York, was most definitely the best dessert I have had in a long while.
The weather gods decided long time ago to sent into exile the fascist dictator of Cold to the vast lands of maple leaves and bacon; originally known as Kanata. Thanks to the wise weather gods, in Guatemala any time of the year is good for grilling and barbequing and to meet with friends for what is known locally as El Chuparrasco (chupa for drinking and rrasco, short for churrasco or barbequing). Nevertheless, I have said several times that the dried season, or rainless, that goes from the end of October to end of April is the best weather in Guatemala (which covers part of the Fall, full Winter and part of the Spring seasons). Well, if I had to pick one month as the best to visit La Antigua Guatemala, I would pick February. See, in February we have the Carnival, Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, San Valentine’s Day (Día del cariño), the best temperate weather, Silvio Rodríguez in Concert (at least this year for the first time ever), just to mention a few highlights for the month of love.