Beautiful Light and Sunsets in Antigua Guatemala
I am enamoured with the quality and quantity of light during the dry season. In my opinion, the light and cold winds …
I am enamoured with the quality and quantity of light during the dry season. In my opinion, the light and cold winds …
Parque Central, or Central Park, is the heart of Antigua Guatemala. And just as any heart, it pumps fresh new blood through …
During the dry season, we experience lots deep blue sky days. The few clouds we get make interesting forms and complement the …
There is plenty to do in Antigua Guatemala this weekend. The weekend kick off with the Señorita Antigua beauty pageant on Friday …
Here’s your Spanish word of the day: Barbería or barber shop. There are still plenty of barber shops around Antigua Guatemala, especially …
Even though nowadays motorcycles are much more popular as means of transportation around Antigua Guatemala, you can still find plenty of bicycles, …
Here are some the notes from the talk “Las Sirenas de La Antigua Guatemala” by Dr. Miguel F. Torres that I attended …
The question should be, when was the last time you visited San Juan del Obispo? If the answer is not recently or …
As I have mentioned before, panes con pollo or chicken sandwiches are the staple food of velaciones, vigils, along with batido, a …
Let’s go grab a licuado! Sweet. Refreshing. Natural. Licuados are one of those treats that truly define a Guatemalan experience. The blended …
Plataninas are green plantains chips. Plantains are like bananas, but much bigger and with a unique flavor. Guatemalans eat plantains or platanos …
I love doing street photography and capturing candid images from the streets of Antigua Guatemala. In the almost eight years I have …
We are on the last leg of the Winter season on the northern hemisphere, that’s where Antigua Guatemala is located, yet we …
As I have mentioned before, it doesn’t matter what day of the week one stops by the public washbasins, lavaderos around Antigua …
If case you missed it, yesterday, February 2, was Día de la Candelaria. As I have explained before, around Antigua Guatemala, many …
As explained the other day, I had set myself the goals of producing stereographic projections [tiny planets] and panoramic vistas of the …
Instead of buying stuff, these two musicians decided to play and sing some Christmas carols for a group of shoe-shiner boys who …
Lenticular clouds, Altocumulus lenticularis, are stationary lens-shaped clouds that form at high altitudes, normally aligned perpendicular to the wind direction. Lenticular clouds …
This bratwurst mit sauerkraut, German sausage, can be had at Wurst Eck, about half block north of the Tanque de La Unión …
Necklaces are other popular handicrafts and jewelry produced in Guatemala. There are plenty of shops and ambulant vendors where one can buy …
Antigua Guatemala is the photographer’s paradise because almost every wall provides an excellent and unique photographic backdrop on top of the so …
I started the photowalks in Antigua Guatemala last month and so far they have been a total success. This past Saturday I …
That’s right, I said THE rainy season, or invierno (winter) as most people call the rainy season in Guatemala. I thought of …
With this selection of the hermanas cargadoras, the women who carry the smaller floats of the Virgin Mary or other virgins for …
Velaciones, vigils, are a very important tradition during Lent and Holy Week in Antigua Guatemala. Velaciones are altars or shrines made for …
As I have mentioned before, Lent and Semana Santa is an equal-opportunity tradition. As you can see here, even little girls get …
As I mentioned yesterday, there will be Lent and Holy Week celebrations in Antigua Guatemala for a long while. These religious traditions …
The procession of the fifth Sunday of Lent is quite possibly one of the largest processions in Antigua Guatemala. People just refer …
By the end of the 4th Sunday procession which comes out of the village of Santa Ana, Nelo Mijangos had already walked …
The third of Sunday of Lent is the turn for the church of Jocotenango to put the best procession possible and believe, …
The second Sunday of Lent is the turn for the village of Santa Inés del Monte Pulciano. It is at this processional …
Beginning with the first Sunday after Ash Wednesday, there are processions each Sunday of Lent and the first procession comes out the …
As explained before, corbatas are fried flour-based crunchy dessert soaked in syrup or honey. Corbatas take their name from the shape they …
Chomín de mango or mango chow mein simply refers to the mango sliced very thinly so it looks like chow mein pasta. …
As explained before, elotes locos are chucherías (snacks) that are always present in the typical Guatemalan county or town fair. To make …
The fountains are decorated with flower arrangements as part of the low profile celebrations for Antigua Guatemala’s 470th anniversary this March 10th. …
Panes con pollo, chevere hot dogs and shuco hot dogs are the sandwiches that are present at every town fair and velación, …
These apples will soon turn into caramelized apples. Toffee apples, as they are known in England, are a good example of the …
Batido is a fruity drink topped with a powder called pinol, a coarse flour made from ground toasted maize kernels, often in …
Panes con pollo or chicken sandwiches are the staple food of velaciones, vigils, along with batido, a drink made from tropical fruits …
Basically, plataninas are green platano/plantains chips. Plantains are like bananas, but much bigger and with a unique flavor. Guatemalans eat platanos in …
Today we will begin our Spanish lesson with some very important Guatemalan Spanish words: Poporopos, Plataninas, Papalinas and Churros. Poporopos: This is …
Just as in other celebrations, Lent has a food that is sold at the food stalls out side where velación, vigil, is …
Just as cucuruchos and processions are the staple imagery of Lent and Holy Week in La Antigua Guatemala, so are the photographers …
It’s impossible to miss the Lent, Cuaresma we call it in Spanish, in Antigua Guatemala as you encounter decorations, shrines, carpets, vigils …
Lent is also the time for shrines, carpets, vigils and processions. Out of nowhere any of these things can appear anywhere and …
After having covered the Ecoleña fuel briquette as an alternative for the leña (firewood) I decided to ask around what kind of …
The first phase of the Antigua Guatemala security camera surveillance system, sort of the chapín Skynet, came online on February 2012 with …
This is quite possibly the best description I have ever read about La Antigua Guatemala and it comes from the pen of …
As I mentioned before, If you are the kind of person that enjoys jogging or riding a bicycle, the roads around Antigua …
This year the rainy season has been fabulous so far. Crystal clear skies and sunny mornings to mid-afternoons with some light rains …
If you are the kind of person that enjoys jogging or riding a bicycle, the roads around Antigua Guatemala provide an excellent …
The traditions of Guatemala are kept alive by the faith and fervor of the people and that’s exactly what Nelo wanted to …
As Nelo have shown to us this week, many photographers are looking for their unique angle on the Holy Week in Antigua …
Visitors are also among the photography crows that follow the processions during the Holy Week in Antigua Guatemala. You can find all …
Even though mister Leonel Mijangos, simply Nelo for those us lucky to him, is doing an fantastic job with series Holy Week …
Sometimes it feels like the jacaranda trees begin flowering to coincide with the Cuaresma to add the natural purple to the 40 …
These news may come as total shock to some of you, but I figure today is as good day as any to …
You may or may not know this: Guatemala is divided politically in Departamentos which are the equivalent of States or Provinces in …
Cucuruchos with their purple or violet cone-head rebes are another prominent element of Semana Santa in Antigua Guatemala. Purple is worn as …
Every week, many more houses and buildings are putting up their Lent decorations. This house located on Calle de Los Pasos, which …
For those who don’t know, the building that appears in the photo is La Antigua Guatemala Municipal government building, simply known as …
Religiously, like every Ash Wednesday [miércoles de ceniza] before, La Antigua Guatemala get’s dressed up today with Lent decorations. Cuaresma is now …
Another typical vista from February are the streets repairs done before or during Cuaresma, Lent, to have all the streets in their …
I guess geeks will be geeks regardless where they come from. I mean, Guatemalan geeks eat no different than other computer geeks …
The dry season could also be called the wedding season since it is the time of the year when La Antigua Guatemala …
This is what I shared with you before about the Antigua’s Biodiesel Project: Antigua Guatemala is full of Quixotes who do not …
At 3:30 in the morning and by the light of the full moon as the rooster crowed a couple times, my husband …
As in previous years, La Antigua Guatemala begins wearing violet or purple decorations over doors, windows and balconies. Heck, even the jacaranda …
Sunday was such a great day in La Antigua Guatemala; nice weather conditions and a wonderful atmosphere all around town with people …
In La Antigua Guatemala people really go the extra mile to show they care about each other. If one is creative, all …
It was only last week that I told you that often during December or the Christmas season, there are several free concerts …
Often during December or the Christmas season, there are several free concerts around La Antigua Guatemala. For instance, the photo above was …
Roller skaters and skate-boarders using the Central Park is something you don’t see very often. There are plenty of skaters in La …
There’s got to be as many salsa dancing schools in La Antigua Guatemala as there are Spanish-language schools. Unlike, the online Spanish …
Here are the elements of a weekend photo of LAG on a weekend afternoon: The Bride and Groom The SUV The locals …
If you walk around La Antigua Guatemala, quite regularly, you come across groups of tourists taking tours of the city to learn …
It seems like even Jacaranda trees want to be seen wearing the ever-present violet and purple color found over doorways, windows and …
I really like the Lent decorations you find over doorways and windows in La Antigua Guatemala. Lent or Cuaresma in Spanish is …
I just love the dry season that goes from late October to late April in Guatemala, also known in Guatemala as Summer …
Boy, didn’t I tell you that the best time of the year to visit Antigua Guatemala, top city travel destination, is during …
pushwigh#@%&?¿… blip! Alert, alert, we break from our regular programing Details, details, details to bring you this important news update. From early …
Central Park and the streets nearby were militarized for about 10 hours, beginning around 5 a.m. because El Señor Presidente of Guatemala …
Many purple and violet banners are still hanging from doorways and windows around town. It feels like many don’t want to let …
I have honestly tried not put as many Cuaresma/Lent and Semana Santa/Holy Week photos here. But sometimes it’s impossible not to publish …
All the weekends of Lent (Cuaresma) and during the Holy Week La Municipalidad de La Antigua Guatemala (Municipality or City Hall) imposes …
So what makes La Antigua Guatemala the best coffee in the world? To get the best cup of coffee of the world, one must start with the right altitude; somewhere above 1,500 meters above the sea level; add lots of fertile volcanic soil; mix in plenty of rain (about six months); stable temperate weather (about 75˚ F / 25˚ C); once you have the above, make sure you plant the best possible Arabica coffee.
Well, you may be wondering what SAT office means. Behind this placid view of this government building hides one of the reason why Guatemala is so poor; a beggar really if we consider that Guatemala begs money for road repairing, road building, new modern national identification card, fertilizers, schools, libraries and the list goes on and on. The picture above is the local office of the Superintendencia de Administración Tributaria, SAT for short and the equivalent of the IRS.
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.
This is the façade of Café No Sé in La Antigua Guatemala, headquarters of the John Rexer’s 1a avenida sur empire. His efforts to take control over the whole 1a avenida sur (1st Avenue South) are a little more humble than Pinky and The Brain Gutiérrez who want the whole world to convert to their tender, juicy and crunchy recipe of fried chicken. 😉
As the new mayor took office on January 15th, he launched a new campaign to rescue the streets for the lent celebrations begin in February. Right now there are crews of cobblestone street workers almost everywhere and many streets are closed for repairs. Let’s hope they can meet their goal since Lent or Cuaresma in Spanish is approaching soon.
New Year’s Eve Celebrations in La Antigua Guatemala:
For starters there are many things that make New Year’s Eve similar and different than Christmas’ Eve. If Christmas’ Eve is celebrated with the family at home at your parents’ home; New Year’s Eve can be celebrated anywhere: a discotheque, a park, the beach or La Calle del Arco, a popular venue in La Antigua Guatemala
As beautiful, cosmopolitan, antique and modern as it is La Antigua Guatemala, many people choose to live in one of the surrounding villages that belong to the municipio (county) of La Antigua Guatemala. There are many reasons for this decision which range from the economics, ‘real guatemalan experience’, or simply to live in a more natural and greener environment.
Okay, I don’t have much to say today. Or, rather there’s plenty to say, but not enough time to write it up. So, we take a break and pleasure in a soothing image of dog enjoying the late afternoon rain.
Best wishes for the upcoming weekend, everyone!
So, how did Walter Williams, the founder of the Missouri School of Journalism, managed to get a piece of road of La Antigua Guatemala named after him? Come back tomorrow for the answer. Also make sure you read up on Walter Williams.
Around Antigua Guatemala you’ll never know what may find if you take a side road or dirt road. For instance, today while …
As mentioned yesterday, cupolas are a very popular architectonic feature in many residential homes and hotels. Cupolas break the otherwise flat rooftop …
Many houses and business buildings get a new paint job right before the Holy Week. The streets of La Antigua Guatemala get …
Yesterday I told you I was going to have a sample of the sorrowful tunes play by the processional musicians that are …