El Señor Presidente in La Antigua Guatemala
Central Park and the streets nearby were militarized for about 10 hours, beginning around 5 a.m. because El Señor Presidente of Guatemala …
Central Park and the streets nearby were militarized for about 10 hours, beginning around 5 a.m. because El Señor Presidente of Guatemala …
Aspirante PMT printed in t-shirts means ‘aspirant’ for the Municipal Traffic Police (PMT abbreviation in Spanish). The proper word for traffic, as …
Believe it or not what you call the Santa Lucía Street is the biggest controversy on this 6-block-long avenue. See, most people …
With the new administration at La Antigua Guatemala’s City Hall, there have come new regulations and orderliness on the streets of this …
I wonder what was going through the old man’s mind while watching the young tourist with flip flops (thongs) and short shorts. …
ACT 1: So there I was, consumed by own thoughts, after having had a few moments at the Benches at the Museo …
If you are in Guatemala this weekend, you can visit all public and most private museums for free. May 18th is the …
Gringos are now an integral part of La Antigua Guatemala and therefore many of them participate of the preparations of the world …
So you wanted to know what happened to the Indigenous singers from February 2nd, right? Well the municipal police told them that they also needed to work and that if they did not have a permit to sing on the streets their supervisor would get on their case. Sure enough, less than a half of block away, these two tourist police were stopped by their supervisors. The Indigenous singers were told to go to the ‘Muni’ to get a permit to sing on the streets. I am not sure such permit exists, not for the Indigenous people, for sure.
This is what the inauguration of the YO-YO: retratos y autoretratos the photo exhibit looked like inside the Sala Marco Augusto Quiroa …
I believe that I do tend to be a voyeur or obsessive observer when it comes to capture the most natural street life scenes. My goal is to capture the intriguing split-second scene. I do not like posed photograph, especially posed street photos because once the subject is aware of the lens the natural feel is lost; the window that I open for you into the daily life of La Antigua Guatemala is broken.
Yes Manolo, the weather gods are on LAG side. Above you see a group of tourist having the Sun for lunch and enjoying too. Yes the temperate weather gods have been given La Antigua Guatemala temperatures between 68 and 74 degrees Fahrenheit in the harshest Winter month. Oh boy, life is wonderful in La Antigua Guatemala…
I guess that many tourists like the opportunity to eat rich ice cream in the winter season in the open in La Antigua Guatemala’s streets. Last year I showed you two tourists taking a break in the late afternoon to eat ice cream in Enjoy it while it lasts!
I can still hear the rumors of the doves’ chat while at their meeting in a late afternoon at Iglesia de La Merced in La Antigua Guatemala. Since La Merced Church is one of the landmarks for La Antigua is visited often by tourists and chosen by many Guatemalan and foreigners as their wedding chapel. I dedicate this entry to my good friend Manolo who has a special history with this church.
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.
I have said that I really enjoy being in this building so many times that you might actually believe that I work …
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.
After all the pounds we have gained this week at the San Pedro Las Huertas Fair, it is nice to come across some healthy food. For Q5 ($0.65) we can take any fresh fruit bags and we will need the savings since we already lost quite a few Quetzales at the others fair stands. Now, even though I have shown all these Guatemalan fair food and even describe it as tasteful and delicious, I don’t want to pass it as healthy. Fair food is junk food. I am so glad these fair food vendors have not come across the Super Size Me concept!
Papas fritas is the Guatemalan Spanish name for French fries. Here is the abbreviated history that gave us the Guatemalan french fries stall: first the Quechuas or Incas domesticated the potato (Solanum tuberosum) into a crop in southern Peru and northern Bolivia; the Spanish conquistadors took it to Europe where it was an instant hit and along with maize turned a famine-prone population into a healthy society; somewhere in one of the northern European states, quite possibly Germany, the potato lost its skin and got deep-fried; This Eurpean recipe crossed the Atlantic with the new immigrants that came to U.S. and since it was a foreign-looking recipe, they called it French fries (remember Coneheads); so the French fries came to Guatemala along one of the many incursions from the United Stateians (Americans they seem to call themselves 😉 ) as a side dish for the hamburger or the hot dog. Guatemalans thought that French fries were too good to be side dish and turned it into a meal by itself. That is how the papas fritas cart came to be.
Oops! I almost forgot about the photo above. These ruins belong to the church Our Lady of the Remedies, or Nuestra Señora de los Remedios in Spanish. It is located on the left bank of El Pensativo river, on the south part of town, right on the street that takes you to El Calvario Church; just a few hundred feet from it. The processional figures in storage, shown yesterday, are pile on the front part of the atrium. There is a black bird in the picture, can you find it?
I am sucker for shots with contrast. I like to show all the different contrasting vistas that come into my viewfinder in …
All work and no play makes for a very dull day the saying goes and that is why these shoe-shiner kids take …
What about the Guatemalan Sweet Bread?
Oh yeah, I am rambling again. In the photo above you see one of things Guatemalans abroad miss the most: Sweet Guatemalan Bread. I have talked about cutting a cake for this anniversary, but then I decided to shared the poor Guatemalans alternative: La Torta, this huge sweet bread, takes the place of the cake for many Guatemalan families. Also, as suggested by some friends, I decided to include other pieces of the Guatemalan sweet bread repertoire for all those chapines abroad. In Guatemala, we dip the bread in the coffee, as described by Manolo in LD’s entry about Miss Manners International. Since Manolo can not find champurradas (the flat tortilla-like bread in the picture) in Toronto, he dips his cookies in the coffee. I hope you don’t get grossed out by my dipping the bread in the coffee; I am doing it for the full impact on those Guatemalans who live abroad and visit this site infrequently.
The sweet Guatemalan bread in this picture comes from a very popular bakery in La Antigua Guatemala by the name of San Antonio, which stills uses brick ovens and wooden logs. The bread is baked freshly twice a day and with the best recipes from La Antigua Guatemala, the culinary capital of Guatemala. Sweet bread dipped in a cup of the best coffee in the world (from Antigua, of course), what else can you ask from life?
Many artisans come to La Antigua Guatemala to sell their crafts. The streets are for anyone who wants to sell, just watch …
It is not unusual to come across monks or nuns in La Antigua Guatemala. This morning as I was driving past the …
The original post Opposite Ends of Life, in La Antigua Guatemala DP, was published on May 23rd, 2006 and it was about a little girl and an old lady helping each other cross the street. It is an interesting shot, if I may say so, you should see if you haven’t done so already.
Today’s entry is about different women and their opposite position in the spectrum of life.
Almost everyone who visits La Antigua Guatemala is taken by its laid-back atmosphere. It is almost like when you first approach La …
Many houses and business buildings get a new paint job right before the Holy Week. The streets of La Antigua Guatemala get …
Is it motorcycle or automobile? The meeting of the tuk tuk drivers and the police was to define the tuk tuk as …
The restaurant and bakery housed under the name of Doña Luisa Xicotencatl, on 4a calle oriente #12 in La Antigua Guatemala, has …
This is a close-up view of a Huipil, sort of a blouse worn by the indigenous Maya women and sometimes even the …
On September 1st, I posted one of my best shots yet, which goes by the name of Framed Shadow. That photo was …
El Parque Central (Central Park click the link to see all the previous photos related to the park) is one of the …
Guatemalan textiles are among the most look-after items in the folk-art markets. You have to be careful though, they come in two …
Lately blue has come my way. First time it came as blue house with blue doors and a blue sky. Now, it …
The typical or traditional sweets at la Dulcería de Doña María Gordillo are “… made from milk, condensed milk, coconut, almonds, marzapan, …
The indigenous women’s dress is known as corte (the bottom part or skirt that is). The corte translates roughly as cut or …
Shoe-shining is not out of time as some people commented on Nuno’s Shoe shiners. Well, shoe shining is not a forgotten trade …
Tuk Tuk police, arrest this man, he talks in maths He buzzes like a fridge, he’s like a detuned radio Tuk Tuk …
One the souvenirs that backpackers take from Guatemala is certainly a t-shirt and for some strange reason the Gallo beer logotype and …
When Nuno declared on August 1st that the theme for September 1st was going to be doorways I was determined to win, …
Antigua is the tourism capital of Guatemala. Almost all the tourists flee away from Guatemala City as soon as their airplane lands …
According to the entry on Guatemala on Wikipedia, 40% of the population of Guatemala is Amerindian. I believe the figure to be …
Guatemalan author Miguel Ángel Asturias, Nobel Prize in literature, wrote a book called Week-end en Guatemala (that is the title in Spanish). …
Here is another humorous shot taken at Calle del Arco. I wish all of you an easy and slow start on this …
On the weekends, Calle del Arco, Antigua’s most famous street, becomes a pedestrian strip. There is live music, tourists and locals walk …
Here is a typical arched doorway. You can all see the plants are growing wild. Often you see as you walk around …
The Antigua Daily Photo (ADP) is the work of Rudy Girón; Creative Director, Graphic Designer and Photographer who lives near La Antigua …
Yesterday 28 people from sister cities around the world posted self-portraits at their favorite places. I did not participated because I try …
Somehow, not by conscious intention, I have managed to avoid the common references and photos of Antigua. For better or for worse, …
This is the view from the dining room. Guatemala sells itself as tourist destination and they focus mainly on the colonial towns, …
It’s a beautiful day, originally uploaded by rudygiron. Okay, let me say right at front. I do not trust the weather forecasters, …
Painting Antigua, originally uploaded by rudygiron. PLEASE NOTE: this site has a new address, would you please update your links so it …
Antigua’s red, originally uploaded by rudygiron. The restaurant La Fonda de la Calle Real is another of Antigua’s landmarks. You can find …
Entrance to the Popenoe House, originally uploaded by rudygiron. This is the entrance to the Popenoe House, a colonial mansion restored by …
Church and stars, originally uploaded by rudygiron. There are about 12 churches, colonial nonetheless, in Antigua and today it occurred to me …
The future of a society is with the children and their education and preparation. What kind of future awaits for Guatemala when …
There are still some horse carriages in Antigua, mostly used by tourists and by couples who want to have a romantic ride. …
Once the Antigua became a popular tourist destination, many old houses were converted into hotels. Hotel Aurora is the opposite corner to …
The Tuk Tuk mototaxis were introduced in Guatemala in 2001 and in less the five years there are 8,000 of them throughout …
A fellow photographer who makes his living taking snapshots of tourists and visitors to Antigua Guatemala.
Antigua Guatemala’s Central Park is the gathering place for Guatemalans and Tourist alike. You can buy folk art, drink a cup of …