4th Year Anniversary of AntiguaDailyPhoto.Com
Cutting a cake for an anniversary is quite commom through out the world, including Guatemala, however, here we also have an alternative: …
Cutting a cake for an anniversary is quite commom through out the world, including Guatemala, however, here we also have an alternative: …
What’s inside this passageway? The largest fountain in Central America Ruins of a monastery Mayan arches used in colonial architecture Access to …
As in previous years, La Antigua Guatemala begins wearing violet or purple decorations over doors, windows and balconies. Heck, even the jacaranda …
One of the goals of AntiguaDailyPhoto is to bring you new fresh vistas from the same hackneyed places. Today’s is an example …
Sometimes the ride from Guate city (la capital) to LAG takes a bit longer than expected and then there is not enough …
The whimsical, timeless allure of La Antigua’s colonial architecture, peacefully protected ruins and cobbled streets is a common theme of which I’ll …
A quick search for architectonic details throws beams, arches, baroque elements, Spanish-tile roofs, windows, doorways, et-cetera. Each an individual entry showing a …
Not a farol left over from last year’s posadas. Nor indeed a house of ill repute, except perhaps with regards to the …
I can remember everything about this Antigua moment except exactly where it is. All the recent discussion about water reminded me of …
La Antigua Guatemala, LAG, draws a large part of its identity from its grid rows of picture-perfect edifices that line the calles …
For me, nature’s patterns are often works of abstract art, displayed before humanity in a living, outdoor gallery. These leaves are unknown …
Believe it or not, I like framing. It is one of things I like to do most while taking photographs around La …
As mentioned before the Gravilea trees are planted next to coffee bushes to provide the necessary shade for the coffee plants. Once …
For sure, if you have followed the AntiguaDailyPhoto.Com for a while, you have seen photos of La Iglesia de La Merced, right? …
Café Barista is the newest hipster kid on the block in La Antigua Guatemala. Café Barista opened its doors the week before …
Hilachas (shredded beef) is yet another staple of the Guatemalan Cuisine. Hilachas is basically a red curry with shredded beef and potatoes. …
It’s so easy to take interesting photographs around La Antigua Guatemala; you just have to walk with your eyes wide open. For …
Some people have traveled the world over just to be present for the world-famous Holy Week in La Antigua Guatemala. Some people …
It seems like even Jacaranda trees want to be seen wearing the ever-present violet and purple color found over doorways, windows and …
Greed and ambition do not know of any limits. That’s how we got ourselves into the present economic crisis… sure the free …
It is difficult to frame a shadow, especially if it’s moving, but it can be done. Now, if you had asked me …
Details, details, details. Often you find little windows on the doorways of the houses of La Antigua Guatemala and most often they …
Interesting enough, last year when I published the Guateflora series, I overlooked the jacaranda trees, which are omnipresent in and around Antigua …
Every afternoon, the homeless man above walks slowly towards this corner house in Antigua Guatemala, one block away from the Parque Central, …
We are just about done with the Casa Antigüeña series. Here you can see the master bedroom which basically has two large …
Several times people have asked to show the inside of a house from La Antigua Guatemala and I had said that I …
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, …
We’re Hombres de Maíz. Follow the white rabbit and you’ll know why! Corderos (lambs) made from tusa (dried corn husk) are very …
This is the follow-up photo as requested by Matt and MO. Don’t you ever say I don’t cater to your wishes and …
Maybe we will get it right this election. —The Brunscheon, Oregon We hope so. —The rest of the world Well, as some …
As the Guatemalan Independence Day approaches, one begins to see all the bunting in windows and doorways around Antigua Guatemala. Since Jeff …
Here’s a second wooden sign for the Sabe Rico Delicatessen Chocolatería which can be found hanging at the entrance doorway. I really …
I said it before, but I repeat it now: I could go on forever photographing the never-ending supply of signs around Antigua. …
Thank you for your interest in promoting your business on AntiguaDailyPhoto.com, the largest and number 1 online resource in English for travelers, visitors …
I wonder what was going through the old man’s mind while watching the young tourist with flip flops (thongs) and short shorts. …
The devil wears prada and many young tourists wear thongs. I have shown these sandals before in several photos, but just now …
We all live in a yellow house Yellow house, yellow house We all live in a yellow house Yellow house, yellow house …
More than once I have explained my method of taking photographs around La Antigua Guatemala. Back in April 23rd, 207, I explained …
This façade belongs to self-titled Casa de los Paso on Calle de los Pasos (Street of the Steps). You can see several …
A simple photo of the doorway to Licuados Claudia in La Antigua Guatemala generates over 15 comments; I take one as the …
This is another tradition which is disappearing from the façades of La Antigua Guatemala. Having a tiled-sign with the family names on …
Pues, what better way to explain one of the most confusing word-expressions in the Spanish language than to tell you about Manolo, …
An interesting find in La Antigua Guatemala, a town full of arches at every turn; but how often one comes across an …
Do you really want a long name, here’s one: “Parroquia San Pedro Apostol, San Juan Bautista of San Pedro Las Huertas, La …
We continue our tour of the remains of the Holy Week by showing how flores de papel (paper flowers) are use to …
Many purple and violet banners are still hanging from doorways and windows around town. It feels like many don’t want to let …
Well, like always, not everything is bad about the Holy Week in La Antigua Guatemala. If you can obviate the crowds, the …
The other day we heard many voices on the other side of the fence; voices of children and women just talking and laughing. We approached the windows on the second floor to see what was all the commotion; then we saw men, women and children harvesting the coffee. At this moment, you can see the turning point of coffee from green to golden yellow and finally cherry red.
No Food, No Cameras, No Guns, No Backpackers and No Private Guards inside, the sign reads. Only in Guatemala you can find this kind of signs (I think). Guns are a big trouble, you know; people do crazy things with them and not only in Guatemala; naked guns are worn in the belts like cellphones or keychains; even banks and offices have an unusual piece of furniture to deposit customers’ guns at the entrance. Certainly Guatemala is not the only gun-crazy country in the world, nevertheless, it sad to see signs like the one above, captured at Angelina’s Doorway.
My condolences to the families and friends of the students who lost their lives yesterday in Illinois. 🙁
Valentine’s Day in Guatemala is known as El Día del Cariño. Cariño and caress share the same etymology and it means affection. The Day of Affection would be a close translation for El Día del Cariño, thus it is much more than Valentine’s Day because it is the day to show your affection, love and appreciation to your co-workers, neighbors, friends, family, and of course, your girlfriend or girlfriend; whatever the case may be.
Signs: They come with all kinds messages; some with weird information too.
If you’ve been visiting La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo for a month or longer, you will know that the sign category gets a lot of attention from my viewfinder. You can browse the sign category to see 48 samples of the different signs capture thus far.
We will begin a mini tour of the library at the Compañía de Jesús building under the care of Cooperación Española NGO or Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional as it is called in Spanish.
But first the disclosure: I love libraries; even chicken bus libraries! 😉
From the tables of Cafe Micho’s, right across yesterday’s fountain, in the corridor facing south of the Jaulón Building, you can meet with friends and family for coffee or beers, or simply enjoy a sandwich from one the best bistros in town. The tables all face to the central patio, with the fountain slightly off-center. You can enter this beautifully restored building from the east and south entrances; from the south entrance you enter the Jaulón building through and arched d
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.
Back to the Compañía de Jesús building to see the photo exhibit Punto de fuga by some of my favorite photo journalists: Sandra Sebastián, Moisés Castillo and Andrea Aragón. Since I had promised to come back to this magnificent example of antigüeño architecture and show it to you, I took a few more shots. This window frame is the first of this mini-series or the continuation of the Compañía de Jesús building series. Either way, let me know what you think of it. Boy, La Antigua Guatemala is so full of these wonderful vistas.
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.
In La Antigua Guatemala you’ll never know what can you find in a driveway or doorway as you walk by. Here I found these two old metal wheels which probably belonged to an old horse-carriage… really who knows, but here they are. Can you guys suggest what these wheels were used for in the past?
Further in the background, you see the leaves of one of Guatemala’s most edible weeds: Quilete (also known as yerba mora and macuy). Yerba Mora is the weed in the background with the tiny yellow flowers. Guatemalans’ diet include many weeds and herbs. I will list them here as a sort of to do list and to see if other Guatemalans can help with translating some of the names. Guatemala’s most edible weed goes by the name of Chipilín and it used in so many dishes like chuchitos, mixed with rice, with chicken in a creamy white sauce. Other weeds, that I remember right now, are Bledo (young green amaranth), Berro, Acelgas (chard), Espinacas (spinach), Loroco, Flor de Izote, Flor de ayote. I am sure this is only a fraction of the list… can you point out other weeds and herbs a I left out.
There are many complications when you take an adopted child from Guatemala to a foreign land and to a foreign culture. One complication could be that he or she will be marked as strange because of her Mayan traits and the dark color of the skin.
Hispanic and Indigenous children might be walking on uneven streets if they are taken to mostly white neighborhoods where racism and discrimination could part of their daily bread.
Once again, La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo is participating in the theme day of the Daily Photo community. This time the theme is about the color red. Here you can see the Compañía de Jusús building under care of the Cooperación Española which is huge red building; one full block to be specific. This building has had many uses through history, like the home of Bernal Díaz del Castillo, home to the Jesuits of Central America in colonial times, thus its name, and more recently it houses a public library, culture center under the administration of Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional. You can see the big entrance of the building, the interior gardens and arches and one the side wall of the ruins. I decided to photograph this building because it’s the biggest red thing in La Antigua Guatemala, but I was lucky to have a red motorcycle and a red jeep enter the viewfinder at the moment I snapped the shot; how lucky, indeed.
And in front of the door that I hadn’t crossed in so many years, I remembered the small key, short and round, …
The photo above shows what a typical entrance to a coffee plantation looks like. Finca Las Ilusiones is just south of El …
Normally I have only shown the façade of many houses and building in La Antigua Guatemala for an obvious reason: I do …
All work and no play makes for a very dull day the saying goes and that is why these shoe-shiner kids take …
I believe the magic of La Antigua Guatemala is in its details, often overlooked, like a lamp. You can browse the Doors and Windows, Details and Fountains and Gardens categories just a get a feel of all those wonderful details that make for an enchanting experience a visit to this Spanish Colonial Town embedded between coffee plantations, flower farms and volcanoes.
Please, do not attack this fruit and vegetable stand with your liquidiser. Your blender would probably work better at this tropical fruit …
As suggested by Scott, here’s a more challenging photograph, although I did include a door (does that count?), yet it is an …
One of my favorites small luxury hotels in Antigua Guatemala has to be Posada del Ángel. The good taste around this bed-and-breakfast …
La Antigua Guatemala is based on the time-tested Spanish grid of Streets and Avenues (see this map to get an idea). Streets …
There are still many walls in La Antigua Guatemala made from stones. The lucky owners of such wall choose to show the …
Not all the walls in La Antigua Guatemala are made from stones, bricks or pumice blocks, some are actually made from organic …
Back in March 6th I showed to you the entry doorway of Hotel Santo Domingo (Holy Sunday, by the way) with violet …
Purple cone-head “Cucuruchos” are a big attraction around Antigua Guatemala in the Lent Season. Although Cucurucho’ dresses come in many colors, bright …
The sign above is at entrance doorway of the Colegio Mayor de Santo Tomás de Aquino, School of Saint Thomas, and you …
On the weekends the center garden around the fountain in La Fuente strip mall and restaurant is carpeted by Guatemalan textiles on …
The restaurant and bakery housed under the name of Doña Luisa Xicotencatl, on 4a calle oriente #12 in La Antigua Guatemala, has …
What makes the life-style of Antigua Guatemala so appealing? Well, for starters we point out the great weather. Fountains, gardens with many …
Yesterday I talked about meeting people and having lunch at La Fuente Restaurant, which is a restaurant I visit often because of …
Although this image is not as impressive as photo of the kid caught in the mid-air stride in Run Lolo, Run, it …
El Calvario Church, located to the south of La Antigua Guatemala, is another famous landmark, yet it only took me 290 entries …
Yesterday I showed you a fountain with four streams. Today we have a rare find. This fountain is inside the Museo de …
If I’m not mistaken, Isabella, from Naples, Florida Daily Photo, said that she became more aware of her surroundings after she began …
On September 1st, I posted one of my best shots yet, which goes by the name of Framed Shadow. That photo was …
This outdoor folk-art market sets on the street outside the El Carmen Ruins on the weekends only, located about two blocks from …
This is close-up view of the “undocumented alien” in my garden. I plan to have more strict rules for this migrant plants, …
Okay, welcome back from an ease going weekend. It is Monday and you want things to be mellow, so I am not …
Earlier this year, on September 30, I showed you the entrance to the San Felipe Church, which is the only gothic church …
Lately blue has come my way. First time it came as blue house with blue doors and a blue sky. Now, it …
According to the owner of Juárez Hermanos forged metal shop, this big door (portón in Spanish) is probably the only metal door …
One of the benefits of living in or around La Antigua Guatemala is the lack of billboards. Isn’t weird that I start …
The problem with old trees is that they are too tall; trimming the old branches becomes an ordeal. Here two employees of …
This is the shot of a Guatemalan house at the very early stages of construction. I know this is not what you …
Under normal circumstances you build a new house and you expect it to look new. Here in Antigua the opposite is true. …
On September 1st I brought to you the main entrance to Iglesia de la Merced (Church of Mercy). Here you have another …
Color is everywhere in La Antigua Guatemala. Color is on the walls, on the flora and the fauna, on the sky, on …
As soon as you enter the doorway to Hotel Centro Colonial Antigua you are presented with this winding stairway that takes you …
Back on July 9th I told you that Guatemala sells light and color when I showed you an open door that leads …
It is very common to see plants above the walls and doors in Antigua. The Land of the Eternal Spring is Guatemala’s …