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.
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! 😉
Hiedras (Ivies/Hederas helix & H. canariensis) are very popular as well as all kinds of trepadoras (climbing) or cubresuelos (ground-creeping) siempreverdes (evergreen) plants in La Antigua Guatemala. Hiedras and trepadoras are found in many antigüeño homes covering the gardens’ walls.
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.
The photo above was taken on August 31st, which was a payday and that is why you see all those people were queuing to get their salary from the banks. Tomorrow, Guatemalans will be queuing again to cast their vote. Also, this was the first time (this year) I noticed the Guatemalan flags that will adorn the buildings through September, which is the independence month. Guatemala’s so called independence from Spain is celebrated on September 15th. Check out the Independence Day Slideshow from last year.
I read recently (I don’t recall where at the moment) that to be truly independent a country must have sufficient wealth as to not have to depend on an outsider (duh!); well, let me break it to you guys, Guatemala has not been an independent country for the last 500 years or so. When I was teenager, I remember reading a Mafalda anthology where Mafalda was reading a history book and all of sudden she screams: You mean we were part of Spain, who the hell had the bright idea of independizarnos (freed us from Spain)! Back then, I laughed so hard at the comic strip, but just now I get the joke. Thanks Quino. 🙁
Last year, on the entry The Land of the Eternal Spring, I talked about the “undocumented alien” in our garden, the Flor de Pascua (poinsettias) which were not planted or maintained, yet it gave us those wonderful red flowers from October through March. Since then, we moved to another house in San Pedro Las Huertas, one of the neighborhoods of La Antigua Guatemala, which is next to a coffee plantation with lots of trees and birds (partners in crime). Well, I am happy to report yet another “undocumented alien” in our new garden by the name of Chicalote (Prickly Poppy or Argemone Mexicana), a sort desert weed (that’s right I said desert, remember La Antigua is located in a tropical country). Two days ago I presented you the chicalote’s flower in the entry Flora and Fauna working together. One thing many visitors to La Antigua Guatemala notice right away is the incredible number of exotic flowers and plants, many of which grow in the wild.
A simple old and weathered arched doorway in Calle de Chipilapa. Believe it or not, there’s a matching window photo belonging to the same house… can you tell us under what name or date was published?
Chicken bus is the derogatory term used for Guatemala’s rural public transportation system. The chicken bus is the second life for the old school bus in the third world. The chicken bus ride can make for a great post card or provide enough material for your exotic travel chronicle. But, chicken buses do not make for a safe and quality transit system and as a such they do not have designated and built-for bus stops. The omnibus stops can be anywhere, including in the middle of the main entrance or exit to La Antigua Guatemala.
Even though I said before that people enjoy walking and strolling La Antigua Guatemala. I sort of lied. See walking is still …
Normally I have only shown the façade of many houses and building in La Antigua Guatemala for an obvious reason: I do …
This photo is needed to clarify a confusion about the coffee trees and their height. Nathalie from Sydney DP asked if coffee trees grow very tall in La Antigua Guatemala, while referring to this photograph which showed coffee trees and their shadow makers the gravilea trees around Antigua, San Pedro Las Huertas to be precise. I posted a Close-up photo of coffee plantation before to show the coffee bushes (tree could be considered an exaggeration) and the shadow trees known here a gravileas. So, to answer Nathalie’s questions, coffee trees (ed. bushes) do not grow very high; they can be harvest by Guatemalan farm workers on foot.
Even though I have shown a few photos of La Antigua Guatemala taken at twilight or at night such as Tree Branches …
The Compañía de Jesús Building has to be one of my favorites building in La Antigua Guatemala. It is beautifully restored with …
I am sucker for shots with contrast. I like to show all the different contrasting vistas that come into my viewfinder in …
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.
The flavor in life is found in the little details. The transit signs in La Antigua Guatemala are a very good example of that. You take something boring but necessary as a stop sign and turn it into a beautiful detail; which makes your walks around town a little more pleasant to the eyesight. The stop signs (alto in Spanish) in La Antigua Guatemala are made from red ceramic tiles and metal frames.
As suggested by Scott, here’s a more challenging photograph, although I did include a door (does that count?), yet it is an …
I can’t remember now who wrote to me that they could just go around Antigua taking shots of just doors and windows. …
One of my favorites small luxury hotels in Antigua Guatemala has to be Posada del Ángel. The good taste around this bed-and-breakfast …
Believe it or not, the dry green river bed is El Pensativo River. The other day while driving on Calle Chipilapa, which takes you to La Ermita de la Santa Cruz Ruins, I saw this huge bougainvillea tree on the other side of El Pensativo River, dry now but soon it will have running water. I never seen a bougainvillea tree so big; my girlfriend and I saw a midget bougainvillea tree—about 1 meter in height— in Tapachula, Mexico.
Almost everyone who visits La Antigua Guatemala is taken by its laid-back atmosphere. It is almost like when you first approach La …
La Dolorosa or The Sorrowful Mother is the biblical figure of sorrowful mother Mary which follows Jesus in his way to his crucifixion. This act is represented by a smaller anda (long carved wooden flatbed image-carrying float [*]) —carrying the effigy of sorrowful Mother Mary and other female biblical representations— which is hauled exclusively by women who mostly dress in black or white as this is the appropriate dress code for a funeral. Jesus’ funeral.
Nevertheless, Good Friday is the culmination of the Holy Week Celebrations and the processions end at the Calvario Church (Calvario is the Spanish word for Calvary or Golgotha). The entrance of the Calvario Church in La Antigua Guatemala is a yellow façade with three arches, topped by three bells and three crosses —one larger than the other two— with a very large concrete cross in front. Can you see the obvious architectonic reference to Jesus’ crucifixion?
Cucuruchos with their purple or violet cone-head dress are another prominent element of Semana Santa in Antigua Guatemala. Last week, Santiago Durham asked what its the significance of the color purple or violet in the dress and banners during Semana Santa, well it took a lot of digging to find out (I turned around and asked my office coworker), but I can now tell you the purple is worn as a sign of penitence. As a matter of fact, processions are a sign of penitence as well, heck the whole Semana Santa is a penitent act.
Purple cone-head “Cucuruchos” are a big attraction around Antigua Guatemala in the Lent Season. Although Cucurucho’ dresses come in many colors, bright …
Do I love yellow or what? To appreciate an old colonial town like La Antigua Guatemala you need a new set of …
If I walk around Antigua Guatemala and photograph all the street corners, I could do a series for a long while just …
What makes the life-style of Antigua Guatemala so appealing? Well, for starters we point out the great weather. Fountains, gardens with many …
Finally Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo reached its post 300. We’ll celebrate while we’re a head. Just a spin on Marie’s, “Quit While …
Oh what the heck, I am feeling generous. Here is yet another yellow wallpaper for your desktop. Lessie is right, I find …
If I’m not mistaken, Isabella, from Naples, Florida Daily Photo, said that she became more aware of her surroundings after she began …
Too bad this photo is not about a comedy movie. It is the reality of Guatemala; which it seems to drowning under …
Yesterday I mentioned that the traditional baked-clay comales are disappearing in Guatemala in favor of the metal comal; heated through gas. All …
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. …
Normally you look out a window to see the sky, not in this photo. This shot is take from the outside to …
Here is a typical arched doorway. You can all see the plants are growing wild. Often you see as you walk around …
Old window, originally uploaded by rudygiron. Because the high levels of humidity around Antigua, people have to paint their walls often. Not …
Wood Window works, originally uploaded by rudygiron. The wall’s zapote color takes its name from the fruit Mammea americana, known here as …
Look, I am watching you, originally uploaded by rudygiron. A young Antiguan lady was watching me as I took the photo that …
There are several architectonic elements that make Antigua such a photographic place. These are windows, doors, walls, signs, churches, arches, patios, fountains, …
