Do you really want a long name, here’s one: “Parroquia San Pedro Apostol, San Juan Bautista of San Pedro Las Huertas, La Antigua Guatemala” If you remember at least one of the photos of the former San Pedro Apostol Church, you may say, “wait it a minute, this is not the same church, is it?” … Read more
The church of San Bartolo village has to be very new since its design is sober and simple, as opposed to the baroque architectonic style of Iglesia de La Merced. Don’t you think so?
Well, well, what we have here… what’s up with that, why are Guatemalans so enchanted with the infamous chicken bus. I mean what makes Guatemalans take on the crappy junk and retired school buses from up north and give them a second life as public transit chicken bus, mobile libraries chicken bus and now as a marimba orquesta mobile unit chicken bus.
I am glad El Calvario Church provides a nice transition from the white cemetery series back to the rich antigüeño color palette while maintaining the death theme going on. El Calvario or Calvary (Golgotha) is the name of the mount on the outskirts of Jerusalem where it’s believe Jesus Christ was crucified. This church with its three arches provides a symbolic representation of the crucifixion; with each arch representing each cross.
One aspect I forgot to mention was that there is full-size church inside the San Lazaro Cemetery in La Antigua Guatemala which I believe goes by the same name. There are some niches in the church façade, just like in many churches around Antigua Guatemala.
Almost all town fairs and festivities are around the town’s patron, in this case is San Pedro Las Huertas, which by the way, means Saint Peter of the vegetable gardens. Since Guatemala was a catholic country for the last 500 years or so and the Mesoamerican indigenous people absorbed and mixed the catholic rituals and traditions with their own religious beliefs and traditions, most Guatemalan towns have a Spanish catholic first name and often an indigenous last name (otherwise known as the original name). For example, Santo Domingo Xenacoj, which means the original name of the town was Xenacoj, and the town was re-christen with Santo Domingo. Now with the above information, we now know that a town’s fair happens once-a-year on the town’s catholic patron. For San Pedro Las Huertas the date is June 29th and for La Antigua Guatemala is July 25th because the city used to be called The Very Noble and Very Loyal City of Saint James of the Lords of Guatemala, as mentioned by Manolo a few days ago. And some of you thought La Antigua Guatemala was already a very long name; try explaining to your friends and relatives that you are planning a vacation to The Very Noble and Very Loyal City of Saint James of the Lords of Guatemala.
Today’s photograph is dedicated to those friends that have pointed out that in over 427 days I have taken over 34 photos of atriums and churches, but not a single photo from the inside of a church. Let me tell you, it was not easy, but I decided to just walk in and take a few shots. So there, see I can also take photographs from inside the churches. Here is another close-up view of the altar of San Pedro Las Huertas Church without people. I hope you are not put off by religious motifs.
Thanks to Juan, who asked me to go and take some photo of the San Cristobal El Bajo Church and its plaza which had been recently remodeled and restored, we have, yet another, picture of a church. Boy oh boy, how many churches are there really around La Antigua Guatemala?
Around Antigua Guatemala you’ll never know what may find if you take a side road or dirt road. For instance, today while taking a shortcut dirt road between El Calvario and San Cristobal El Bajo, I found this church ruins at the cross roads in the middle of some coffee plantations. Now I have some … Read more
It is not unusual to come across monks or nuns in La Antigua Guatemala. This morning as I was driving past the San Francisco El Grande Church, I spotted a classic post card of Antigua Guatemala, so I parked, I prepared for the shot and waited for tourists or Antigüeños to appear. I had done … Read more
Churches serve as terminals from which processions depart or arrive. Churches also serve as home-base for all the brotherhoods of cucuruchos and sisterhoods. Churches also put their best face for the Holy Week and many get a paint job and/or restoration works in the weeks prior to Semana Santa.
With this photo we wave goodbye to Semana Santa and to Holy Week’s processions. I was told the last procession, the Resurrection (Resurección) procession comes out on Easter Sunday (today) a 6 a.m. and its back in the church by 10 in the morning.
The photo above shows the façade of the Escuela de Cristo church in La Antigua Guatemala, which is located to the southeast of the city in the way to El Calvario Church. It is on la Calle de los Pasos (the Steps Street) which takes its name from the Vía Crucis (Stations of the Cross). … Read more
El Calvario Church, located to the south of La Antigua Guatemala, is another famous landmark, yet it only took me 290 entries and over 350 photos to show it to you. There are many reason to the fame of La iglesia de El Calvario, but three I will mention here. First and foremost is its … Read more
No MarieMcc, this is not the façade of my house. This façade belongs to the Capilla de Belén (Bethlehem Chapel) located right across the street from the house that belonged to Santo Hermano Pedro de Betancourt (Saint Brother Peter of Betancourt). More about him and his house tomorrow. It looks like Daily Photo Family is … Read more
Church and stars, originally uploaded by rudygiron. There are about 12 churches, colonial nonetheless, in Antigua and today it occurred to me that, except for the Cathedral, I have not posted a single church photo. Now, I am not the type of person that visit churches very often, but if you have visited Antigua before, … Read more