Art

Garden Art: Monkey Sculptures

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Business owners take note, how do you take something as mundane as a parking lot and turn it into a delightful experience? Put art there and everywhere! This is the last of the mini series about artistic sculptures found in the green areas surrounding the parking lot at Santo Domingo del Cerro. I hope you … Read more

Garden Art: Rabbit Sculpture

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I really like these ceramic sculptures found in the green areas of Santo Domingo del Cerro. I especially like this rabbit. I am always writing “Follow the white rabbit” in the posts as a way of saying follow the links. Now, I have some questions that I need you to answer: Do you ever follow … Read more

Garden Art: Horse Sculptures

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These beautiful and playful sculptures can be found in the green areas of Santo Domingo del Cerro, one of my favorite destinations around Antigua Guatemala for a side trip full of art, peace and delicious food. Make sure you include a trip to Santo Domingo del Cerro; they provide free shuttles which you can take … Read more

XI Festival Internacional De Cultura Paiz Begins

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XI Festival Internacional De Cultura Paiz Concert by Jennifer Lara @ienilara

XI Festival Internacional De Cultura Paiz opened with a energy-charged reunion concert by the two most representative bands from Central America: the Guatemalan rock band Alux Nahual from Guatemala and Éditus, the Grammy-winning jazz group from Costa Rica at Ermita de la Santa Cruz; one of the best venues in La Antigua Guatemala for concerts.

This time the Festival Internacional De Cultura Paiz will showcase a series of cultural and educational events through the entire year as opposed to previous festival which only lasted a few weeks.

There will be plenty of events in the upcoming weeks. There are two events scheduled for Saturday: the concert Bach en la Habana by Tiempo Libre and La Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil Municipal and the exhibition El Universo de Carlos Mérida.

The concert could be heard from at least than two kilometers away from La Ermita de La Santa Cruz; I know because thats the distance that separates my house from La Ermita.

I was looking forward to photographing the inauguration concert of Festival Internacional De Cultura Paiz, but things just became really complicated at the end of the afternoon and I was unable to assist. Luckily for us, my friend Jennifer Lara attended and she was able to snapped a few shots with her iPhone. She was kind enough to share them with us. Thank you @ienilara.

Photo by Jennifer Lara.

Below you can can see the different events for February and March 2011.

XI Festival Internacional De Cultura Paiz Schudule

Here’s one of the television spots that have been promoting the festival in national television in Guatemala.

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Santo Hermano Pedro Sculpture

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Perhaps sculpture is not the right word, but I can’t think of a better word right now to describe this giant metal image of Santo Hermano Pedro de Betancourt. So who was this character who has inspired so many people and that eventually became a Saint? First, here are the archived articles in Antigua Daily … Read more

Immigration Inception

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What is the most resilient parasite? Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm? An idea. Resilient… highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it’s almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed – fully understood – that sticks; right in there somewhere. (source: Inception quotes at IMDb) The scientific study … Read more

Remittances Architecture

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Immigrants remittances are shaping the landscape of Mesoamerica with houses and constructions built upon the dreams and hard work of people in search of a better life for their families. Why are so many people from Central America looking for a better life somewhere else? Is life elsewhere? What are some of the causes for … Read more

Arquitectura de Remesas Exhibit

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Not too long ago I visited the exhibit Arquitectura de Remesas, an anthropological, architectonic and photographic study of how immigrants remittances are shaping the landscape in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Of course, many people think immigrants are criminals and/or illegal aliens without realizing that immigrants are just people with dreams of a better life, … Read more

Thought Provoking Art at Casa Santo Domingo

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As you walk around Casa Santo Domingo, you find antique and contemporary artworks one after the other without disrupting harmony and a sense beauty. This is proof of high quality of the curatorship. There is classical music coming off from strategically located speakers to provide a peaceful and tranquil soundtrack while you stroll around the … Read more

Colorful Guatemalan Wooden Animal Heads

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As a graphic designer I can only have admiration for the excellent handling of color, texture, patterns and shapes found in Guatemala’s indigenous art. Come on, just look at the intricate use of colors, dots, and forms in the wooden animal heads above; it is amazing that so many different elements can be in complete … Read more

Guatemalan Jade in Mayan Art

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See everything is a matter of perspectives and that’s the whole truthiness and nothing but the truthiness (thanks Manolo for the new word). Let me explain. The value of commodities like gold, diamonds and jade is mostly influenced by the conceptualization that the materials are rare and scarce. The Europeans conquistadors that came to Mesoamerica … Read more

The Aesthetics of Mayan Beauty

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Almost one year ago, I found a quiet and tranquil place to ponder the tough questions: What is art and what is handicraft? Am I the oppressor, the oppressed or both? Why is Cubism not folk-art? Does a painting become a handicraft if it is exhibited in restaurant and does a handicraft become art if … Read more