Yellow and white have to be the most often used colors in churches in and around La Antigua Guatemala. Above we can see the proportion of the façade of San Miguel Escobar church compared to the people and mutt. In my humble opinion, the carefree dog makes the photograph so much interesting, what do you … Read more
Without a doubt Iglesia de San Francisco El Grande is one of my favorite churches to photograph. There’s always so much going on there and the fact that inside this temple you can find the remains of Santo Hermano Pedro de Betancourt makes it even more interesting for people to visit. I also like the … Read more
Just like the separation of State and Church is not an issue in Antigua Guatemala, taking students from a public school to visit a church for mass service is not an issue either. To be honest, it’s quite difficult to separate religious rituals and festivities from culture in Guatemala. Often times the boundaries that separate … Read more
Okay guys, today’s game is very simple: find as many kinds of contrasts as you can in this image of the San Pedro Las Huertas cathedral. I already gave you the color contrast. The person with the most contrasts listed wins today’s photo as a post card. Good luck to all participants!
Detalles, detalles, detalles. What better way to show you the brand new paint job at the Iglesia de La Merced than to find a contrasting color to warm yellow of the La Merced church. To get a nice deep blue to contrast yellow and white paint and the Moon hanging right up there is just … Read more
Those darn electrical wires! There they are again… getting in the way. ¡Son tan metiches! —MO I agree, but what can I do? I could edit them out in Photoshop, but then the photos would not be true document of the place. Also, next time you come to La Antigua Guatemala and take the same … Read more
Regardless what you may be thinking right about now, this is not edible. Believe it when I tell you this is not a close up Antigüeño cake. However, it’s a sweet view. On the other hand, do you remember what church the close-up above belongs to?
This is how the inside of the San Pedro Apostol Church looked like last night as the last repairs were being done. As you can see, the whole church received a paint job, including the terra cotta floor tiles. Today, the whole town of San Pedro Las Huertas is having a party… as a matter … Read more
I caught these would-be High School teachers learning Guatemalan history on Sunday in front of the Church of San Pedro Las Huertas. I learnt that these future teachers were taking tours around the churches of Departamento of Sacatepéquez to learn mass movements in Colonial times as part of their history class. For sure, this history … Read more
Gringos are now an integral part of La Antigua Guatemala and therefore many of them participate of the preparations of the world famous alfombras de Semana Santa (Holy Week carpets) made from colorful sawdust, flowers, fruits, and anything the imagination allows. From this shot, I particularly like the framing of the tourist with his backpack … Read more
Like Manolo said, with Marimba music as the background for many parties and celebrations around La Antigua Guatemala and the rest of the country, I can almost smell the pine needles under my feet and the tamales and ponche (fruit punch) in the air. Oh what memories… sometimes I even wish I could like this type of music. 🙁
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.
Here is a vertical shot of a biker doing a jump in the atrium of the Jocotenango church. Jocotenago is one of the communities very near La Antigua Guatemala. Jocotenango is so close to La Antigua that you might walk and cross over the municipal borders without realizing it. Jocotenango and Ciudad Vieja are the two municipios (counties) where most of the antigüeños moved after they sold their houses in La Antigua Guatemala. Some antigüeños sold their house under pressure from buyers and because the incredible prices buyers were willing to pay. Ciudad Vieja and Jocotenango is where most of the workers of La Antigua Guatemala businesses live. Jocotenango and Ciudad Vieja are ‘REAL’ Guatemalan communities, unlike La Antigua Guatemala. Soon I will post an entry with the following title: La Antigua Guatemala is not Guatemala (which I’ve been saving for a long while now). Stay tune!
In La Antigua Guatemala and surrounded areas, church atriums and basket ball courts are used for many activities ranging from town fairs all the way to BMX bike competitions like the one above where I was lucky to catch a few shots. Believe or not, the kid on the frame above landed with his feet on the pedals. Awesome dude!
Ferris wheels are another element of the Guatemalan fair. There is at least one Ferris wheel, but more often two or three of different sizes. The Ferris wheel is known here by these names rueda de Chicago(Chicago Wheel), rueda de la fortuna (wheel of fortune) and vuelta al mundo (around the world). Fairs are made up by all kinds of ambulant stands. Fairs are like accordions, they grow or shrink depending of the size of the community or town. All these photos belong to the San Pedro Las Huertas, a small village just outside and belonging to La Antigua Guatemala. At the end of July, La Antigua Guatemala will have its massive fair in honor of Saint James or Santiago.