This is what La Antigua Guatemala’s Central Park looks like as people get together to celebrate Guatemala’s Independence. If you don’t like crowds, stay away from Parque Central around September 15th. This has been Rudy, doing an eye witness live report from La Antigua Guatemala’s Central Park in a sunny weekend morning, back to you … Read more
As part of La Antigua Guatemala’s town fair celebrations of Santiago, there are books stands right on Central Park. These book fairs are a great opportunity to get Latin-American literature a discounted prices. Today I bought four books for Q25; that’s about the price of an economic meal in La Antigua Guatemala. El examen by … Read more
As much as I like to photograph arches, signs, churches, food, et-cetera; honest, my favorite subject is people. That’s it folks, I’ve said it aloud: I like to photograph people’s interactions like Kids Enjoying Ice Cream, Ice Cream Row, The Heigh Scale on Calle del Arco and Contemplating the Heavy Rain; just to name a … Read more
This is what the inauguration of the YO-YO: retratos y autoretratos the photo exhibit looked like inside the Sala Marco Augusto Quiroa of Paseo de los Museos in the Hotel-Museo Casa Santo Domingo in La Antigua Guatemala. Much of cream of the cream of the Guatemalan cultural scene was there to check out the photo … Read more
Un poco de todo or A little of everything could be the most appropriate description for La Antigua Guatemala’s Central Park. Interestingly enough, we call it central park or El Parque Central although its official name is La Plaza Mayor (The Main Plaza).
Okay with this last photo of people carrying umbrellas we can now declare the rainy season of 2007 officially over. Okay everyone, you are welcome to the most beautiful weather in La Antigua Guatemala; come on over now!
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.