WIN A PHOTO POST CARD FROM ANTIGUA DAILY PHOTO! Guatemalans are not known for their punctually so often you see people waiting. Today we begin a mini series on “waiting” and the win-a-post-card contest. Here’s the simple rule to participate and win: The most creative story for the picture above will win a photo post … Read more
This has to be one of the most frequent vistas in rural Guatemala. A woman or girl carrying a load of cooked maize on her way to the mill to turn the maize into masa. As I have mentioned before, in Guatemala freshly baked/cooked tortillas are sold three times a day (los tres tiempos). Yet, … Read more
When I took this photo I knew right there and then that it was going to be a black and white photograph. The title is borrowed from the Coen brothers’ film, The Man Who Wasn’t There, about a gray man; if you haven’t seen it, I recommend you to watch it. The picture was taken … Read more
Life is short but there is always time for courtesy. —Ralph Waldo Emerson Buenos días, buenos días, que le vaya bien, they said to each other. Courtesy was one of things that affected me the most when I moved from a huge metropolis into a little town. I was not prepared for the kind of … Read more
It’s incredible how long it takes me to show you the most common vistas from La Antigua Guatemala. See, one of the most common images one sees while walking around the Parque Central is people having textile braids put on their head and I just realized that in four years of daily photos I have … Read more
On the weekends Calle del Arco is turn into a pedestrian strip and several business bring out benches, carts and flowers and plants in huge pots. Lots of people take advantage of these sitting spaces to have their photo taken or simply to take a break. The picture above is another vista that ” …helps … Read more
Often we hear that Guatemala is a country of contrasts. Even I try to show it often and what better way to show the contrasts of Guatemalan women than yesterday’s photograph of capitalinas sporting the latest garments in fashion and today’s picture of three indigenous women wearing the traditional corte or Guatemalan hand-woven skirt. I … Read more
The people from Guatemala City are known as capitalinos; residents of the Capital city. Women from Guatemala City would be capitalinas. La Antigua Guatemala is a popular weekend destination for capitalinos (as) since it’s only an hour separates the Old Guatemala City from the New Guatemala City. So, it is on the weekends that we … Read more
Last Monday 8 of March was celebrated the International Women’s Day through out the world. I believe women should be celebrated everyday, so this week I will be sharing with you photographs of Guatemalan women, each different, but all of them special. We begin the week with the beautiful smile of an usher who welcomes … Read more
The devil wears prada and many young tourists wear thongs. I have shown these sandals before in several photos, but just now I decided to bring this detail forward. So many photos?, you remarked, I never seen tourists wearing thongs in your photos. Sure you have, you just don’t remember or did not repair in … Read more
We all live in a yellow house Yellow house, yellow house We all live in a yellow house Yellow house, yellow house And our friends are all on board Many more of them live next door And the band begins to play Here’s yellow to complete the olympic colors from yesterday’s photo, which only had … Read more
Other colonial measurements still in use in present-day Guatemala are: Una mano (one hand or five of anything), un manojo (a bunch), una libra (a pound; this one may hurt many of you, but for sure, the civilized world now uses the kilo), una picopada (a truckload), una fila de frances (a row of french rolls), una arroba (@ or 25 pounds) un quintal (100 pounds), una cuerda (a cord equals 1/6 of city block), una medida (a measurement of whatever fits inside a small can or basket), una penca de banano (that’s a banana cluster), et-cetera or basically that’s what I can remember right now. I am sure the Guatemalans visitors will share other colonial measurements being used in Guatemala. There was a recent article about colonial measurement in Prensa Libre’s Revista Domingo under the title of Costumbres que pesan {ñ}.
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).
That is exactly what Guatemala needs from the new Social Democratic government: Real people making real miracles (or at least real positive changes)!
