La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo

Just two weeks ago I introduced you to my good friend Nelo, who in turn was introducing iPhone 3G in La Antigua Guatemala; remember? Anyway, back then I said that starting on “… Friday 22nd of August, La Antigua Guatemala will be joining the cities of the world with third generation (3G) cellular networks …” I also mentioned that “… for now, only Claro (Telgua) will be sporting the 3G cellular network. But MoviStar (Telefónica) is said to be right behind it. Tigo (Comcel) is rumored to be in their last testing phase.” Well, guess what in less than three weeks all three mayor cellular carriers are sporting third generation (3G) mobile telephone networks.

In the picture above you can see who this mobility helps the voluntary firemen department in Antigua Guatemala who now can be present at high density concentration of human beings and be on call for any other emergency around Antigua. Not too bad for a quincentennial colonial town, don’t think so?

Antigua in Black & White Photo Exhibit Invitation

I would like to invite those of you who are now in Antigua or will be in the next few weeks to visit my first solo photo exhibit Antigua in Black & White which will be on display at Café No Sé starting September 6th, 2008. This will be my fourth photo exhibition in less than a year. The first photo exhibit was Feast of the Senses: Central American Cuisine Exhibit. Then came Guatemala, Visiones Diferentes. República Paraíso was the last photo exhibit in which I participated in July 2008 at Museo Miraflores.

I hope you can join me on Saturday and celebrate with me the showing of these photos, your photos, which you got see in full color before anyone. This time the photos will be real prints in black and white. For those of you who can not attend, but would like to get an actual print in color or black and white, you know you can always Buy a high quality print and have it delivered to your home or office. Anyhow, you can click the invitation below to get all the details. Also, let me know what do you think of the design.

Can you guess which 40 photographs will on display?

It doesn’t matter what kind of meeting it is, the ice cream men and their carts are always ready to sell you gratification. Sure, ice creams are healthy as a diet and should not be around for a celebration of physical activity, right? Wrong. This is Guatemala and as such there is no better place for the ice cream carts to be than among hundreds of thirsty children.

Hey Rudy, did you forget about the obesity numbers you were going to give us? Well, to be honest, I haven’t. But, I do think this is a matter to be better handle by Edgar and his fabulous and always insightful Guatemala en números (Guatemala in numbers). Nevertheless, here are some figures. According to an article on Prensa Libre {ñ}, the last obesity figures in Guatemala point to an alarming fact: Guatemalans are getting fatter. The overweight and obesity in women is near 66% and 44% in men with children following very close at 38%. This is especially true in urban areas. There’s no consolation in the fact the top three countries with overweight and obesity problems are the U.S.A., Spain and Mexico; more or less the three main role models for Guatemala.

Now let me share a music video with you guys which shows normal, ordinary, average people from Guatemala. Big thanks to Pacunar for sharing the link to this video at the photo group FlickrGT. The name of the song is Just Like A Drummer by the band The Wave Pictures. The video was shot by Eduardo Benchoam of Colectiva; check out the link for more amazing videos from this film collective.

What better way to promote physical activity than to put kids to jump to their hearts’ content.

Once again, La Antigua Guatemala’s Parque Central and the streets around it served as scenario for a celebration. This time the Central Park was taken by the physical education teachers for La Antigua Guatemala and Guatemala City to celebrate physical activity as a way to live a healthy life with the family.

Since I took several shots, I think we will use some of the other photos to talk about obesity in Guatemala in comparison with the figures for the U.S.A., Spain and Mexico. Unless you tell me otherwise, I will do a mini series on the celebration of physical activity and education in La Antigua Guatemala.

Believe it or not what you call the Santa Lucía Street is the biggest controversy on this 6-block-long avenue. See, most people call it Calzada Santa Lucía; calzada is one of the Spanish words for paved avenue/street. Those who know and pay attention to the signage, would tell you there are no calzadas anywhere in La Antigua Guatemala. You should call it Alameda Santa Lucía; alameda being the Spanish word for a tree-lined street/throughway.

This controversy has gotten so big that spilled out of the 6-block avenue onto the rest of La Antigua Guatemala. Most cheap and poorly researched maps would have Alameda Santa Lucía as a Calzada.

Honest the whole thing is mute since most people in La Antigua do understand what you mean when you say Calzada/Alameda Santa Lucía. It’s the poor tourists who become confused with the maps pointing towards the calzada (or worst the abbreviation calz.) Santa Lucía. There is a second photo below that you can click on to get an enlargement of the tree-lined throughway as exhibit two.

So, you the jury, having heard the arguments and viewed the evidence for calzada vs. alameda, what is your verdict?

DICCIONARIO DE LA LENGUA ESPAÑOLA aside: Spanish speakers are lucky to have the ultimate and authoritative reference in the form of a dictionary known as DICCIONARIO DE LA LENGUA ESPAÑOLA - Vigésima segunda edición. Also, it is the fortunate fact that this dictionary is available online at www.rae.es as I am sure most people have never seen a printed copy in their entire lives (I know I haven’t, I do have however the Diccionario panhispánico de dudas, which is also available online). But, there is always room to improve on these great resources and some people did by making a quick query into the database-backed dictionary by entering a quick URL+word-being-searched. Here are two examples to make this resource clear: rae2.es/alameda to find the definition for Alameda and rae2.es/calzada for Calzada. In other words, you enter RAE2.ES/WORD-I-AM-LOOKING-FOR to get a fast definition pulled from the DICCIONARIO DE LA LENGUA ESPAÑOLA - Vigésima segunda edición. There you have it, don’t ever say I do not share this geeky stuff with you.

Here’s a second wooden sign for the Sabe Rico Delicatessen Chocolatería which can be found hanging at the entrance doorway. I really like both wooden signs, although today’s sign is more traditional.

Now if I could only find the font used in the Sabe Rico sign… I have some ideas where to use such a beautiful typography, especially the stylized ‘y’ that appears at the end of Tuesday.

Do you remember the elegant and stunning typography used in the José María Magaña Juárez sign? If not, you should really check it out; it’s amazing.

Obviously not all the signs are for new business. Sometimes, there are business which did not succeed and their local is taken over by a new business or by another looking to expand into a larger space. That’s the case here: The Sabe Rico Delicatessen Chocolatería has taken over the space previously occupied by Tortas Locas Hipocampo Restaurant; which is no more. C’est la vie!

Money literally grew on trees in Guatemala, the land formerly known as The Maya Empire. Did you know Guatemala was the birthplace of chocolate? Money, chocolate, Rudy—man you’re really losing your nuts and are not making any sense whatsoever. Well, I let my fellow country(wo)men explain…

Can somebody explain to me what kind of product do you find at delicatessen chocolatería?

I said it before, but I repeat it now: I could go on forever photographing the never-ending supply of signs around Antigua. It looks like every time I blink a new business opens its doors.

The other day, I read an apocalyptic article entitled Antigua 2020 in which the author describes the business association delightful reaction as the very last citizen of La Antigua Guatemala is forced to move out into a neighboring village and his home becomes yet another business enterprise, thus turning Antigua into a giant 63-block mall.

Oh how jealous mister Disney would be of our colonial-themed humongous mall, don’t you think?

Here I was walking around Antigua with a smile on my face mulling about how lucky I was to be able to share my printed photos with more people (really, how lucky of me to have other people hang my photos in their home or office.) then out nowhere I saw a fellow photographer with not one, but two cameras exactly like mine.

I could not resist and I started to stalk this poor fella for about half of block (between the Muni and Museo del Libro Antiguo) trying to figure out why he needed two cameras, was he not confident that one camera could do the job? Well, my curiosity won me over and finally I approached the photographer and asked why he was taken photos with two identical cameras. He was very kind and slowly he explained to me how by taken two photos at the same time with a remote shutter he was able to create 3D photos or stereo photographs.

I was able to give the photographer one of my cards, but I was not able to get his name or email address. I hope that he will visit the La Antigua Guatemala Daily Photo and share with us his 3D catches. You need a special “crossed-eye” technique to view the stereo photographs though.

Have you ever seen 3D photographs?

SPECIAL OFFER ON 11″x14″ PRINTS: For this week only I will be running a special offer on 11″x14″ prints on whatever paper you like (yes from Kodak Endura Matte to gorgeous Kodak Metallic) for $20 per print; five minimum order. That’s as much as 60% off the regular price ($45 for matte and $50 for metallic paper). I will also pay for the shipping within the U.S.A. for those ordering 5 or more prints. This special offer will expire on August 31st. Take advantage of this blow up prices and get the large prints you want to decorate your home or to give away as presents. Contact me right away for details and to place your order.

With the new administration at La Antigua Guatemala’s City Hall, there have come new regulations and orderliness on the streets of this colonial town. Well, they are trying; I am not sure the Antigüeños are ready to change their 500-year-old ways, you know.

The little tile embedded on the sidewalk depicting a motorcycle is there to mark the motorcycle parking areas, along with a painted white stripe. The painted red stripe means no parking (well, it’s a suggestion according to drivers around Antigua). The unpainted sidewalks are vehicle parking areas. If you travel back in time to June 24th, 2007 you can find a tiny blue-and-white tile marking even sidewalks under the La Antigua Guatemala Without Barriers project.

Behind the Scenes Aside: Okay, a little over sharing for you or let’s just call it behind the scenes. The story behind the last three pictures is that while I was taking a photo of the motorcycle parking area tile above, I raised my head and saw and old man watching an approaching young tourist with shorts and sandals. A quick hand movement allowed me to capture the passing story line. You’re my accomplices now; you know.

SPECIAL OFFER ON 11″x14″ PRINTS: For this week only I will be running a special offer on 11″x14″ prints on whatever paper you like (yes from Kodak Endura Matte to gorgeous Kodak Metallic) for $20 per print; five minimum order. That’s as much as 60% off the regular price ($45 for matte and $50 for metallic paper). I will also pay for the shipping within the U.S.A. for those ordering 5 or more prints. This special offer will expire on August 31st. Take advantage of this blow up prices and get the large prints you want to decorate your home or to give away as presents. Contact me right away for details and to place your order.

I wonder what was going through the old man’s mind while watching the young tourist with flip flops (thongs) and short shorts.

Was he thinking I would never let my granddaughter go out dressing like that or was he wondering if those sandals, which are all the rage right now, are really comfy. What do you think?

SPECIAL OFFER ON 11″x14″ PRINTS: For this week only I will be running a special offer on 11″x14″ prints on whatever paper you like (yes from Kodak Endura Matte to gorgeous Kodak Metallic) for $20 per print; five minimum order. That’s as much as 60% off the regular price ($45 for matte and $50 for metallic paper). I will also pay for the shipping within the U.S.A. for those ordering 5 or more prints. This special offer will expire on August 31st. Take advantage of this blow up prices and get the large prints you want to decorate your home or to give away as presents. Contact me right away for details and to place your order.

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 the fact that tourists were wearing this type of sandals.

Here are some of the photos, chosen at random, showing tourists wearing thongs:

• Opposite ends of life #2
• Entrance Doorway to the Compañía de Jesús Building
• Looking Out from Rainbow Reading Room
• Surf’s Up Dudes!
• Guatemalan Adoptions Could Be Mixed Blessings
• Ah, Look at All the Hungry People…

Now, the million-dollar question, why do so many tourists wear thongs when they go on a trip, but not at home?

It’s amazing what a paint job can do. The façade above belongs to the Church of San Pedro, which is the church for the Las Obras del Hermano Pedro Hospital. Well, if you go back in time to November 25th, 2007 and look at the same façade in the background of Marimba Chicken Bus and Church of San Pedro, you will know what I mean about the paint job.

Can anybody explain the relevance of Las Obras del Hermano Pedro Hospital?

Normally, the cathedral is the most important church in a town, but in La Antigua Guatemala, a colonial town full with so many churches, the San Francisco El Grande Church has to be the most important of all. Can you guess why?

Modernity has arrived to the quincentennial Antigua Guatemala.

Surely you remember all the talk about the cellular telephones available from Q100 with Q150 of air time and NO contracts or the sim cards (chips) available from Q25 that you can put in your flashed (liberated) cell phone to get a Guatemalan telephone number while in the country, right?

Well, my friends that was with old second generation (2G) cellular networks; that’s probably what you have now with your mobile phone in the U.S., Canada or Europe, unless you have a Blackberry or an iPhone.

Starting tomorrow, Friday 22nd of August, La Antigua Guatemala will be joining the cities of the world with third generation (3G) cellular networks and what better way to use this high-speed telephone networks than with an iPhone 3G in your hand. That’s right folks, two of three mayor mobile telephone companies will be selling the ubiquitous iPhone.

However, for now, only Claro (Telgua) will be sporting the 3G cellular network. But MoviStar (Telefónica) is said to be right behind it. Tigo (Comcel) is rumored to be in their last testing phase.

According to news published by Oscar Mota, a Guatemalan technology blogger, in DesdeGuate.com the iPhone 3G will be available from Q4500 without contract from Claro. That’s about three months of minimum wages. Nevertheless, I am sure the Guatemalan gadget and geek community will buy it like hot bread out of the oven. Other contractual plans will be available with both cellular carriers to bring down the price of this gadget.

So now these are some of connectivity options available in La Antigua Guatemala: ADSL Access, Cable Internet Access, Satellite Internet Access, WIFI, Edge, 2G, and 3G cellular networks. Am I missing something? Not too bad for a nearly-500-year-old colonial town.

Acknowledgements: I want to thank my good friend Nelo for agreeing to model with his iPhone in front of the San Francisco El Grande Church.