Category: Profiles
Golden Fork Award
Christian Rossell voted Chef of the Year, 2012 The name Christian Rossell has long been synonymous with fine Italian dining: in 2005, the chef opened the doors of his first restaurant, Pecorino, before unveiling a chain of deli’s, and then launching the exquisite pizzeria Romano’s, which introduced Guatemala to thin-crust pizzas. But this year, the [...]
One-Man Band: Soapbox aka Rodrigo Rosales
Anyone who listens to music radio in Guatemala will no doubt be familiar with the name Soapbox. The talented musician had a No. 1 hit with his first solo single Time, and his second release, Now I’m Gone, looks to be heading in a similar direction. But not everyone may be aware that the man [...]
Jorge Herrera
Accordionist at large Ever since he was a child and had to use a booster seat to reach the marimba, Jorge Herrera has had a passion for music. Growing up on a coffee plantation in Huehuetenango, he was inspired by the Mexican-influenced folk music that was popular in his village and soon started practicing both [...]
Flaminia
“When I was 16 years old I entered my school choir as a piano accompanier and ended up singing,” says Guatemalan-born musician Flaminia. A few years later the talented artist, who wrote her first song when she was 5 years old, won an international singing competition in Mexico, which landed her a record deal in [...]
The Heart of the Mayan World
A candid chat with INGUAT’s Walter Fischer Imagine a place with volcanoes and mountains, jungles and deserts, white sands and black beaches … but while you and I have already discovered the beauty of Guatemala, the majority of the world remains oblivious. INGUAT, the country’s tourism board, has embarked on a 10-year campaign to increase [...]
Francis Dávila
written by Anna-Claire Bevan Francis Dávila is one of Guatemala’s leading DJs and is heralded as being hugely influential in the country’s electronic scene. “I first started playing a live act with a sampler and a synthesizer at the local raves in the late 90s,” says Dávila. But it wasn’t until a few years later [...]
Oliver Thor Janson
Oliver Thor Janson is a wildlife conservationist who uses photography as a tool to promote environmental education, his life passion. Born in Chicago, the son of a Swedish immigrant father and an Irish-Chippewa Indian mother, Thor began his career as an explorer at the age of four when he ventured out on his tricycle far beyond [...]
Qué le vaya bien, Zac
After bartending at the Monoloco restaurant for four years, Zac Ballentine is returning to the United States to enroll in college and perhaps work as a ski instructor in Colorado. “I love Antigua and I love the Monoloco. I could spend the rest of my life here, but I’m approaching 30 and I can’t do [...]
Antigua Retro with John Heaton
Traveler, collector, Central America correspondent for Travel+Leisure, founder-owner of Quinta Maconda, awarded Nat.Geo.Traveller 50 Tours of a Lifetime 2008, Heaton’s Guatemala projects have been acknowledged by the international press for over two decades. How many years living in Guatemala? Almost a quarter of a century. Why the move to La Antigua? Guatemala was terra incognita: [...]
Carole Wilson Lewis
The oldest cookbook Carole has utilized, Lybro de Cocyna, which dates from 1844, is an anonymous compilation of recipes published by the University of San Carlos
The First Wave
In 1928, Mildred Covill Palmer took a little trip—that spanned a lifetime! written by William C. Paddock The first North American to restore and live in an Antigua home was one of the most remarkable people this town has ever known. Mildred Covill, born in Iowa in 1898 had, by the time she was 16, [...]
The Woman Behind the Crusader
A chat with Vida Amor De Paz, Guatemala’s crusader for protecting the planet Her smile is electric. Her energy is vibrant. Her achievements … inspiring. My brief interview with Vida Amor De Paz has certainly left me with a powerfully affecting impression. I am new to Guatemala and can claim no more than five months [...]
Robert Hinshaw
Given his age, 75, you’d think anthropologist Robert Hinshaw would want to settle back with one of those Scandanavian vodkas he occasionally enjoys and retire to his Colorado mountain retreat. Instead, he wants to make a difference in this world, as “payback” for all he’s received. He explains: “Gilbert White, the late geographer and a [...]
A Standout Artist
Parked in a wheelchair across from Central Park, Marcia Sis García creates childhood images with the skill of a seasoned artist.
A School without a Soccer Field
Simply put, the entire Colegio Hebrón school “went home” and never came back
Thor Janson
Wildlife conservationist, photographer, author, adventurer, environmentalist and educator The volcano Pacaya in Guatemala began erupting more dramatically than usual one day several years ago, and nature photographer Thor Janson rushed to the slopes to take pictures for his files. “By 4 o’clock Pacaya was spewing molten lava several hundred meters into the air every 30 [...]
Pat Crocker, Artist and Architect
If you lived in La Antigua Guatemala after World War II and before 1972 you would have known Pat Crocker for his work in the restoration of colonial houses and for his exquisite watercolor paintings of Indian costume. Frederick Siddartha Crocker Junior, or as he would sometimes introduce himself “Frederick, ‘The Enlightened One,’Crocker,” was born [...]
La Cambalacha Youth Art Initiative
Text and photos by Jennifer Block Restoring creative expression through direct action, Gabriela Cordón aims to transform Guatemala’s educational system via her youth arts initiative. You’d be forgiven for thinking La Cambalacha is just another summer camp for kids. The place spills forth with color and laughter. On stage, a group of children practice a [...]
Bette van Lunteren
Ballerina Bette van Lunteren danced her way from her home in Holland to the heart of La Antigua Guatemala. She graduated from the Theater Dance Department of the School of Arts in Amsterdam and taught Dutch school children for six years. Her program was one of interactive expression on a one-day theme, group by group, [...]
Who is Latin America’s finest scribe?
Colombia’s Gabriel García Márquez is the most read. Chile’s Isabel Allende is a top female contender. And so, in 2002, I borrowed a book by each for my wife, thinking that some august literature might quell her post-natal depression. I also bought a book by María del Carmen Escobar. María del Carmen Who? Good question. [...]
